well sorted tvr v carrera 4s 3.8 cabrio
Discussion
i have had a well sorted/modified tvr griffith, but sold it a year ago, but today i was given the keys to a friends carrera 4s 3.8 cabrio and told to enjoy myself!! well about an hour later with a large grin on my face i handed back the keys, it has the pdk transmission, i played with the sport button the sport plus button and turned off the traction control and played with the paddles, on a stretch of road i have driven many times in the griff so it was a pretty good comparison, it was a bit damp out there but not freezing so i gave it a reasonable bit of welly!!
it's been a year since driving the griff and i thought it was untouchable round the streets on a dry sunny day,
but i was just blown away by the capability of the porker. has anyone got both or had both and can you put me straight on this! is it because i have not driven the griff lately and if i did would i have been equally impressed.
i swore i would never buy any other marque after my griff but now am having un natural thoughts as a tvr enthusiast.
please don't shoot me down for this post as i was genuinely gob smacked by the 4s
it's been a year since driving the griff and i thought it was untouchable round the streets on a dry sunny day,
but i was just blown away by the capability of the porker. has anyone got both or had both and can you put me straight on this! is it because i have not driven the griff lately and if i did would i have been equally impressed.
i swore i would never buy any other marque after my griff but now am having un natural thoughts as a tvr enthusiast.
please don't shoot me down for this post as i was genuinely gob smacked by the 4s
Both Sam John Simpson and Deano have dabbled with the dark side...
Any 911 since around 95 is impressive...but yes, the Griff would have put a bigger smile on your face. The smell and the noise would have had the Porker beat before you'd hit 1st gear.
(you want to try a 997 Turbo. Awesome!)
Any 911 since around 95 is impressive...but yes, the Griff would have put a bigger smile on your face. The smell and the noise would have had the Porker beat before you'd hit 1st gear.
(you want to try a 997 Turbo. Awesome!)
hi andy, are you as bored as me!!Guillotine said:
(you want to try a 997 Turbo. Awesome!)
A very good friend of mine is a Pork nut and he has just sold his 997 Turbo. Technologically outstanding around a track and on the road, it will make a good driver look like a driving God, goes like stink and handles beautifully. All the same, I didn't find it hit the right buttons with me, just felt too planted/solid and not involving enough. Great car, fantastic piece of engineering but I still wouldn't swap my Griff for one. I would love to have a hoon around a track in a GT2 or GT3 RS, they may just have that edginess I enjoy from what I've been told. Still wouldn't have that TVR factor though for me (and I couldn't afford one anyway
).I think you need to get back behind the wheel of a well sorted Griff again just to jog your memory, as capable as the panzers are they don't have that special something.
On a more serious note, if anyone asks, nobody heard me praise Pork, OK
I've currently got a 4.0 Chim, my first TVR.
Previously (although not of the current 997 PDK breed) I owned a couple of 911's; a 993 and a 996, both C2 manuals. If I was to get back into my old 996 today after spending the last 9 months with the Chim I'm sure I'd be amazed at its overall composure and ability to cover ground quickly (which it did easily) I loved the 996 for a couple of months, it was quick, precise and modern but strangely dull, and I soon fell out of love with it. Other than it being the quickest a-b car I've owned to date there was no sense of occasion so after 10 months I swapped it for the 993 which was much more like it; great noise, traditional 911 handling, great build quality combined with every day usability, still not as much 'fun' as the Chim though for a Sunday morning blast
Previously (although not of the current 997 PDK breed) I owned a couple of 911's; a 993 and a 996, both C2 manuals. If I was to get back into my old 996 today after spending the last 9 months with the Chim I'm sure I'd be amazed at its overall composure and ability to cover ground quickly (which it did easily) I loved the 996 for a couple of months, it was quick, precise and modern but strangely dull, and I soon fell out of love with it. Other than it being the quickest a-b car I've owned to date there was no sense of occasion so after 10 months I swapped it for the 993 which was much more like it; great noise, traditional 911 handling, great build quality combined with every day usability, still not as much 'fun' as the Chim though for a Sunday morning blast
tbdgriff500 said:
hi John, hope your well mate.
i was more interested in the performance, as i appreciate the vast cost difference, my griff for instance did a 12.4 quarter mile, anyone know what the 4s can do. has one been round the top gear track and if so what's
comparable
All well thanks Tim. Can't help with performance figures but would expect a Griff of the spec yours was may have the edge on the 1/4 mile, around a track I think the Pork may just have the edge.i was more interested in the performance, as i appreciate the vast cost difference, my griff for instance did a 12.4 quarter mile, anyone know what the 4s can do. has one been round the top gear track and if so what's
comparable
Maybe way off the mark, just my gut feel.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
tbdgriff500 said:
hi John, hope your well mate.
i was more interested in the performance, as i appreciate the vast cost difference, my griff for instance did a 12.4 quarter mile, anyone know what the 4s can do. has one been round the top gear track and if so what's
comparable
All well thanks Tim. Can't help with performance figures but would expect a Griff of the spec yours was may have the edge on the 1/4 mile, around a track I think the Pork may just have the edge.i was more interested in the performance, as i appreciate the vast cost difference, my griff for instance did a 12.4 quarter mile, anyone know what the 4s can do. has one been round the top gear track and if so what's
comparable
Maybe way off the mark, just my gut feel.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
My brother has a Porshe Carrera 4s (year 2007, don't know the model number but it's a 911) and he gave me the keys for a few hours. They are very well put together and fast, very fast. I enjoyed it hugely for the first hour or so then It just felt like a fast car, could have been a fast Merc,BMW or Audi.
