My cousin (now deceased), had a 4.5 Cerbera back in the late 90s.One night he threw me the keys and off we went down the M42 towards the NEC Birmingham as he had had a few beers, anyway, long story short, he said "give it some" as we pulled off from the Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham to get back onto the M42.......into 2nd gear quarter throttle and the back end lit up into a wicked fishtail.What a car.I ride bikes 1000cc up, this car was ballistic.R.I.P Dennis Eyre.Cheers for the vid!
Similar happened when Musk was out showing off his new MCL F1 to mate Peter Thiel. Only he wrecked it - and it was not insured! Thiel said, "show us what it can do". Musk floored it and immediately lost control!
I rebuilt mine, and rebuilt the engine to the 4.7 spec my Self. The block is not different it’s liners and pistons only - it’s not actually a long stroke engine. And the 4.2 inlet does not breath more it’s just got longer tracts. So a whirlwind short ram intake gets you more power. Mine makes 450 and 400lb/ft. They genuinely should never be bought by anybody who does not know cars or that can’t work on cars. Sadly most “car guys” have never even had an engine out. It’s one of the great cars and mechanically little to go wrong. Poor electrics but nothing that can’t be fixed.
These cars haven't dated. They were a classic shape from the start of production and managed to look great even to this day. I'm guessing if the chassis isn't rotten its a very nice car to own.
A Big Thank you Jack for an honest review of my Cerbera, You were so lucky for me to get her out on a wet day to be honest !! .My car is well sorted after long hours and some eye watering bills. Can i just say a big Thank you to Tina, Colin and Matthew Apps at TVRS Sw who look after my Trevors along with many more owners down here in Somerset.
You have a cracking looking car there for definite. If you put new number plates on it today, it would still look like its just been newly launched. Be interesting to hear how you find owning a Cerbera, or what the costs involved are like? Sounds like you have spent a nice bit on its upkeep, but it really shows, it looks to be in very good and healthy condition. Best of luck with it and enjoy it 👍
Great seeing your car! I remember you posted on my channel - I have your numberplate inscribed in my mind! Haha! I am yet to watch this but when I saw a snip I was like "I know that car" 😂 So cool! Right, I will set aside some time to watch this later! 👍😏
Thanks for sharing it with Jack and with us! If these things were put into permanent storage and forgotten it would be a disservice to the people who put their hearts and souls into them.
Absolute cracker. I've always wanted one, in canary yellow, but that's probably a bit idealistic. If I could afford one though, I'm sure I could afford to paint it. Good for you, keeping and looking after such a gorgeous and outrageous motor car. I'm with you regarding the rain thing. Garage in the winter, 2.5k miles in the summer sounds perfect
I owned a 4.5 for a while. I loved that car. It needed a lot addressing niggles etc each service, but it was much more reliable than non-owners would have you believe. It was often carrying a problem like a window which was dodgy, but it very rarely actually broke down and left you stranded. I had a single such issue - a clutch hydraulics issue caused by a so-called professional assembling the slave cylinder and its rubber seals with petroleum grease which dissolved them. It was an easy car to drive, but very demanding to drive fast. You absolutely must be two steps ahead of the car at every moment when trying to press on. It's very progressive when it starts to let go but the dynamic forces are high. When you can spin wheels in 3rd gear in the wet, you need to be judicious in application of throttle as things can go wrong very quickly when there are no electronic incompetence pants to protect you from yourself. Some people can't hack that in a car. Later "4.2" V8s were all 4.5 litre blocks but with the 4.2 induction setup fitted - which the car in the video has. As for the Clarkson video race, it was John Ravenscroft driving - the J in AJP8 - and he put the spectacular success down to a very fortunate launch. Even in the dry it's not an easy car to launch, as is the case with most powerful cars which don't have computers to flatter a crap driver. The car has enough torque to break traction in 2nd in the dry, but you can, in good warm & dry conditions and with warm tyres, get almost full throttle in 1st gear IF you can manage the weight transfer well and load up the back wheels effectively. It's not easy - but it'll make your day when you get it right.
" it was much more reliable than non-owners would have you believe." usually the case , I had a 1985 Lotus Excel and used it every day, never had any bother with it , and two Rover Sterling KV6, the Coupé only had 60k on it so didnt do anything to it , the Fastback however need a new starter and alternator at 167k miles, so unreliable lol , I put it in storage with 189k on it and every thing still working and zero rust, journalists just had a thing for slagging off British cars. Working in a garage for 17 years I can say French and Italian cars are the worst (or best if you want a steady income lol )
@@jamieduff1981 a tvr tuscan s, bought with 10k miles on the clock was owned by my dad, the thing fell to pieces, needed constant repairs that cost a bomb, was about 18 years ago now. His best mate had a TVR cerbera and had constant issues with that too and had to sell it due to the upkeep just being too high. Both him and my dad were on good money so it wasn’t like they were poor. My dad after that bought a 911 carrera 4s which we had for many years with far less issues. TVR are built to the lowest quality, and fall to pieces. A fun car but way overpriced these days for what they are. With the issues my dad and his mate had with theirs, I’m quite baffled to hear you say yours was reliable.
@@jagolago-bob My son had a Porsche 997 as a courtesy car after someone hit the TVR Chimaera he owned at the time (whilst parked!) and all I can say is that, however fast it was, it was so boring inside.
I buy and sell them - my old 4.5 dyno'd at 411 bhp and 500NM - they're wild. The best car you can spend money on. You'd have to spend millions to get anything else that stacks up in each manner, rarity, noise, pace, capability, comfort and grin factor! The club is great, tghe owners rule & yes, you should buy one!
No one, still to this day, makes an interior like a TVR! Pagani aside, but who's spending that kind of money on a car? And the surprise on the Pagani drivers face when your up his arse egging hom on lol, these things were incredible when they were released. Still beautiful cars today.
Living in the US, TVR was always an intriguing car company. They’re simultaneously the coolest and the most hilarious car manufacturer to exist, especially in the Peter Wheeler era, and it’s sad that they now exist in limbo. We never got these cars in the states due to our regulations serving no purpose but to kill anything that’s fun, small, analogue, or any combination of the three. Great video and I hope I can own one of these someday.
@@f.kieranfinney457 Unfortunately, there is criminally less NHTSA oversight on that regard then there should be. It pretty much takes a class-action lawsuit of Pinto proportions to actually get them to do anything.
I saw a few TVR 350’s on the Washington DC beltway during the 1980’s! How they got to the States not sure! But if you have money and lots of it there always a way!
