Thinking of getting a TVR please help.
Discussion
Hi, I am looking at selling my rear wheel drive classic mini and getting myself a new weekend toy. I have always loved the Cerbra, but would it be the most reliable?
I will have around £20k to spend and i want somthing that is not going to be to problematic, I have herd that the engines can be a little fragile?
Thanks.
I will have around £20k to spend and i want somthing that is not going to be to problematic, I have herd that the engines can be a little fragile?
Thanks.
MiniMrMan said:
Thats what i was thinking lol.
What is quicker a speed6 or a cerb?
Cerbs came fitted with a "speed six" engine or a couple of varieties of V8. NOT a Rover v8 like the Griff/Chim but an "AJP V8".What is quicker a speed6 or a cerb?
I think the 4.5 AJPV8 was the quickest on paper - perhaps an owner can cleart that up for us.
All Cerberas are monstrously fast. My pal's one that I drove was absolutely cracking fun.
The rear seats are tiny. The boot is enormous. The interior wacky but luxurious.
The require significant fettling and consume vast quantities of 98-octane petrol.
You could get virtually any TVR for £20k - most of the T cars, any of the older V8s and a very, very nice Cerbera. Enjoy it - it's a wonderful position to be in. 
That said, don't underestimate the value of a contingency fund if that's the total budget. The Speed Sixes in particular can spring some expensive surprises and if you have a few £k left over that's not an issue. Also bear in mind that the condition, certainly of the older cars, varies hugely from example to example and doesn't always correlate with the asking price.
That said, don't underestimate the value of a contingency fund if that's the total budget. The Speed Sixes in particular can spring some expensive surprises and if you have a few £k left over that's not an issue. Also bear in mind that the condition, certainly of the older cars, varies hugely from example to example and doesn't always correlate with the asking price.
The Cerb, essentially a 2+2 hard top Chimaera was originally designed to take the Rover V8 but there was a last-minute change of tactic.
The Speed 6 is the slowest of the power plants but not so as you would notice on a day-to-day basis. If you go for the AJP8 engined cars then they are so powerful that the difference between the two capacities would not be apparent to you when runing on a road.
The cars are awesome. The performance is super-car leage even now. There was little at the time, and not much more since, that could stay with an AJP8-engined Cerb, and what there was cost a fortune to run and own. The Cerb is the cheapest to own but can still cost a few pence.
I drove a tuned one - now there was a waste of money - and supposedly lightweight, and it shortened distance like no other car I've been in.
I've told the story on here before but an AJP8 Cerb spun its wheels in the outside lane of the M40 just accelerating away from me.
The engines can be very reliable. 100,000+ is by no means unknown. I know of one Cerb that was kept as a track car that had over 100k on the clock and there was another with 12k and neither had had the engine worked on. But then it would take someone special to stretch the engine on a regular basis.
The electrics are another matter. Little problems, like windows not rising when the door is shut, can really irritate and can be difficult to resolve. But then it is a super car.
Much as I like the Cerb I'm not sure I envy you. I'm not sure I would keep my licence long engough to enjoy such a car.
The Speed 6 is the slowest of the power plants but not so as you would notice on a day-to-day basis. If you go for the AJP8 engined cars then they are so powerful that the difference between the two capacities would not be apparent to you when runing on a road.
The cars are awesome. The performance is super-car leage even now. There was little at the time, and not much more since, that could stay with an AJP8-engined Cerb, and what there was cost a fortune to run and own. The Cerb is the cheapest to own but can still cost a few pence.
I drove a tuned one - now there was a waste of money - and supposedly lightweight, and it shortened distance like no other car I've been in.
I've told the story on here before but an AJP8 Cerb spun its wheels in the outside lane of the M40 just accelerating away from me.
The engines can be very reliable. 100,000+ is by no means unknown. I know of one Cerb that was kept as a track car that had over 100k on the clock and there was another with 12k and neither had had the engine worked on. But then it would take someone special to stretch the engine on a regular basis.
The electrics are another matter. Little problems, like windows not rising when the door is shut, can really irritate and can be difficult to resolve. But then it is a super car.
Much as I like the Cerb I'm not sure I envy you. I'm not sure I would keep my licence long engough to enjoy such a car.
Agree with the above I have a 4.5 LW played with so its got 400 HP and although yes its the fastest scarryiest car I have ever driven, but its funny when you have something that fast you tend not to go around flooring it as you know its there when you want to in fact if anything my driving style has tempered down a lot since owning it although now and then the grin gets a little wider as you teach some cheeky young lad who has no idea whats under the bonnet a litle lesson and yes they will spin the wheels not alone in second third as well?? If it was the A 40 it could have been me?? Great car words cannot describe the feeling of owning and driving one and have to say in the year plus of owning has not cost me a penny that I had to spend other than liberal amounts of Petrol of course??
Thanks people, all very interesting.
Think I need some kind of TVR history lesson!
Which Cerbras had ajp engines, how do I know which are which?
Im only looking at the moment, and weighing up my options. Have been looking at Nobles, BMW Zcoupes and other such thing. Iv always loved TVRs, why should I get one over the oposition?
ps, AJP are my initials, always wondered why, as a boy the nice looking poster of a Cerbra on my wall had my initials on the reg plate!?
Think I need some kind of TVR history lesson!
Which Cerbras had ajp engines, how do I know which are which?
Im only looking at the moment, and weighing up my options. Have been looking at Nobles, BMW Zcoupes and other such thing. Iv always loved TVRs, why should I get one over the oposition?
ps, AJP are my initials, always wondered why, as a boy the nice looking poster of a Cerbra on my wall had my initials on the reg plate!?
MiniMrMan said:
why should I get one over the oposition?
I honestly don't think TVRs have oposition, they're totally unique in my opinion. That probably sounds a bit daft as the other cars you mention are obviously good cars and better than TVRs in many respects, however there's just something different about TVRs.Bought my 2000 4.5LW cerb 20 months ago and it has been fantastic. Had a clutch but other than that no big dramas. Currently laid up until I fit new heat shields next to the exhaust manifolds after trying to torch herself but that's just a bit of time not a big expense. It goes like the clappers, BUY ONE.
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