TVR Sagaris: PH Carpool
TVRs too temperamental for intensive use? Rubbish says a man who's put over 100,000 hard miles on his Sagaris
Car: TVR Sagaris
Owned since: 2007
Previously owned: "Two TVR wedges (one supercharged), four Griffiths and two Cerbera 4.5s."
Predictable choice, given ownership history!
"My last 4.5 Cerb had developed an unhealthy liking for the men with the spanners so it was time to change. TVR was still just making cars and after a lot of time on the net and the phone I found a dealer demonstrator with 10K miles. I thought the Sagaris styling was brilliant and when I drove one I realised just what a step up it was over the Cerbera, especially in the handling department. I must like it as it has now done 138,000 miles."
What I wish I'd known:
"That the '05 engine spec upgrade on the S6 engine had sorted most of the problems - so I was apprehensive. I was reassured by people at the factory that all would be well, but I would have worried less. I really wish I'd realised how vulnerable the undertray beneath the front numberplate is as I would have got one of the stainless steel skidplates fitted. That's a job to be done over the winter after the hole has been filled up!"
This is one well-travelled Sagaris
"It's so rare that no-one knows what it is. I do a lot of work with prestige car clubs and they all love it (it once sprouted Ferrari badges on a FOC Tour). The rasp of the exhaust and the way it echoes off anything solid you happen to be passing. It's a good way of getting to meet people as everyone is curious. You can also get a lot of baggage in it. Then there's the handling - you'd have to be a lunatic to unstick it in the dry and with smooth driving on smooth roads it's just awesome."
Things I hate:
"In winter it takes an age for the oil to warm up - my record is all the way from London to Manchester! I hate the mileage it shows as I'm in no way ready to sell it. There seems to be no easy spot for a CD changer and it doesn't have Bluetooth so I need a radio upgrade - but then it wouldn't be original and it is one of the first cars that were all lined up outside the factory. The one real hate, however, is that graunching noise when you realise you haven't noticed a pothole or a big bump in the road. It doesn't happen often and you just have to get used to the idea that it will ground out a bit."
Stroppy, fragile, unreliable? None of the above
"Other than servicing, it has had a new passenger door window motor, quite a few oil pressure senders. Clutch at 67,000 miles, diff rebuild at about 90K. At 100K we skimmed the front discs which needed new pads as a result although the old ones were only half worn. This year the power steering packed up on a Monday evening and I was due to lead the TVR Spain Tour on the Wednesday! I get all my work done at Central TVR in Stourbridge and turned up on the Tuesday morning at 9:00am and by 6:00pm I was on my way to Portsmouth with a freshly reconditioned rack which was done while I waited. Brilliant! Interestingly they only reset tappets every 24,000 miles instead of the usual 12,000..."
Where I've been:
"It's done over 20 Tours of Spain and Portugal with Drive Espana which I run, several track days at Guadix and it's a regular sight on the Portsmouth ferry. A few years ago at a big Ferrari meet at Silverstone someone posted a wonderful photo of it taken through the rear wing of an F40 - it was on PH for a while but sadly disappeared. Highlight of this year was the May run into Santander with Superdeportivos Cantabria which is a big Spanish Supercar meet every Spring. The Police closed the roads and urged us all (over 100 cars) to go flat out. There was only one TVR and there are pictures on the SDC website. The rest of the time it is used as my daily driver for my training business so it goes to a lot of industrial estates."
Many miles covered, many more to come
"I hope my wife isn't reading this as I have no real plans to sell it - I've been promising it a front end respray for a while and I guess Dom Trickett will be looking at the engine at some stage, but its oil pressure and oil and fuel consumption are just the same as when it was 20,000 miles old so we'll see. Eventually I guess I'll get something extra. DB9s look like good value and so do Corvettes. But then again Les Edgar may surprise us all."
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