I had a 4.5 Cerb, dyno'd at 407bhp after a few tweaks so it's probably fair to say 420bhp out of the factory was optimistic. That said, had I wanted to go down the route of blueprinting the engine, 450bhp may have been possible but it would have required a higher rev limit. The 4.2 inlet on that 4.5 is likely responsible for it's higher power. The original 4.5 "crossed fingers" inlet was proven later to keep the peak torque lower in the rev range. The shorter inlets moved the same peak torque further up the rev range which = more power, that being (in imperial units) power = (torque x revs)/5252 The harsh sound of the AJP8 is down to the compact angle of the V and the flat plane crank. Ferrari flat plane engines are 90 degree Vs which leads to the firing sequence to be equally-spaced, whereas the Cerb's is 75 degrees, which makes the firing sequence sort of like a heartbeat where pairs of cylinders fire ba-boom, ba-boom and not all 8 firing with equal spacing. I sold mine at a time in my life where I didn't want another project car, mainly over concerns over parts supply (windscreens might be a rarity) however I certainly would consider another one now. They bridge that wonderful space between an out and out track car and a cross country GT.
I heard somewhere that the odd V angle was because they planned a related V12 (the speed12) so had a vee angle between what's ideal for a V8 (90 degrees) and V12 (60 degrees). No idea if that's true.
@@slacko1971 The 'regular' US V8 is fitted with a cross-plane crank which has its crank pins positioned at 90 degrees from one another. A flat plane crank has crank pins that are located at 180 degrees from one another so - a flat-plane crank has all of its crank pins in a single, flat plane. A flat plane-crank is inherently balanced when considering its primary forces, so possesses less rotational inertia because they don't require huge counter weights when compared to an equivalent cross-plane type - which is normally fitted with heavy counter weights to achieve a proper (primary and secondary force) engine balance. As previously mentioned engines fitted with flat-plane cranks have a relatively low rotational inertia so tend to rev up quickly, however, the flat-plane crank's achilles heel is that it 'suffers' from secondary force inbalance - so aren't as smooth as a cross-plane type - hence why they are normally used in 'high end' sports cars and race cars where increased engine acceleration (revability) is paramount and ultra-smooth running less so.
I had a 4.2 97P picked up from new from the factory. Broke down on the way home... Was back with dealer 7 times in the first year after which I sold it as the warranty had expired. Still managed to do 10,000 miles in it. Loved the looks inside and out. Felt special and very different. Never felt that fast though. Smelt of glue and the inside turned into a furnace in the summer with all that glass and the engine in your lap. A/C never worked. Maybe the surviving ones have had all the problems sorted by now. Maybe.
I owned a 2001 for 3 years, only sold due to son going to Unl. It was properly sorted A/C worked and I was so sick of people denigrating them. I have owned several very quick cars but the Cerb was undoubtedly , most fun and the best. RIP wonderful TVR.
I am genuinely delighted that you had a good one. I think the problem is that, given the small number of cars actually made and the numbers of owners, even on this thread, who report problems, that you were fortunate. Having worked in manufacturing, things tend to go wrong either because of design faults, or tightness of manufacturing tolerances. I think I read somewhere that the a/c problem was fixed in later cars by rerouting some of the piping, which in early cars went to close to the engine. However, TVRs were, in general, made to pretty loose tolerances. A car is the sum of it's parts. Some cars will have been made with some or all of the critical parts within tolerance, and will have been generally reliable, but others won't. Hopefully most of those cars will by now have had the faulty parts replaced....@@kevinmaile5873
I bought a new 1972 TVR Vixen and sold my 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (which I miss to this day). The TVR had a TR-6 drivetrain but because of the vehicle only weighing 1,800 lbs., I could still beat just about anything on the road. It was so unique looking, people were always asking what it was. They only made a couple of hundred and only half were sold in the US. Once I even got stopped by a cop so he could find out what it was. Sold it in 1977 for $200 more than I paid for it, and also got a POS 1972 Hornet in the deal.
Nobody could ever accuse TVR of building dull cars! The Cerb is an awesome car, still obscenely fast in 2023. In the real world, there's next to nothing to touch it still.
I am very lucky to have been working at Pinewood Studios when the Cerbera was offered fir test drives. I remember TVR was openly guarded about being a victim of speculative bids that placed orders in anticipation of financial gain with no enthusiasm for driving the beast. At the Studio I was advised how to engage reverse without crunching the gears (by selecting neutral before reverse) so I headed out onto the M40 and immediately was put in mind of the Michael Keaton Batman film which was shooting at the studio at the time for the Cerbera was equally low with equally shallow windows. After the 30 min drive I returned it duly managing reverse without crunching the heats to the TVR representative’s delight. In the end I loved the design, especially the interior, but ultimately preferred my Chimaera - partly due to it being open to the elements and therefore feeling more of a thrill to drive. But that interior remains a highlight - someone equated it to a Salvador Dali painting - well fir me it beat the Italians and Germans - this is British design at its best. TVR was one of the first to adopt aluminium switchgear and the first to sculpt the front sidelight scallops (due to the TVR bosses dog) of which both have been imitated since by major sports car manufacturers. 30
I had one of these back in the day, my wife described it as driving a letter box, it was a lot of fun that V8 but it was no more than a go cart, did create a lot of attention in racing green, it leaked like a sieve after rain and you could not stop the back wheels spinning, nothing could catch it on a dry road
Definitely one of my all time favourite cars! I had already fallen in love with it before that Clarkson video. It is such a beautiful car, cool and crazy interior and absolutely mental engine no matter which version you bought (be that 4.2 or 4.5 Speed Eight or Speed Six) I am not the biggest convertible fan so love this being a hard top adds to my appreciation. TVRs are incredible cars.
As a guy in Texas, of course I've never seen a TVR in the flesh. However, they, like the Morgans, like the Alvises, are fascinating because our little cottage industry vehicles basically ended when emission and safety regs started dominating design. Thanks so much for these TVR videos! Where you drive your cars looks a lot like certain parts of Texas.
@@kyestone8023 I do miss it but at the same time I don’t regret selling it when I did It’s was only 2/3 years old when I bought it and I did give it a hard life but it never let me down and I loved every minute of ownership even done the cannonball run Europe in it But I know if I had I kept it by now it would have cost me a fortune the poorly coated chassis would have had to be replaced/repaired by now and they did have known issues with pretty much everything But with all that said it wouldn’t stop me buying another one now as long as someone else has already done all the usual work
Great review. I love these cars. I bought one with the V8 Rover, tuned for power, in the Chimaera. Weighs 500kg 1000lbs less than a 996 Porsche same power better soundtrack. These cars are FULL of character.
Love these cars but never had one regrettably, an old friend had the Cerbera 4.5 which we drove to LeMans 24hr which was epic! Fantastic review Jack, thank you.
TVR certainly was a quirky manufacture of cars back in the day, I've never driven one but always admired what they managed develop from such a small budget and how they always had a loyal following given the cars were more often than not lacking quality control before customer handover :).
Ah, those memories... i had a Chimaera 450 till 2019 with a front conversion to cerbera 6 eyes front. i miss my Chimi very much. was a head turner here in Germany.
Had my 4.2 for 21 years now. Sublime. A reasonable summation, apart from the 'they used a race engine for that drag race'. That grew from a Chinese wisper , exponentially.
