£5k Super-Coupes

[Stealthbomber]

....... and smells like glue too?

I suppose this is a cheap shot but, in all honesty, every new TVR I've ever sat in has smelled of fibreglass and every used TVR I've sat in has just smelled damp.

The interior of the Cerbera really is outstandingly, incredibly ugly though.

Oddly enough, the Cerbera I know of is, apparently, a standard car but it has one of those fancy mutli-function Stack digital displays rather than a conventional instrument cluster.

I've asked the owner about this and he, in turn, has asked the specialist garage where he gets the car serviced but nobody seems to know if this was factory-fitted or done by a previous owner (perhaps in an attempt to overcome electrical faults with the instruments?) but nobody seems to know for sure.

The shape of the instrument pod seems exactly the right shape for the Stack MFD but it's not very well fitted.

 

On that note, what's actually going on with TVR these days?

Seemed like only a few years ago they were on top of the world and then they were bankrupt and then some Russian (?) gadgie bought them and made a bit of a cock-up of things and then....?

[Punkypink]

heh that seems to be the usual perceived humor regarding TVRs. Just wondering how true it is.

 

TVR? Its owned as a brand by those Russians but they don't seem to be in production.

 

Sadly, Peter Wheeler died recently =(

[screamin_weasel]

in one of my classic car mags, there were photos of TVR bodyshells sat in a yard going mouldy, obviously production had stopped. bit of a shame, the Sagaris seemed to get a generally good reception with a lot of typical tvr problems ironed out or minimilised, while keeping everything tvr was good at.

 

and it also managed to be just about one of the bext looking vehicles ever created.

 

according to the tvr website they currently produce just 3 cars, the sagaris, tuscan s, and tuscan s convertible. also having a quick shifty through google, they dabbled with some severly limited production cars - im talking 4 or 5 examples - of the t400/440, typhon and typhoon. of which all are very similar to eachother other than the difference in turbos, brakes, slight style changes etc.

 

but yeah, i want a Sagaris. i dont care if it smells like a playschool art lesson and tries to kill me in the wet (im used to that).

 

it looks sexual.

[Azubi]

Doesn't some bloke near Blackpool (Just off the M55 on the way to Kirkham) make them in his rather impressive shed? I thought he had just robbed the sign from the factory when it closed but then I heard that he was actually building the cars there with some of the lads from the factory in Blackpool that closed down.

[snowman]

I guess beauty (of a car interior) is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't understand how someone considering a Mitsubishi GTO can criticise the design of a TVR

 

Each to their own, I guess.

 

Cheers.

[Hammerfall]

I guess beauty (of a car interior) is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't understand how someone considering a Mitsubishi GTO can criticise the design of a TVR

 

Each to their own, I guess.

 

Cheers.

 

Zing.

[Stealthbomber]

I guess beauty (of a car interior) is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't understand how someone considering a Mitsubishi GTO can criticise the design of a TVR

 

Each to their own, I guess.

 

Cheers.

I'd rather be sitting in a moving GTO than sitting in a TVR stopped on the hard-shoulder while I wait for the AA.

 

Seriously, I do love the way most TVRs look on the outside.

About the only thing that does worry me is that they often have huge vents and scoops and, if you look into them, you can often see big lumps of engine or other mechanical bits through them.

I kinda worry that this is one of the reasons they seem to suffer from water damage.

[snowman]

That maybe true, but a Nissan Micra's reliable too and having experienced one of those, I'd sooner be sitting in a sick bucket

 

My point was specifically about the interior - Most Japanese cars of the era you're looking at were unrelenting black plastic (even the expensive leather looks like plastic! )

 

Cheers.

[Stealthbomber]

My point was specifically about the interior - Most Japanese cars of the era you're looking at were unrelenting black plastic (even the expensive leather looks like plastic! )

Indeed.

 

Conversely, of course, it could be argued that the interior of a TVR is vastly inferior to it's contemporaries of the era.

 

The Cerbera is the only TVR that I have real issues with though.

It's basically a very simple interior (very nice carpet, seats and leather) but it just has this weird sort of cave-thing for a centre console and there's absolutely no point to it except to make it hard for the passenger to operate the stereo and create a variety of ways that anything left in there can vanish.

It looks like some kind of giant bee modelled the centre console based on the design of its hive or summat.

[Fizzy]

heh that seems to be the usual perceived humor regarding TVRs. Just wondering how true it is.

Very!

Have 2 friends, 1 a current Cerbera 4.2 owner, the other a former Cerbera 4.5 owner. Lovely looking cars, but reliability is terrible. Both plagued by electrical issues, and it seems that no matter what is wrong, it seems to end up costing about £2k to fix. Never seem to run right for whatever reason, but they DO sound sweet. Went on a tunnel run in London in the 4.2 and it really sounded awesome. Of course, it wouldn't be a TVR if it didn't have some problem, and it did start spluttering on the way home. No good if you've got short legs either (like me) and I couldn't get the drivers seat far enough forward to depress the clutch fully

 

 

SB, are you any closer to deciding what you want?

[shmook]

Doesn't some bloke near Blackpool (Just off the M55 on the way to Kirkham) make them in his rather impressive shed? I thought he had just robbed the sign from the factory when it closed but then I heard that he was actually building the cars there with some of the lads from the factory in Blackpool that closed down.

 

i live a few minutes from there, and thats the first ive heard of it. see the sign all the time, but EVERYONE ive asked hasnt had a clue.

