TVR Chimaera

You need to checkout the Pistonheads forum, where they have a dedicated Chimera room:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?f=8&h=0

I've been on and off there for a while and they generally seem to be pretty well regarded for a TVR. The impression I get is that as it uses a Rover/Buick v8 and not their own engine, that it's a lot easier to service and has far fewer issues. The Chimera is also a good deal "softer" than some of the more manic TVRs, meaning it'll be less of a handful.

I'd suggest you spend some time trawling through the comments/complaints/feedback on their forum, rather than listen to people who've done no more than read about it.
 
The original Griffith (I'm talking Late 80's Early 90's) was a bit of a handfull... Tail happy dont come close to describing it! (I think there were a few fatalities!!)... So the Bods at TVR sat down and totally re-designed it, making it easier to handle on the limmit, Not so tail happy and even sticking a few more horses in it!... The then re-named it 'Chimera'...

Its an 'Every-day' TVR... as has been said Rover/Buick V8 is easy to service (60's Technilogy!!) the Body won't rust (neither will the Ally Space-frame Chassis)... OK there's a few niggles but its still basically a Kit-Car!... (which is where TVR started!!)...

If I recall if you buy from a TVR dealer (even second hand) for a subsidised price you can have a cuple of lessons at a track day on how to survive driving a TVR and still have fun in it!!! :cool:

Ooo if you want to scare youself silly hunt down either a Newer model Griffith500 or one of the old Wedgies!... a mate of mine had a 450 and it scared the begesus out of me on more than one occasion!... GRRRRRRRRrrreat Sound though!!! :cool:
 
DRZ said:
In a 306, say, you dont get that - you get wild rear-end action without warning.
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LOL, really you don't get that at all.

The 306 has got itself that rep by being affordable and desirable to 17 year old know it all tools who's lead foot exceeds the capacity of their brains and driving skill.
 
lordrobs said:
LOL, really you don't get that at all.

The 306 has got itself that rep by being affordable and desirable to 17 year old know it all tools who's lead foot exceeds the capacity of their brains and driving skill.
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Since when has group 20 been affordable?!? :D
 
I had a 4.5 for a few days as part of a sports car club. As you'd imagine, sticking a large motor in a very light car makes for ballisitic performance, but it comes with a health warning. If you do not treat it with respect you will end up off the road.
Having said that, once I started getting a feel for the car and what it was capable of I had an absolute blast in it. The grip and handling are excellent (as long as you are smooth with your inputs) and the cabin is actually very comfortable (If a bit warm - your legs run parallel with the gearbox and your feet are by the back end of the engine, as soon as it warms up you will have the windows open whether it's raining or not - if you can find the window switches :p )
 
My dad has had 2 TVRs.

The first was a Griffith 500. This was my favourite one - sounded nicer IMO. 0-60 in 4.1 seconds with a top speed of about 160mph (actually did that...my god!). We had a Chimeara too - because the Griff broke lol! It had to have a whole new engine put in (or rebuilt) can't remember exactly as this was more than 5 years ago now.

The second being a Cebera 4.2, 0-60 in 4.2, and top speed of 180mph+. Bloody long car, didn't sound as nice but just as loud, hardtop aswell. I don't anything actually went wrong with this car.

The chimeara didn't feel quite as fast as the other 2 (even when I had to steer when the throttle got stuck underneath the carpet!

You have to get one though, the sound is so addictive and they literally push you back into your seat when you accelerate! :D
 
Cyanide said:
I've heard about TVR's habit of hiding important switches before... is it really that bad? :eek:
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It all kinda makes sense once you are used to it, it's just getting used to it that takes some time. When i first sat in it the guy at the car club had to give me a 10 min run-down of what switch was where - in any other car it would take 10 secs at the most :)
 
You definatly don't need a stereo!... (though they do come with nice Pioneers!!) Just crank down the windows or take the roof off!!!...

"VVVVAAAAARRRRRROOOOOOooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmm..... Burble Burble Burble... Short... Growl!!!..." :D
 
Simian said:
You definatly don't need a stereo!... Just crank down the windows or take the roof off!!!...

"VVVVAAAAARRRRRROOOOOOooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmm..... Burble Burble Burble... Short... Growl!!!..." :D
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You missed out the squeeling noise from the brakes before they're warmed up. ;)
 
I would say it all depends on your budget. A cheap Chimaera e.g. <10k will almost certainly have some issues. On the plus side they have the Rover V8 engines which are considerably more reliable than the AJP lumps (though not as powerfull). That said engine problems with the larger Rover V8's aren't unknown (e.g. snapping cranks in the 5litre).

The chassis are prone to rust unless regularly waxoyled. Once rotten, repair is an expensive job. Under the rather lovely interior finish, the general build quality is pretty shocking, so expect rattles, creaks and lots of stupid little things to break/stop working.

Watch out for whining and/or clonking diffs. The torque from the big V8's seems to make them complain quite early in life, and the rubber mounting bushes are a common failure.

Watch out for utterly incompetant dealers that should be allowed to service a pedal car let alone a powerfull sports car. The local delaers replaced the radiator a total of 5 times on a friends car, even though after the frst failure he mentioned he was concerned about a potential head gasket failure. They blamed all the failures (within a week of each other) on a batch of duff radiators, until he bought his own coolant test kit and proved the head gasket had gone. They rebuilt the diff for him just after he bought the car and then re-installed it using the original (and very knackered) mounting bushes and never said a word to him about it. Removing the diff is a lengthy operation, so he would have had to pay the same again for labour for them to fix the bushes. Hmm...incompetence or greed....or maybe both?
 
Simian said:
You definatly don't need a stereo!... (though they do come with nice Pioneers!!) Just crank down the windows or take the roof off!!!...

"VVVVAAAAARRRRRROOOOOOooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmm..... Burble Burble Burble... Short... Growl!!!..." :D
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"sirens"

"even more VVVVVVARRRROOOooooommmm and a roar"

"squeel"

"bang, crash and rollover"

:cool:
 
Cyanide said:
Since when has group 20 been affordable?!? :D
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You might be surprised.
I recently asked about insurance on a Chimera.
My MX is £500 a year because I live in London. A Chimera was £650, which is more, but nothing like the £1100 that I was quoted for an S2000.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
You might be surprised.
I recently asked about insurance on a Chimera.
My MX is £500 a year because I live in London. A Chimera was £650, which is more, but nothing like the £1100 that I was quoted for an S2000.
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Interesting, I couldn't find anyone to insure me on a Chim when I was considering one instead of the Elise. Might be next year's car then...
 
Nozzer said:
Interesting, I couldn't find anyone to insure me on a Chim when I was considering one instead of the Elise. Might be next year's car then...
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Just remember that I'm a bit of an old git, and have 22 years of claim free driving, which does kind of help.
Have to say that going grey, getting slower and aching more after sports really isn't very offset by having lower insurance premiums than when I was younger.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Just remember that I'm a bit of an old git, and have 22 years of claim free driving, which does kind of help.
Have to say that going grey, getting slower and aching more after sports really isn't very offset by having lower insurance premiums than when I was younger.
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Ah, whereas I don't even have 22 years of living under my belt yet :D
 
I got a quote for £800 when I hit 21 next year :D

The car costs £15-£20k for a decent one, servicing is around £600...

Add in 15k miles and it's looking to be an expensive year :D
 
With TVRs, the servicing is the least of your worries, it's the bits that fall off/blow up/stop working that will cost you an arm and a leg!

Check out this guy. He's only done 2000 miles and it's cost him around £13k :(
 
Cheap ones are money pits, expensive ones are outshone by better cars.

I know two designers who both worked for TVR, they both drove Mercs.

When I asked one why he drove an SL, he told me that had TVR tried to attempt a car like the SL he would push the roof button and it would fall off.
 
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