Steve Sutcliffe ran one for a year, from an independent. It was dynoed to one bhp of the power quoted by TVR. At the end of that year it was tested, and proved quicker and faster than the original Autocar road test....that 20.2 seconds to 150mph, and 21.6 seconds for the standing Kilometer. Extrapolating the figures and using basic mathematics, this off the shelf car would prove to be significantly quicker than the 31.2 John Ravenscroft achieved on the Clarkson feature. The opposition were clearly unhappy with the result 😂
I’ve owned my 4.5 for 2 yrs, it’s been really reliable and inexpensive to run. Biggest job so far was replacing an indicator stalk return spring which cost nothing but time (very fiddly). I’ve done several other small repairs myself and enjoyed doing them, would’ve cost a few quid if I couldn’t do it myself tbf. I still can’t get used to cold starts sounding like a bag of spanner’s but once warmed up (oil not water) it drives like a dream, very easy indeed but you’ve got to be careful, the 3 headed dog tries to kill you all the time. Everywhere I go it gets so much attention, young,old,male,female all want to tell me how lovely it is. It’s a tiny car,really low but it’s got plenty of legroom. I drove down to Lands End last summer from the midlands fully expecting to be in pain but it was fine, I got 26mpg too 😊 And you do have to toggle the heater/ac, it’s not so bad on a run but at lower speeds the cabin gets very hot because you’re basically cuddling the gearbox and engine where the exhaust is. £400/yr classic insurance and £26/math tax. 16mpg super unleaded combined but I don’t care a bit. Fantastic motor 😎👌
Great video never saw this vehicle before. I’m 66 live in Charlotte NC. My friend who’s 41 bought a brand new Honda Type R. Took it for a test drive it was spectacular. My friend says to me “I bet you wish there was something like this when you were a kid!” I replied “well you’ve got your Type R but 50 years ago we had the TVR’s!” Always thought the best looking car was the 1970 Shelby Mustang KR500. Now I’m going to have to rethink that.
When they first came out I test drove one from the Westover dealership, now long gone, near Blandford Forum. It was tuneful, with very sharp steering, and contrasting long-travel accelerator to compensate for the absence of traction control. But the thing I remember most was the awesome brakes. I'd argue that like a Mitsubishi Evo it was never a supercar, just very quick for the money, but that doesn't stop it being a great car in its own right. Fun fact to remember when getting in or out: Dawn French was an early customer.
I worked in a TVR dealership back in their heyday. While I had a 4.5 Chimaera myself I always loved the Cerbera. Straight from the factory they could vary quite a bit and in the early days where quite fragile at one low point we have 7 cars all less than 2 years old waiting for engine rebuilds. Good to see the aftermarket guys have sorted the issues now
Which dealer was that? I was a 14 year old lad in 98' but my father was MD of TVR Redhill LTD. Anyway, I went out in a 4:5, and the pops and bangs are still with me to this day 😆 I managed to get my own Cerb 4.5, and it's been about 2.5 years since I purchased it and my god they're awesome.. 😁
@@RobsCars Peninsula Automotive(we where an independent first then main dealer) I did call into Redhill a few times over the years and remember a warm welcome
Love em! And I'm fortunate enough to be in the process of buying one, I've been saving since the day I saw it at the Birmingham motor show, its been a long labour of love!
All I remember about being behind one of these was losing sight of it within seconds into the distance... it left a lasting memory of " what just happened!... where did it go?" 👍
Ahhh Jack, you're such a lucky man! Unlucky slightly, in that you've had some dodgy weather recently in a few drives, preventing you from mashing the throttle. However, and I've said it before. That's almost my dream car....just needs to be in canary yellow. I'd still get one today, if I could. It just looks amazing and the interior, to my eyes, is gorgeous! Sounds like a proper car and goes better than nany other 'proper' cars. An absolute dream......
Thank you for featuring the V8 Cerbera, Jack! I remember hearing in Harry Metcalfe's video on the Jamaican Blue 4.5 Cerbera Red Rose that the SOHC valvetrain was deliberately chosen because Peter Wheeler wanted to keep the engine as compact as possible - and compact it is, which is evident if you've seen engine-out photos of the block.
I think you said it yourself: the engine is that far back precisely because it's a front-mid engine configuration. You don't really need much torque in a car only around a tonne in weight dry. Mine is also a 4.2/4.5, that's often said to be the sweet spot, the bigger engine with the smaller inlet system - could all be BS though, there are so few cars out there, they're almost individual characteristics of each car. There really isn't anything else out there like it.
Great review. You've schooled me again. That is what makes your channel so good. And you delivery is so enthusiastic...without trying to be a comedian. Many thanks.
My favorite TVR. I like the color of this one too. As far as the single cam design, maybe there wasn't enough room in the car? I'm guessing here, obviously.
Oh WOW, nice one. Of course I'm going to put a big like on this review 👍❤ My Cerbera may go against the character of the AJP8 because it has a Chevy LS3 with 500hp and about the same in torque, so I do have that low down surge to shove it down the road. Anyone is welcome to slag me off for doing this.
Brilliant video! Brings back much earlier memories of wanting one of these (was not possible at the time). Now I might be too old for one, but never say never! Thanks again. Mark.
Nobody can test a Cerebra in the wet. A handful could explore one in the dry. Neither of us are in either category. My mate David (a rather quiet chap with a dull job in IT) was in the second. As a passenger, still one of the most invigorating drives in the past 50 years. TBH, I'll leave it that way. But you're right. If I didn't have too many cars, I should buy one. Thanks for the vid, mate.
Same story, my Cerbera was depressingly unreliable and heart breaking to own when l put £42,000 over 25 years ago into this pile of junk. Even the factory couldn't fix it satisfactory. Subsequently I HATE THESE CARS with a passion.
@@thomasbell6655 😂🤣I feel for you! When i was a kid, I'd have given anything for a TVR but, as I get older, the reality of owning one just seems like a headache! Having never owned one, I still adore them!!🤣
Owned one of these when I was younger - a 4.5 in silver with red interior. An absolutely bonkers car! Have had various fast Jags, Porsches and Astons since, but still miss it.
The newer Tuscan is my dream car but it's worth mentioning most of them need or already had an engine rebuilt before 30k miles which should be added to the purchase price. If you're willing to take the risk of course.
Most have now Ben well sorted by enthusiasts, I had mine for two years it had been absolutely perfect history and I never scrimped on maintenance and did 15000 miles, only let me down once and that was just electrical terminal..
Was wondering about the chassis... Had a search, and the naked metalwork is a true masterpiece. This is a serious bit of engineering, they were not just thinking of profits here, but supplying a great and great value vehicle. As usual No.27 delivers the goods on this car. PS. I'm only lukewarm on the styling.
