4.0, 4.3, 4.5, or 5 - Which is most fun?
Discussion
If you buy anything other than a 5ltr, you will always end up wanting more power. Ingnore that last statement - you will always want more power, even if you buy a 5ltr.
4ltr is very good if you haven't driven anything larger. If you have you won't want the smaller engine.
4.3ltr are rare - I haven't driven one so I can't say.
4.5ltr - a good compromise between the 4 and 5ltr. Some people say it's a better engine.
5ltr - go on, you know it makes sense. Would you be satisfied with anything less?
Ian - Chimaera 500.....
Its true. I test drove a 4.0 and it felt barely faster than my modified Corrado VR6. So I bought the Chimaera 500 and that is most definitely faster. <grin>
Basically, only get the 4.0 if you've never driven a perfromance car before. But if you're used to having performance already, you'll find it a disappointment.
I did say mine was a modified Corrado VR6. Its had the suspension sorted (much less roll than standard), the brakes sorted, and a touch more power than standard. 
Sure, the Chimaera 4.0 is faster, but the point I was trying to make was that I was looking for somthing significantly faster, which it is not. The 500 is, of course. 
Sure, the Chimaera 4.0 is faster, but the point I was trying to make was that I was looking for somthing significantly faster, which it is not. The 500 is, of course.
Back to the original question (VR6s are all well and good but....)
Ian ...if I were you I'd find a decent dealership and spend some time test-driving different engines sizes. I'd blast them on some straights, then dribble them round town and try parallel parking them too. Find out which one suits your needs best.
Any engine option gives you enormous performance. If you want to pull away from the lights quicker than the rest of the pack, any engine will do (0-60 times are pretty similar across the engine options, which I guess means the limiting factor is rear tyre grip). Nonetheless, if you want to overtake a 400, the 500 is the right piece of kit.
I'm on my first TVR, a Chimp 400, and have only had it a few months. What a blast. It's in a totally different league to my previous supposed "performance" car. Whichever engine option you go for, you're going to have a lot of fun.
I have a 4.3, my first serious sports car and its very very fast. There aren't many about as they had a very limited production run. When I was shopping for a car, even the earliest 4.5 and 5 litres were out of reach.....so my wallet made some decisions for me. I bought my car because it was just what I was looking for at the time. If it had been 4 litre engined I would have bought it anyway. Besides at the moment there doesn't seem to be any price difference between similar 4 and 4.3 litre cars.....so where's the downside?
Must say the Griff is prettier (even tho I've got a Chimp). I first saw one in the flesh before I'd ever seen it in a magazine, which was lucky. It was in the pissing rain and in the dark parked under street lights near my college. The water and streetlight glinting off it hid everything but its basic outline. Binnacled headlights, rear haunches, straight tail pipes. Just a hint of the dark green paint and leather. My jaw hit the floor. I had no idea what I was looking at. When I saw it again in daylight and realised it was a TVR, I was stunned a second time. All I had ever associated with TVR were the wedges ... "pass me my chest wig, Gladys"
If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly.
I test drove alot of Chimaeras and came to the conclusion that only a 500 would do. It's not just about grunt either; the slightly bigger brakes allow you to brake later and harder with less fade ..... the easiest way to make quicker progress without collecting points
To be honest, they're all great, but you don't want to buy a car just to be nagged by the fact that you could have had a better one for just about the same money . As our cross Atlantic cousins would say "there's no substitute for cubic inches".
To be honest, they're all great, but you don't want to buy a car just to be nagged by the fact that you could have had a better one for just about the same money . As our cross Atlantic cousins would say "there's no substitute for cubic inches". I had a 350i to start then went for a 5 litre Chimp to use on an everyday basis - 17k miles a year. Test drove 4 and 4.5 but the grunt of the 5 swung it. The back end WILL bite you in the wet if you're not concentrating because the sheer torque increase requires so much respect on wet greasy country roads - however it can also work for you in that you can take roundabouts in 3rd and still pull away without the potential drama of doing it in 2nd - if that makes sense ?!
Downside (upside?) was the wife loved the 350i but hated driving the 5 litre. It had to be driven far more 'positively' than the 350. If you are planning on doing a lot of town / traffic jam driving in a 5 litre you also want to consider using a lower thermostat and otter switch as they run quite a bit hotter than the other engines - search other threads as this one has been done to death already. Similarly expect only 750 - 1000 miles per litre of oil out of a 5 litre too.
Depends what you want the extra 'power' for I guess. In real terms on a circuit like Mallory I had a DIESEL Passat continually on my tail because at the end of the day its all down to the skill in cornering (which I lack immensely !!) in getting from A to B swiftly rather than BHP figures ! (or maybe it was his company car and he just didn't give a s**t !!!)
Dave
There's no difference between the latest Griff 500's and Chimaera 500's apart from styling and the size of the boot - Griff's is much smaller and it's harder to fit the roof into. Chimaera will take the roof, two set of large golf bags, trollies, spare wheel, etc at the same time - try that in a Griff.
Depends really how much stuff you want to leave at home if you use it for a long weekend away.
What about practicality for day to day use? I've just been speaking to a local dealer (walldonway) who said that if I was using the car every day (which I will be), then the 4.0 with PAS is the best choice, though he didn't really explain why. (In fairness I'm test driving some tomorrow so he may expand on it then). I guess he is referring to ease of handling round city roads, though.
My question is this: Is the 4.0 really easier to handle (with or without PAS) and likewise is the 5.0ltr really so hard to deal with? My feeling after listening to these comments, is that for the 5, it just a question of being cautious in the wet, but then having more potential for fun at other times. And with the 4.0 and 4.5 you are potentially missing out on fun.
Had four in the last 6 years now for everday use 5.0L,4.3 and two 4.0L. The 4.3 was a real pain in the a**** in traffic with overheating, transmission shunt and rouch tick over, the 5.0L was fantastic everywhere except in traffic where it constantly sat at 95 - 100 degrees and I boiled for a whole year winter or summer so I have gon back to a 4.0L with non p.a.s. as it keeps alot cooler in traffic and is much easier to drive in the wet, snow and ice. As for p.a.s. I have had two with and two without and in my opinion and only my opinion the non p.a.s. cars just feel a bit tighter at speed. As for the prat that said the 4.0L chim was only marginally faster than his corrado VR6 may I suggest that he takes driving lessons again, I have a heavilly modified Golf VR6 220bhp and there is no way in a million years the golf would even compete with the Tiv !!!
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