 

cheers for the info.

 

/offtopic. sorry stealth.

[Stealthbomber]

SB, are you any closer to deciding what you want?

I dunno TBH.

 

The main thing that attracts me to the GTO is that you seem to get an awful lot of car for not much money.

With jap cars I can just look at them for what they are.

I mean, I can check the cost of tyres and servicing and know what to expect.

I'm a bit worried that choosing something more "exotic" will increase the potential for big, expensive, faults.

 

/offtopic. sorry stealth.

No problem at all.

 

Genuinely, I'm totally happy for people to shoot the breeze about anything vaguely related at the moment.

Anything that people say might give me a new suggestion for something which I hadn't thought of.

[Fizzy]

That does seem to be what I heard about the GTO, nice when nothing goes wrong, but £££ when it does. That's only what I've heard second hand of course, and I heard similar about Skylines, but with the help of owners clubs, second had parts and specialists, it isn't too bad.

[my_plague_666]

The main thing that attracts me to the GTO is that you seem to get an awful lot of car for not much money.

With jap cars I can just look at them for what they are.

I mean, I can check the cost of tyres and servicing and know what to expect.

I'm a bit worried that choosing something more "exotic" will increase the potential for big, expensive, faults.

 

i repeat, alfa 156 GTA.

based on a couple of people's experiences (not with the GTA but the 2L) they dont fall into the unreliable alfa stereotype.

it's fast, pretty, has 4 doors (while only appearing to have 2) and by owning an alfa you could officially qualify as a true petrolhead

[Stealthbomber]

i repeat, alfa 156 GTA.

based on a couple of people's experiences (not with the GTA but the 2L) they dont fall into the unreliable alfa stereotype.

it's fast, pretty, has 4 doors (while only appearing to have 2) and by owning an alfa you could officially qualify as a true petrolhead

If the 911 Turbo in my garage doesn't already do that I'm not sure an italian saloon car will make any difference.

 

I will have a look at the spec's of the 156 and read some reviews but, considering I'm looking at stuff like GTOs and Skylines, it's gonna have to be pretty flipping special.

[Marlowe]

156 GTA = high insurance bracket, questionable reliability (though albeit nothing like alfas of old), and I think you'll struggle to find a reasonable example for £5k.

 

I looked into them myself before going for the GTI.

 

I do love the TVR and Lotus ethos, but I agree with Stealth - they're an unrealistic fantasy for £5k and don't really fulfil his brief.

[my_plague_666]

it's gone now, but i posted this last page

 

also: http://pistonheads.com/sales/1183591.htm

and while it's not a GTA i did find this. supercharged 2.0, and it's got the facelift for uber mean looking sexyness.

[screamin_weasel]

that alfa looks hot. only thing is a concern of why hes selling it that 'cheap' if so much has been spent on it and its so desirable.

 

also stealth, hope you dont mind, i took the liberty of posting your first post on the triumph forum im on. not quite the same sort of car i know, but petrolheads none the less. heres the first reply :

 

I can recommend the Supra, preferably the twin turbo version although even the normal 3.0 version is pretty quick. My mate has a twin turbo tuned to approx 380bhp, it's insanely fast and never misses a beat. Rear wheel drive so an aftermarket traction control system is quite a useful addition. I agree that the interior isn't great althought there is a whole industry devoted to making them look and feel better.

[Stealthbomber]

TBH, the Supra was really my first choice.

My MR2 has always been faultless, even though it's 16 years old now.

Similar thing with Marlowe's Celica.

Compared to the MR2 and Celica, the Supra seems to be horribly old-fashioned inside though.

[snowman]

I saw a Supra at Silverstone last weekend.

 

All black (outside) it looked pretty good actually, I was quite surprised (they can look a bit dumpy, but black makes it look pretty sleek).

 

Cheers.

[screamin_weasel]

another couple of replies :

 

DO NOT GO FOR THE 3000GT they are far too complex, the brakes are ######, you need to be worlds strongest man to use the clutch and VERY VERY expensive WHEN things go wrong. I also think that they are breathless they really don't go as you would expect them too. One question Have you ever driven a well setup impreza? They are way too much fun to keep your licence and are so easy to use everyday you will fall in love!!

 

BMW 850............ cheap as chips these days.

 

 

 

[Stealthbomber]

Gotta love how people think a GTO is overly-complex and then suggest that a BMW 850 is "cheap as chips".

Do they think a BMW 850 would be cheaper to work on than a GTO?

 

Not really fussed about imprezzas etc.

 

Ages ago I had a Scooby Legacy GT and it was fun but, meh.

It's fine when you're roaring around B-roads in a dangerous and illegal manner but it's not actually enjoyable to drive to Tesco or rumble along a busy A-road at 40mph. Most of the time they're just another Jap saloon car.

[screamin_weasel]

sorry should have mentioned thats 2 different peoples replies.

 

i did mention your 'dislike' of the BMW....

[Marlowe]

Similar thing with Marlowe's Celica.

Compared to the MR2 and Celica, the Supra seems to be horribly old-fashioned inside though.

 

Until I crashed it. Twice. And then had the accident repair firm tear it to shreds with a flatbed truck the day I was due to collect it...

 

But yeah, Toyotas are bomb-proof. I love my GTI and would never go back to a Celica (underpowered, rubbish brakes, cheap interior), but the Celica - and all Toyotas - will always have a soft spot in my heart.