I love the back bone steel tube chassis. All the TVR's right back to the 50's and 60's have this type of super light and super Ridgid chassis. I drove 3000km across New Zealand in the last month in a Chimaera the 2 seat version of this. It's not good on poorly sealed roads... so little suspension travel. But very comfortable seats for even full 8 hour drives. I prefer the venerable Rover V8 TVR sooped-up for the Griff and Chimaera. Very nice sound and very good torque with reliability. The engine weighs less than a 4 cylinder cast iron block! The gear box is the same one most Cobras use and only weighs 35kg!!
What an utterly glorious machine! Apart from the self-grenading TVR engines, these things were so beautiful for the time, sounded beyond glorious, and were fantastic to sit in. A pity they couldn’t sustain production.
What a beautiful beast of a car. Always loved the Cerbera since they came out… I’d need deeper pockets to own and run one though! Best review in ages 👌
Simply an awesome car, Jack. Cars like this that are so special should not get wet, and I mean underneath where rust starts to kill your classic from the inside out. Cars kept dry will definitely last longer.This car is so cool! Thanks.
I love the Cerbera since i saw it in Gran Turismo😅its so beautyful from every angle. No matter in- or outside😍one of my colleages owns one. Really rare here in germany... I discovered your channel with this video and i love the content! Please keep on!🤘🏼🙂
I lusted after one of these when they came out and I still do. That sage green is the best colour for them as well. Very chaotic company which probably helps with making interesting cars, not soulless corporate stuff. I knew some people who built engines for TVR and some of the tales I heard about what used to go on made my toes curl. I must love these cars because I'd even put up with that terrible sounding flat plane V8, shame it doesn't sound like a 500 Griffith.
The MK1 headlights, the colour, the wheels, the 4.5 bottom end with 4.2 intake. The perfect cerbera. I've driven a 2001 red rose and that was sooo fast. The ajp v8 is a midrange engine, and what a brutal midrange! The reason the cerb is so quick is that flat plane engine. It doesn't have heavy counterweights like a normal v8 so it spins up like a motorcycle engine
Awesome car. Thank you for showcasing cars that I have only seen in books and Gran Turismo. Hopefully you cover more of these cars in the future. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
While I was aware of the older TVRs I did not even know the Cerbera until I saw it on wheeler dealers. From the Midninties on I gave much more importance to classic cars. So I did not follow up newer cars anymore. I was stunned seeing the beauty and the raw power of the Cerbera and I fell in love with the car. I bet I would enjoy a rough ride in it. I heard that TVRs are notoriously unreliable and I might not like to own one. But driving one is something I would love very much.
This is not a car this is a Art .. designed by Damian McTaggart, i remember finding out the existence of the TVR (coz im italian) Thanks to Gran Turismo back in the 1997.. 3 TVR to choose GRIFFITH CHIMAERA CERBERA ..and the Cerbera was and still my favourite
thanks for highlighting that fact about the drag race. i was puzzled as to how i pulled away effortlessly towards the end of that race. inilillating the viper
Glad you have got to review one at last Jack, just a shame about the weather to enable you to really feel the force of the Cerbera. Still love mine, 18 years later.
That door; the space between the hinch side of the door and the bodywork, like a gill. Same with the bonnet, beautifull!! A very nice and a bit a mysterious car, I like it!
Love these, ageing well and remember the great coverage at the time - Steve Sutcliffe in Autocar had a long termer and loved it., Also random fact - remember seeing a repeat of the original Grand Designs series and even Kevin McCloud rocks up to the house in one 😂
My 2001 has the standard 4.5 long induction setup and has plenty of torque from under 3000 rpm to past 5000. It definitely doesn’t need revving to do its best work, but if you do rev it, my God it fly’s!
My cousin (now deceased), had a 4.5 Cerbera back in the late 90s.One night he threw me the keys and off we went down the M42 towards the NEC Birmingham as he had had a few beers, anyway, long story short, he said "give it some" as we pulled off from the Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham to get back onto the M42.......into 2nd gear quarter throttle and the back end lit up into a wicked fishtail.What a car.I ride bikes 1000cc up, this car was ballistic.R.I.P Dennis Eyre.Cheers for the vid!
Thanks for the story!!
Similar happened when Musk was out showing off his new MCL F1 to mate Peter Thiel. Only he wrecked it - and it was not insured! Thiel said, "show us what it can do". Musk floored it and immediately lost control!
My all time great poster Car Jack Yes 🙌🏻
Fabricated story.
"Lit up"? Did it have extra wide boy Pakistani neon lights at the back?
I rebuilt mine, and rebuilt the engine to the 4.7 spec my
Self. The block is not different it’s liners and pistons only - it’s not actually a long stroke engine. And the 4.2 inlet does not breath more it’s just got longer tracts. So a whirlwind short ram intake gets you more power. Mine makes 450 and 400lb/ft.
They genuinely should never be bought by anybody who does not know cars or that can’t work on cars. Sadly most “car guys” have never even had an engine out.
It’s one of the great cars and mechanically little to go wrong. Poor electrics but nothing that can’t be fixed.
Are parts easily available?
0:40 SMOOOOOOTH sound edit there
😂😂😂😂😂
I barely noticed 🤣
Well spotted.
i heard it. speaker might have fallen out or something odd.
Lmao 😂😂😂
These cars haven't dated. They were a classic shape from the start of production and managed to look great even to this day. I'm guessing if the chassis isn't rotten its a very nice car to own.
Chassis is all original and in good nick in this one.
Must have in the three days since you posted then...
Except for the interior. It looks like a couch that you'd find in a 80's coke lord Miami compound.
@@collinsnyder8682you say that like it’s a bad thing!
@@collinsnyder8682that sounds like a great interior
Driving a Cerbera, with an accidentally bigger engine, in the wet, along some twisties… whilst presenting! Much respect. And a beautiful car.
A Big Thank you Jack for an honest review of my Cerbera, You were so lucky for me to get her out on a wet day to be honest !! .My car is well sorted after long hours and some eye watering bills.
Can i just say a big Thank you to Tina, Colin and Matthew Apps at TVRS Sw who look after my Trevors along with many more owners down here in Somerset.
You have a cracking looking car there for definite.
If you put new number plates on it today, it would still look like its just
been newly launched.
Be interesting to hear how you find owning a Cerbera, or what the costs involved are like?
Sounds like you have spent a nice bit on its upkeep, but it really shows, it looks to be
in very good and healthy condition.
Best of luck with it and enjoy it 👍
It was a real pleasure Kye!! Loved this car
Great seeing your car! I remember you posted on my channel - I have your numberplate inscribed in my mind! Haha! I am yet to watch this but when I saw a snip I was like "I know that car" 😂 So cool!
Right, I will set aside some time to watch this later! 👍😏
Thanks for sharing it with Jack and with us! If these things were put into permanent storage and forgotten it would be a disservice to the people who put their hearts and souls into them.
