Discussion
When I was younger my brother and I were MG chaps through and through. I had a ZA followed by 2 x MGA 1600s and a Twin Cam followed by a CGT while he had a Midget, a 1600 MGA and an MGB. I toyed with a Costello BV8 but by the time the RV8 came out MGs were done. The TVR Chimaera had the same Rover V8 and was a much more modern design and reading the contemporary road tests a better car all round. Whereas the TVR is timeless, the RV8 always seemed like a bit of a lump to me.
I was given one to run around in while my normal MG B was being given some welding attention.
Ride was a bit choppy, but the noise was awesome. More refined than you'd think, certainly less raw than the Chimaera i owned a few years later. Not stupidly quick but very pleasantly so.
The gearbox intrudes a lot more into the cockpit than a normal B, so it felt a little more cramped. The interior is all 90s rouched leather and magnolia dials and you still have to wind the windows down yourself (the MGOC will sell you a cheap electric conversion). The hood has blind spots in the rear quarters, which the normal B doesn't have. The front suspension and brake set up is pretty decent, not snatchy but will take some getting used to if you're from a very modern car. Rear suspension is on parabolic springs and they're actually pretty decent. I didn't drive it hard enough to see if it suffered from axle tramp and I can't remember if it had a LSD or not - again, I didn't drive it hard enough to find out!
Reasonable size boot if you take the spare wheel out and replace it with a can of tyre foam
Having owned a chimaera and all the faults that went with it, an RV8 may well have been a better purchase for me. Ah well, too late now! The chimaera was a lot quicker and the steering ridiculously quick but the RV8 may have been easier to live with.
Ride was a bit choppy, but the noise was awesome. More refined than you'd think, certainly less raw than the Chimaera i owned a few years later. Not stupidly quick but very pleasantly so.
The gearbox intrudes a lot more into the cockpit than a normal B, so it felt a little more cramped. The interior is all 90s rouched leather and magnolia dials and you still have to wind the windows down yourself (the MGOC will sell you a cheap electric conversion). The hood has blind spots in the rear quarters, which the normal B doesn't have. The front suspension and brake set up is pretty decent, not snatchy but will take some getting used to if you're from a very modern car. Rear suspension is on parabolic springs and they're actually pretty decent. I didn't drive it hard enough to see if it suffered from axle tramp and I can't remember if it had a LSD or not - again, I didn't drive it hard enough to find out!
Reasonable size boot if you take the spare wheel out and replace it with a can of tyre foam
Having owned a chimaera and all the faults that went with it, an RV8 may well have been a better purchase for me. Ah well, too late now! The chimaera was a lot quicker and the steering ridiculously quick but the RV8 may have been easier to live with.
I don't seem to remember them getting very much praise in reviews back in the day. IIRC they had the same ride height as the rubber bumper cars which did nothing for the handling.
Great engine though and probably pretty reliable with good spares availability but probably more of a wafter than a sports car.
Great engine though and probably pretty reliable with good spares availability but probably more of a wafter than a sports car.
Rightly or wrongly , in Period I always saw them as part of that Revival Phase that saw a few manufacturers reimagine their "greatest hits ". Volkswagen probably kicked it off with the Beetle , Jaguar with the S Type , Fiat with the 500 etc etc . I don't recall the Media heralding the RV8 as a Nurburgring Lapping flying machine and unlike the TR Triumphs it didn't earn us a fortune in Exports either . That said however , I think history has been kind to the Model and bought at the right money I think it's a very capable GT with a lovely engine . Get it on the ramp , do a bit of research and then more importantly your Maths .
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...
One coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
One coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
reddiesel said:
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...
One coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
The vast majorty of them were sold to JapanOne coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
Mr Tidy said:
I don't seem to remember them getting very much praise in reviews back in the day. IIRC they had the same ride height as the rubber bumper cars which did nothing for the handling.
Great engine though and probably pretty reliable with good spares availability but probably more of a wafter than a sports car.
They had a completely different suspension set up to any of the Bs. Front cross member had coilovers, gas shocks, vented disks etc. Rear suspension was bespoke parabolics with some sort of gas shocks. It was certainly nothing like the rolly polly stilt set up on a mid 70s rubber bumper car.Great engine though and probably pretty reliable with good spares availability but probably more of a wafter than a sports car.
You're right in that it's a wafter though!
Doofus said:
reddiesel said:
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...
One coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
The vast majorty of them were sold to JapanOne coming up for Auction early next month , appears to be a Japanese Car
Edited by Dashnine on Sunday 12th October 18:03
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