Griffith 4.3 v Cerbera 4.2

[amsterdam]

I have a Griffith 4.3, but am thinking of buying a 4.2 Cerbera, which I took out for a testdrive yesterday. I'm interested to hear people's opinions about which car gives the more fun drive. In my Griffith the pull feels very strong between 2500 and 5000 revs, third gear at 3000 revs is my idea of heaven. On the testdrive, which was my first time in a Cerbera, I got the impression that with the Cerbera the "fun" was to be had higher up the rev limit and the engine didn't respond as immediately as the Griffith. Is it just that I don't know how to drive a Cerbera??

[aovcerb]

amsterdam, I have been in the fortunate position of owning a 4.3 Griff and now a 4.2 maybe a 4.5 (Another story) Cerb, I love both. The 4.3 is supposed to be the best sorted engine in the Griff range as it boarders the qualities of the 4 and 5 litres, anyway so a TVR mechanic at the factory told me, maybe he was being nice as his head was under the bonnet. However they are totally different beasts, if my old memory serves me correctly the Griff is quite low revving up to about 5k rpm where the Cerb goes up to and over 7k rpm. Both engines have different power zones. Both gave me as much fun, the Griff has the advantage of being roofless, nice grunt and noise but the Cerb, well the Cerb just howls. Drop to third at 50/60 mph and wind the Cerb up and you just fly and I mean fly plus you scare the c**p out of those you are passing. The engine is absolutely wonderful and the noise with the sports exhaust I hardly ever listen to the stereo, it looks great, stands well out in the crowd, great interior.
However as usual it is personnel choice I will have another Griff no doubt but at this moment I can live without a soft top as the Cerb does the business for me.
Best regards
avocerb

[dan]

Amsterdam,

I'm in a similar position. I have a Griff 500 and Test drove a Cerb 4.2 last week. I had the Car for a good few hours, so I think I got chance to form a reasonable assessment.

It has to be said the Cerb is a handsome car particularly with the 4.5 wheels. Also they are stunningly fast, but I found it only feels fast when you are in 'Ban' territory. Where as with the Griff you get that surge practically from idle.

In Traffic I found the Cerb very friendly the power steering probably helped with this, but I think generally the car was happier with stop start driving than the Griff.

General driving the Griff feels more refined and less Frantic. (the AJP does its best work when its screaming its head off)

To sum up, the Cerb is still on my list of Cars I would like, but for now I'll be very happy keeping the Griff. I personally prefer the almost lazy way that the Rover/TVR V8 throws you at the horizon, and I'm still in love with the soundtrack.