Absolute cracker. I've always wanted one, in canary yellow, but that's probably a bit idealistic. If I could afford one though, I'm sure I could afford to paint it. Good for you, keeping and looking after such a gorgeous and outrageous motor car. I'm with you regarding the rain thing. Garage in the winter, 2.5k miles in the summer sounds perfect
I owned a 4.5 for a while. I loved that car. It needed a lot addressing niggles etc each service, but it was much more reliable than non-owners would have you believe. It was often carrying a problem like a window which was dodgy, but it very rarely actually broke down and left you stranded. I had a single such issue - a clutch hydraulics issue caused by a so-called professional assembling the slave cylinder and its rubber seals with petroleum grease which dissolved them. It was an easy car to drive, but very demanding to drive fast. You absolutely must be two steps ahead of the car at every moment when trying to press on. It's very progressive when it starts to let go but the dynamic forces are high. When you can spin wheels in 3rd gear in the wet, you need to be judicious in application of throttle as things can go wrong very quickly when there are no electronic incompetence pants to protect you from yourself. Some people can't hack that in a car. Later "4.2" V8s were all 4.5 litre blocks but with the 4.2 induction setup fitted - which the car in the video has. As for the Clarkson video race, it was John Ravenscroft driving - the J in AJP8 - and he put the spectacular success down to a very fortunate launch. Even in the dry it's not an easy car to launch, as is the case with most powerful cars which don't have computers to flatter a crap driver. The car has enough torque to break traction in 2nd in the dry, but you can, in good warm & dry conditions and with warm tyres, get almost full throttle in 1st gear IF you can manage the weight transfer well and load up the back wheels effectively. It's not easy - but it'll make your day when you get it right.
very good comment and spot on.
" it was much more reliable than non-owners would have you believe." usually the case , I had a 1985 Lotus Excel and used it every day, never had any bother with it , and two Rover Sterling KV6, the Coupé only had 60k on it so didnt do anything to it , the Fastback however need a new starter and alternator at 167k miles, so unreliable lol , I put it in storage with 189k on it and every thing still working and zero rust, journalists just had a thing for slagging off British cars. Working in a garage for 17 years I can say French and Italian cars are the worst (or best if you want a steady income lol )
TVR reliable? Hahahahaha
@@ESKATEUK which did you own and what sort of condition was it in when you bought it?
@@jamieduff1981 a tvr tuscan s, bought with 10k miles on the clock was owned by my dad, the thing fell to pieces, needed constant repairs that cost a bomb, was about 18 years ago now. His best mate had a TVR cerbera and had constant issues with that too and had to sell it due to the upkeep just being too high. Both him and my dad were on good money so it wasn’t like they were poor. My dad after that bought a 911 carrera 4s which we had for many years with far less issues. TVR are built to the lowest quality, and fall to pieces. A fun car but way overpriced these days for what they are. With the issues my dad and his mate had with theirs, I’m quite baffled to hear you say yours was reliable.
TVRs of that period had gorgeous interiors. They really knew how to make them look special, unlike almost every other low volume manufacturer.
They had the best interiors of all cars, in my opinion. Ferrari and Porsche could never compete on style.
@@jagolago-bob My son had a Porsche 997 as a courtesy car after someone hit the TVR Chimaera he owned at the time (whilst parked!) and all I can say is that, however fast it was, it was so boring inside.
...ahahahahahaha
@@InDie_Anna.Jones.338 Nervous breakdown?
Looks like the interiour is made of melting marshmallows.
I buy and sell them - my old 4.5 dyno'd at 411 bhp and 500NM - they're wild. The best car you can spend money on. You'd have to spend millions to get anything else that stacks up in each manner, rarity, noise, pace, capability, comfort and grin factor! The club is great, tghe owners rule & yes, you should buy one!
I love that curvy, sort of animalistic, almost alien-like design.
Wild interior.
A flat plain crank...
I want one badly.
No one, still to this day, makes an interior like a TVR! Pagani aside, but who's spending that kind of money on a car? And the surprise on the Pagani drivers face when your up his arse egging hom on lol, these things were incredible when they were released. Still beautiful cars today.
Living in the US, TVR was always an intriguing car company. They’re simultaneously the coolest and the most hilarious car manufacturer to exist, especially in the Peter Wheeler era, and it’s sad that they now exist in limbo. We never got these cars in the states due to our regulations serving no purpose but to kill anything that’s fun, small, analogue, or any combination of the three.
Great video and I hope I can own one of these someday.
Except to keep passengers alive of course. Not important….
I remember seeing TVRs in the US. They were powered by a Triumph straight 6 or a small Ford V8 if I remember correctly.
@@allareasindex7984 Yeah we did get just about everything up until the Tasmin and 350i, but sadly not the Wheeler cars.
@@f.kieranfinney457 Unfortunately, there is criminally less NHTSA oversight on that regard then there should be. It pretty much takes a class-action lawsuit of Pinto proportions to actually get them to do anything.
I saw a few TVR 350’s on the Washington DC beltway during the 1980’s! How they got to the States not sure! But if you have money and lots of it there always a way!
I had a 4.5 Cerb, dyno'd at 407bhp after a few tweaks so it's probably fair to say 420bhp out of the factory was optimistic. That said, had I wanted to go down the route of blueprinting the engine, 450bhp may have been possible but it would have required a higher rev limit.
The 4.2 inlet on that 4.5 is likely responsible for it's higher power. The original 4.5 "crossed fingers" inlet was proven later to keep the peak torque lower in the rev range. The shorter inlets moved the same peak torque further up the rev range which = more power, that being (in imperial units) power = (torque x revs)/5252
The harsh sound of the AJP8 is down to the compact angle of the V and the flat plane crank. Ferrari flat plane engines are 90 degree Vs which leads to the firing sequence to be equally-spaced, whereas the Cerb's is 75 degrees, which makes the firing sequence sort of like a heartbeat where pairs of cylinders fire ba-boom, ba-boom and not all 8 firing with equal spacing.
I sold mine at a time in my life where I didn't want another project car, mainly over concerns over parts supply (windscreens might be a rarity) however I certainly would consider another one now. They bridge that wonderful space between an out and out track car and a cross country GT.
I heard somewhere that the odd V angle was because they planned a related V12 (the speed12) so had a vee angle between what's ideal for a V8 (90 degrees) and V12 (60 degrees). No idea if that's true.
What does the term "Flat plane crank" actually mean would you know?
@@slacko1971 The 'regular' US V8 is fitted with a cross-plane crank which has its crank pins positioned at 90 degrees from one another. A flat plane crank has crank pins that are located at 180 degrees from one another so - a flat-plane crank has all of its crank pins in a single, flat plane. A flat plane-crank is inherently balanced when considering its primary forces, so possesses less rotational inertia because they don't require huge counter weights when compared to an equivalent cross-plane type - which is normally fitted with heavy counter weights to achieve a proper (primary and secondary force) engine balance. As previously mentioned engines fitted with flat-plane cranks have a relatively low rotational inertia so tend to rev up quickly, however, the flat-plane crank's achilles heel is that it 'suffers' from secondary force inbalance - so aren't as smooth as a cross-plane type - hence why they are normally used in 'high end' sports cars and race cars where increased engine acceleration (revability) is paramount and ultra-smooth running less so.