It does not have the driver involvement or the sense of occasion that my Cerb has. Would I buy one certainly it's probably the best everyday sports car out there..... PROBABLY!! Would I sell my Cerb to get one? NO WAY, and I would have to find another £20K as well.
I took my brother out in my Cerb (no way I was giving the keys to him for an hour or two)and he loved it, thought it was awesome but he wouldn't sell his Porche for one. I think they are different cars for different people. Both hugely capable cars with a £20-30K price difference between them.
The Carrera should be the better car and I don't have a problem with that, after all it's had Billions spent on development over the years and it shows in the quality but TVRs can compete, definitely, just think what they could be like if they had the same development budget as Porsche.
It does not have the driver involvement or the sense of occasion that my Cerb has. Would I buy one certainly it's probably the best everyday sports car out there..... PROBABLY!! Would I sell my Cerb to get one? NO WAY, and I would have to find another £20K as well.
I took my brother out in my Cerb (no way I was giving the keys to him for an hour or two)and he loved it, thought it was awesome but he wouldn't sell his Porche for one. I think they are different cars for different people. Both hugely capable cars with a £20-30K price difference between them.
The Carrera should be the better car and I don't have a problem with that, after all it's had Billions spent on development over the years and it shows in the quality but TVRs can compete, definitely, just think what they could be like if they had the same development budget as Porsche.
Edited by G20RG B on Friday 31st December 18:49
Hi Tim
You wont believe this but understand where youre coming from after being given the keys to a 911 recently.
Loved it, it went like stink, handled really well, was completely flat around corners, & those brakes...wow! No doubt you can hit them a lot later than you can in a Griff & get away with it.
For getting from A to B or chewing up miles & feeling fresh as a daisy I doubt it couldnt be beaten, & one day I might own one.
But would I have one as a toy? Did it stir my soul like the Griff does? Would I sell the Griff for one through choice?
No.
Great car, but no sense of occasion & I certainly didnt feel the need to look over my shoulder for one last look as I walked away from it.
Happy new year mate...get your arse round here for a beer sometime soon.
Nick
You wont believe this but understand where youre coming from after being given the keys to a 911 recently.
Loved it, it went like stink, handled really well, was completely flat around corners, & those brakes...wow! No doubt you can hit them a lot later than you can in a Griff & get away with it.
For getting from A to B or chewing up miles & feeling fresh as a daisy I doubt it couldnt be beaten, & one day I might own one.
But would I have one as a toy? Did it stir my soul like the Griff does? Would I sell the Griff for one through choice?
No.
Great car, but no sense of occasion & I certainly didnt feel the need to look over my shoulder for one last look as I walked away from it.
Happy new year mate...get your arse round here for a beer sometime soon.
Nick
hi Nick, will do, but for a cup of tea as i am on the wagon for three months,had enough last night to last that long!! my head is banging like a barstuard.don't worry i can't afford one anyway! my next car WILL be a tvr. i will just show a little more respect next time i see one before a set of twisties on a damp morning in wales
I've found myself being tempted to the dark side as well and in particular towards a a 997 GT3 / GT3 RS BUT what puts me off is that when I first started to take an interest I was looking at the 997 Gen 1 which by accounts is a noticeable improvement over the 996 version. Then, the 997 Gen 2 comes out which sort of puts the Gen 1's in the shade and for me there's the problem - why don't Porsche just simply make the 997 the best it can be, given current technology, and be done with it and then move on to a NEW model. No, they would rather evolve it which for me is a rather too cynical approach to car development. You see I know where I stand with my T350, there is only 1 T350 series and no generation 2. I bought a red rose variant knowing that it would be the pinnacle of that model. TVR did the decent thing and brought out the Sagaris to take the SP6 forward and though the Sag undoubtedly builds on the T350 / Tam formula it is clearly a sufficiently different beast to the T350 such that I don't feel that I've somehow been short changed and are driving around in a Mk 1 Sagaris. In fact for me the T350 and Sagaris are so different that I would rather spend money upgrading the T350 than change over to the Sag.
ncs said:
Good shout Simon, & well will you ever find a Porker that sounds anything like your T350? 
Are you & Andy coming to the PH meet tomorrow?
Hi Nick and a happy new year to you. Now don't snigger but I'm actually holed up at home at the moment with gout with a comedy sized left toe ! so sadly I doubt i'll be along tomorrow. The doc has given me some tablets which I have to take on the basis of keep going with them until they make you throw up and/or give you the sh*ts - delightful !Are you & Andy coming to the PH meet tomorrow?
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