@@georgebettiol8338 Wow, thankyou, what a fantastic explanation.Much appreciated.
I had a 4.2 97P picked up from new from the factory. Broke down on the way home... Was back with dealer 7 times in the first year after which I sold it as the warranty had expired. Still managed to do 10,000 miles in it.
Loved the looks inside and out. Felt special and very different. Never felt that fast though. Smelt of glue and the inside turned into a furnace in the summer with all that glass and the engine in your lap. A/C never worked.
Maybe the surviving ones have had all the problems sorted by now. Maybe.
I owned a 2001 for 3 years, only sold due to son going to Unl. It was properly sorted A/C worked and I was so sick of people denigrating them. I have owned several very quick cars but the Cerb was undoubtedly , most fun and the best. RIP wonderful TVR.
completely agree@@kevinmaile5873
I drive mine this summer between 35°c and 45°c in comfortable cool interior without overeating and with great pleasure.
I am genuinely delighted that you had a good one. I think the problem is that, given the small number of cars actually made and the numbers of owners, even on this thread, who report problems, that you were fortunate. Having worked in manufacturing, things tend to go wrong either because of design faults, or tightness of manufacturing tolerances. I think I read somewhere that the a/c problem was fixed in later cars by rerouting some of the piping, which in early cars went to close to the engine. However, TVRs were, in general, made to pretty loose tolerances. A car is the sum of it's parts. Some cars will have been made with some or all of the critical parts within tolerance, and will have been generally reliable, but others won't. Hopefully most of those cars will by now have had the faulty parts replaced....@@kevinmaile5873
I bought a new 1972 TVR Vixen and sold my 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (which I miss to this day). The TVR had a TR-6 drivetrain but because of the vehicle only weighing 1,800 lbs., I could still beat just about anything on the road. It was so unique looking, people were always asking what it was. They only made a couple of hundred and only half were sold in the US. Once I even got stopped by a cop so he could find out what it was. Sold it in 1977 for $200 more than I paid for it, and also got a POS 1972 Hornet in the deal.
TVR has always been an interesting car company. They made unique cars that were far from unconventional. Thanks Jack!
Nobody could ever accuse TVR of building dull cars! The Cerb is an awesome car, still obscenely fast in 2023. In the real world, there's next to nothing to touch it still.
Timeless cars, I know they can be troublesome, but I ran a Griff for 13 years and 90k with relatively little trouble.
I think most are sorted by now but yes.. they can be tricky!
I am very lucky to have been working at Pinewood Studios when the Cerbera was offered fir test drives. I remember TVR was openly guarded about being a victim of speculative bids that placed orders in anticipation of financial gain with no enthusiasm for driving the beast. At the Studio I was advised how to engage reverse without crunching the gears (by selecting neutral before reverse) so I headed out onto the M40 and immediately was put in mind of the Michael Keaton Batman film which was shooting at the studio at the time for the Cerbera was equally low with equally shallow windows. After the 30 min drive I returned it duly managing reverse without crunching the heats to the TVR representative’s delight. In the end I loved the design, especially the interior, but ultimately preferred my Chimaera - partly due to it being open to the elements and therefore feeling more of a thrill to drive. But that interior remains a highlight - someone equated it to a Salvador Dali painting - well fir me it beat the Italians and Germans - this is British design at its best. TVR was one of the first to adopt aluminium switchgear and the first to sculpt the front sidelight scallops (due to the TVR bosses dog) of which both have been imitated since by major sports car manufacturers. 30
I had one of these back in the day, my wife described it as driving a letter box, it was a lot of fun that V8 but it was no more than a go cart, did create a lot of attention in racing green, it leaked like a sieve after rain and you could not stop the back wheels spinning, nothing could catch it on a dry road
The Cerbera, in that colour, was my dream car when I was coming up! Great to see you review it. Thanks!
Definitely one of my all time favourite cars! I had already fallen in love with it before that Clarkson video. It is such a beautiful car, cool and crazy interior and absolutely mental engine no matter which version you bought (be that 4.2 or 4.5 Speed Eight or Speed Six) I am not the biggest convertible fan so love this being a hard top adds to my appreciation. TVRs are incredible cars.
What’s not to love about this car,absolutely lovely and such a shame they don’t exist any more.love all the crazy quirky features just brilliant 😊
As a guy in Texas, of course I've never seen a TVR in the flesh. However, they, like the Morgans, like the Alvises, are fascinating because our little cottage industry vehicles basically ended when emission and safety regs started dominating design. Thanks so much for these TVR videos! Where you drive your cars looks a lot like certain parts of Texas.
One of the best cars I’ve ever owned
I miss my old 4.2 cerbera no car would make you feel more alive like that would
Agreed, wont ever sell mine as i know full well later on in life i'd regret that decision.
@@kyestone8023 I do miss it but at the same time I don’t regret selling it when I did
It’s was only 2/3 years old when I bought it and I did give it a hard life but it never let me down and I loved every minute of ownership even done the cannonball run Europe in it
But I know if I had I kept it by now it would have cost me a fortune the poorly coated chassis would have had to be replaced/repaired by now and they did have known issues with pretty much everything
But with all that said it wouldn’t stop me buying another one now as long as someone else has already done all the usual work
Amen to that.@@essexboydave
Still think that’s one of the prettiest cars ever made and would love one Jack wet road rear drive and filming you deserve a knighthood 👍🏻🇬🇧
These cars are really something else. The dramatic design - inside and out - just beats everything else on the road.
Great review. I love these cars. I bought one with the V8 Rover, tuned for power, in the Chimaera. Weighs 500kg 1000lbs less than a 996 Porsche same power better soundtrack. These cars are FULL of character.
I love all TVR`s but the Cerbera has been my favourite since it came out.
Love the passion involved in making these superb quirky cars in a shed in Blackpool
Hard to imagine this happening again but never say never!
Love these cars but never had one regrettably, an old friend had the Cerbera 4.5 which we drove to LeMans 24hr which was epic!
Fantastic review Jack, thank you.
Stunning looking car,. I grew up in Ireland and as a teenage I saw one driving along a narrow country roads one of the best car moments ever.
Surprised he didn’t give Harry a wave doing a test drive in the other direction!😂
I did my apprenticeship next door to TVR in Bispham, loved seeing prototypes ripping up the industrial estate on a day to day basis.
TVR certainly was a quirky manufacture of cars back in the day, I've never driven one but always admired what they managed develop from such a small budget and how they always had a loyal following given the cars were more often than not lacking quality control before customer handover :).
Absolutely stunning! More videos with TVR please.
Ah, those memories... i had a Chimaera 450 till 2019 with a front conversion to cerbera 6 eyes front. i miss my Chimi very much. was a head turner here in Germany.
Had my 4.2 for 21 years now. Sublime. A reasonable summation, apart from the 'they used a race engine for that drag race'. That grew from a Chinese wisper , exponentially.
but would kinda make sense at every level :) - That was one helluva trouncing of respected cars ;)
Steve Sutcliffe ran one for a year, from an independent. It was dynoed to one bhp of the power quoted by TVR. At the end of that year it was tested, and proved quicker and faster than the original Autocar road test....that 20.2 seconds to 150mph, and 21.6 seconds for the standing Kilometer. Extrapolating the figures and using basic mathematics, this off the shelf car would prove to be significantly quicker than the 31.2 John Ravenscroft achieved on the Clarkson feature. The opposition were clearly unhappy with the result 😂
TVR is just brilliant, they sure went out with a bang
I’ve owned my 4.5 for 2 yrs, it’s been really reliable and inexpensive to run. Biggest job so far was replacing an indicator stalk return spring which cost nothing but time (very fiddly). I’ve done several other small repairs myself and enjoyed doing them, would’ve cost a few quid if I couldn’t do it myself tbf. I still can’t get used to cold starts sounding like a bag of spanner’s but once warmed up (oil not water) it drives like a dream, very easy indeed but you’ve got to be careful, the 3 headed dog tries to kill you all the time. Everywhere I go it gets so much attention, young,old,male,female all want to tell me how lovely it is. It’s a tiny car,really low but it’s got plenty of legroom. I drove down to Lands End last summer from the midlands fully expecting to be in pain but it was fine, I got 26mpg too 😊
And you do have to toggle the heater/ac, it’s not so bad on a run but at lower speeds the cabin gets very hot because you’re basically cuddling the gearbox and engine where the exhaust is. £400/yr classic insurance and £26/math tax. 16mpg super unleaded combined but I don’t care a bit. Fantastic motor 😎👌
I’ve lived within a couple miles of the old factory all my life. Used to see them around daily. Yellow Cerbera’s were always my favourite to spot 😃
I live local too and know half a dozen lads who worked there.
The central vent makes loads of sense. Nice cooling ac on the face without getting cold hands.
Great video never saw this vehicle before. I’m 66 live in Charlotte NC. My friend who’s 41 bought a brand new Honda Type R. Took it for a test drive it was spectacular. My friend says to me “I bet you wish there was something like this when you were a kid!” I replied “well you’ve got your Type R but 50 years ago we had the TVR’s!” Always thought the best looking car was the 1970 Shelby Mustang KR500. Now I’m going to have to rethink that.
When they first came out I test drove one from the Westover dealership, now long gone, near Blandford Forum. It was tuneful, with very sharp steering, and contrasting long-travel accelerator to compensate for the absence of traction control. But the thing I remember most was the awesome brakes. I'd argue that like a Mitsubishi Evo it was never a supercar, just very quick for the money, but that doesn't stop it being a great car in its own right. Fun fact to remember when getting in or out: Dawn French was an early customer.
Lol the Vicar of Dibley
I worked in a TVR dealership back in their heyday. While I had a 4.5 Chimaera myself I always loved the Cerbera. Straight from the factory they could vary quite a bit and in the early days where quite fragile at one low point we have 7 cars all less than 2 years old waiting for engine rebuilds. Good to see the aftermarket guys have sorted the issues now
Which dealer was that? I was a 14 year old lad in 98' but my father was MD of TVR Redhill LTD. Anyway, I went out in a 4:5, and the pops and bangs are still with me to this day 😆 I managed to get my own Cerb 4.5, and it's been about 2.5 years since I purchased it and my god they're awesome.. 😁
@@RobsCars Peninsula Automotive(we where an independent first then main dealer) I did call into Redhill a few times over the years and remember a warm welcome
Cerbera, chimera and Griffith. Came in 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 V8’s.
Broke down every day but what a sound. Decent interior too
This car is a legend. Here in Los Angeles we only had them on the video game Grand Tourismo from the early 2000s. Great review!
Love em! And I'm fortunate enough to be in the process of buying one, I've been saving since the day I saw it at the Birmingham motor show, its been a long labour of love!
All I remember about being behind one of these was losing sight of it within seconds into the distance... it left a lasting memory of " what just happened!... where did it go?" 👍
Ahhh Jack, you're such a lucky man! Unlucky slightly, in that you've had some dodgy weather recently in a few drives, preventing you from mashing the throttle. However, and I've said it before. That's almost my dream car....just needs to be in canary yellow. I'd still get one today, if I could. It just looks amazing and the interior, to my eyes, is gorgeous! Sounds like a proper car and goes better than nany other 'proper' cars. An absolute dream......
Thank you for featuring the V8 Cerbera, Jack!
I remember hearing in Harry Metcalfe's video on the Jamaican Blue 4.5 Cerbera Red Rose that the SOHC valvetrain was deliberately chosen because Peter Wheeler wanted to keep the engine as compact as possible - and compact it is, which is evident if you've seen engine-out photos of the block.
I think you said it yourself: the engine is that far back precisely because it's a front-mid engine configuration. You don't really need much torque in a car only around a tonne in weight dry. Mine is also a 4.2/4.5, that's often said to be the sweet spot, the bigger engine with the smaller inlet system - could all be BS though, there are so few cars out there, they're almost individual characteristics of each car. There really isn't anything else out there like it.
I consider the Dodge Viper to be in a similar category, an exhilarating and thrilling drive where you are very likely to run out of talent.
My Uncle had one of these new. I was a ten year old lad. Sitting in it for the first time is a core memory of mine.
Great review. You've schooled me again. That is what makes your channel so good. And you delivery is so enthusiastic...without trying to be a comedian. Many thanks.
Wow, thank you!
My favorite TVR. I like the color of this one too. As far as the single cam design, maybe there wasn't enough room in the car? I'm guessing here, obviously.
Silky smooth overdub insert, there 😅 Great video as always, Jack. I adore the positivity and the enthusiasm. And the car as well.
Knew a lad in the army who had the first 4.5 in Germany. Got involved in a runway photo shoot for TVR where he topped 180mph.
Great piece of British madness! I love everything that TVR stood (stand) for! 😍😊
Oh WOW, nice one.
Of course I'm going to put a big like on this review 👍❤
My Cerbera may go against the character of the AJP8 because it has a Chevy LS3 with 500hp and about the same in torque, so I do have that low down surge to shove it down the road. Anyone is welcome to slag me off for doing this.
I'm sure you're happy with the results! It must be an absolute ballistic missile!
Brilliant video! Brings back much earlier memories of wanting one of these (was not possible at the time). Now I might be too old for one, but never say never! Thanks again. Mark.
Peter Wheeler's best creation. Still a formidable machine. I so want one.
..that, ..and the pre-cat Griff :)
Nobody can test a Cerebra in the wet. A handful could explore one in the dry. Neither of us are in either category. My mate David (a rather quiet chap with a dull job in IT) was in the second. As a passenger, still one of the most invigorating drives in the past 50 years. TBH, I'll leave it that way. But you're right. If I didn't have too many cars, I should buy one. Thanks for the vid, mate.
I knew someone who had one of these, it spent half of it's life being repaired.
However it apparently managed 150mph on the Kenilworth road !
Same story, my Cerbera was depressingly unreliable and heart breaking to own when l put £42,000 over 25 years ago into this pile of junk. Even the factory couldn't fix it satisfactory. Subsequently I HATE THESE CARS with a passion.
@@thomasbell6655 one day you might get over it? :)
@@thomasbell6655 😂🤣I feel for you!
When i was a kid, I'd have given anything for a TVR but, as I get older, the reality of owning one just seems like a headache!
Having never owned one, I still adore them!!🤣
@@thomasbell6655 Well go and buy something else and leave them to those of us who love them.
Owned one of these when I was younger - a 4.5 in silver with red interior. An absolutely bonkers car! Have had various fast Jags, Porsches and Astons since, but still miss it.
Such a shame that we lost TVR as a company. They made some beautiful, crazy and deadly cars. ❤
The newer Tuscan is my dream car but it's worth mentioning most of them need or already had an engine rebuilt before 30k miles which should be added to the purchase price. If you're willing to take the risk of course.
Most have now Ben well sorted by enthusiasts, I had mine for two years it had been absolutely perfect history and I never scrimped on maintenance and did 15000 miles, only let me down once and that was just electrical terminal..
25 years ago i use to work outside and i would hear a car from about 2 miles away,the cerbera sounds lovely
Was wondering about the chassis... Had a search, and the naked metalwork is a true masterpiece. This is a serious bit of engineering, they were not just thinking of profits here, but supplying a great and great value vehicle. As usual No.27 delivers the goods on this car. PS. I'm only lukewarm on the styling.
I love the back bone steel tube chassis. All the TVR's right back to the 50's and 60's have this type of super light and super Ridgid chassis. I drove 3000km across New Zealand in the last month in a Chimaera the 2 seat version of this. It's not good on poorly sealed roads... so little suspension travel. But very comfortable seats for even full 8 hour drives. I prefer the venerable Rover V8 TVR sooped-up for the Griff and Chimaera. Very nice sound and very good torque with reliability. The engine weighs less than a 4 cylinder cast iron block! The gear box is the same one most Cobras use and only weighs 35kg!!
Very, very, very cool!@@gairnmclennan5876
What an utterly glorious machine! Apart from the self-grenading TVR engines, these things were so beautiful for the time, sounded beyond glorious, and were fantastic to sit in. A pity they couldn’t sustain production.
I've had my TVR tuscan for 10 years straight 6 ajp engine absolutely no problems, if you want a drive please let me know
What a beautiful beast of a car. Always loved the Cerbera since they came out… I’d need deeper pockets to own and run one though! Best review in ages 👌
Simply an awesome car, Jack. Cars like this that are so special should not get wet, and I mean underneath where rust starts to kill your classic from the inside out. Cars kept dry will definitely last longer.This car is so cool! Thanks.
I love the Cerbera since i saw it in Gran Turismo😅its so beautyful from every angle. No matter in- or outside😍one of my colleages owns one. Really rare here in germany...
I discovered your channel with this video and i love the content! Please keep on!🤘🏼🙂
What a beast. Must say, that interior is so lovely.
They made a straight six and a flatplane V8? It sounds like they had modest aspirations to develop both engines into a V-12.
I lusted after one of these when they came out and I still do.
That sage green is the best colour for them as well.
Very chaotic company which probably helps with making interesting cars, not soulless corporate stuff.
I knew some people who built engines for TVR and some of the tales I heard about what used to go on made my toes curl.
I must love these cars because I'd even put up with that terrible sounding flat plane V8, shame it doesn't sound like a 500 Griffith.
The MK1 headlights, the colour, the wheels, the 4.5 bottom end with 4.2 intake. The perfect cerbera.
I've driven a 2001 red rose and that was sooo fast. The ajp v8 is a midrange engine, and what a brutal midrange!
The reason the cerb is so quick is that flat plane engine. It doesn't have heavy counterweights like a normal v8 so it spins up like a motorcycle engine
Awesome car. Thank you for showcasing cars that I have only seen in books and Gran Turismo. Hopefully you cover more of these cars in the future. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
I see one back in the day, it was making loads of noise but going nowhere, definitely something wasn't right, but I love these cars.
While I was aware of the older TVRs I did not even know the Cerbera until I saw it on wheeler dealers.
From the Midninties on I gave much more importance to classic cars. So I did not follow up newer cars anymore. I was stunned seeing the beauty and the raw power of the Cerbera and I fell in love with the car. I bet I would enjoy a rough ride in it. I heard that TVRs are notoriously unreliable and I might not like to own one. But driving one is something I would love very much.
What a wonderful car, and that example seems in perfect condition. Great video, cheers Jack.
This is not a car this is a Art .. designed by Damian McTaggart, i remember finding out the existence of the TVR (coz im italian) Thanks to Gran Turismo back in the 1997.. 3 TVR to choose GRIFFITH CHIMAERA CERBERA ..and the Cerbera was and still my favourite
They're just art... having seen a black one in SF Years ago ... Stunning to see on the road
Beast. And a seemingly very sorted example too. Utterly nuts and thanks to the owner for sharing on a wet day
The interior looks futuristic . Never heard of this car but I’m now a fan.
Such a lovely car. Quirky as only TVR can be but timeless. Glad you kept it together Jack. 👍👍
thanks for highlighting that fact about the drag race. i was puzzled as to how i pulled away effortlessly towards the end of that race. inilillating the viper
Still on my list of cars to own, was my dream car back in the 90s. The interior was a work of art.
that good not lining up at all with the body panels is just perfect.
Glad you have got to review one at last Jack, just a shame about the weather to enable you to really feel the force of the Cerbera. Still love mine, 18 years later.
It appears the Cerbera was quintessentialy British in all the best ways. Quirky design features but altogether something that works.
That door; the space between the hinch side of the door and the bodywork, like a gill. Same with the bonnet, beautifull!!
A very nice and a bit a mysterious car, I like it!
saves worrying about too many shut lines...that will be Peter then! ;)
Thank you for the Video. Just to make clear, the AJP Speed Eight doesn't had a dry sump
I used to work for a TVR specialist. When these were new you could spec them with a recaro baby bucket seat.
Love these, ageing well and remember the great coverage at the time - Steve Sutcliffe in Autocar had a long termer and loved it., Also random fact - remember seeing a repeat of the original Grand Designs series and even Kevin McCloud rocks up to the house in one 😂
Always loved the look of the Cerbera, and in that colour it's stunning.
TVR's is just one of those cars that makes me smiles.
Loved the Cerbera back in the day! Epic cars! 😎
My 2001 has the standard 4.5 long induction setup and has plenty of torque from under 3000 rpm to past 5000. It definitely doesn’t need revving to do its best work, but if you do rev it, my God it fly’s!