Calling Shnozz
Discussion
Or anyone with time to write a long drively post, and feed my cerbera comments hungry mind.
I went in one once, got me onto TVR, but its been so long (the whole experience was so surreal) I cant remember.
What is a cerbera ownership like, from the drivers point of view (positive side of things only) compared to the V8S?
Looks, how does it feel, visability, comments/attention, power.
[traitors comments]I love my V8S, but cant stop thinking about cerbera ownership [/traitors comments](maybe next year, if Im really lucky & biznis goes well...i hope)
If you drive a cerb, is the feeling that of there really and truly isnt anything else better? How much bigger is the grin factor.
I think I know the answers, just wanted to gass, hear opinions on their looks, road presence, ownership etc.
I went in one once, got me onto TVR, but its been so long (the whole experience was so surreal) I cant remember.
What is a cerbera ownership like, from the drivers point of view (positive side of things only) compared to the V8S?
Looks, how does it feel, visability, comments/attention, power.
[traitors comments]I love my V8S, but cant stop thinking about cerbera ownership [/traitors comments](maybe next year, if Im really lucky & biznis goes well...i hope)
If you drive a cerb, is the feeling that of there really and truly isnt anything else better? How much bigger is the grin factor.
I think I know the answers, just wanted to gass, hear opinions on their looks, road presence, ownership etc.
Hi Bob, not really able to comment, seeing as I dont own a cerbera. However, Cerber450 is a good mate of mine who lives just down the road and spend a fair bit of time in and around cerbs.
Its fast. Really fast. Forget the V8S, forget the Chims, Griffs etc. Its another league. Craig was racing his around Knockhill the other weekend. It was wet so the Nos was left off, so its a standard(ish) 4.5 cerb. In the wet, ie the worse conditions possible for any TVR. He destroyed a Countach, he squeezed past an F40. He couldnt get past a Diablo SV, who was using traction control. Its that fast.
The presence is huge. Its just a mean SOAB. People stop, stare and get out of the way. Perhaps not so much as a Tuscan, but its not as outrageous in its looks.
Its comfy, the ride is better than an S, although to be fair the S comes second to most TVRs in the ride quality, albeit better than others in terms of feedback. Other than that, its expensive if it goes wrong, and if you think your V8S is expensive to run....
They reckon a Griff/Chim/V8S cost about 50% more to run than a V6S. They reckon that a cerb costs double to run than a Rover V8 car. It comes at a price.
The engine responds differently in terms of the rev range. Pootle along using low revs and its not going to set the world alight. The lazy Rover V8 can pull like a train from low revs, and there isnt much point revving past 4250. The AJP is different to that and the SP6 even more so, the serious power comes higher up the range.
The view from the inside is like a post box, which I find a bit different to adjust to.
But its simply awesome. Did I mention its fast....
Its fast. Really fast. Forget the V8S, forget the Chims, Griffs etc. Its another league. Craig was racing his around Knockhill the other weekend. It was wet so the Nos was left off, so its a standard(ish) 4.5 cerb. In the wet, ie the worse conditions possible for any TVR. He destroyed a Countach, he squeezed past an F40. He couldnt get past a Diablo SV, who was using traction control. Its that fast.
The presence is huge. Its just a mean SOAB. People stop, stare and get out of the way. Perhaps not so much as a Tuscan, but its not as outrageous in its looks.
Its comfy, the ride is better than an S, although to be fair the S comes second to most TVRs in the ride quality, albeit better than others in terms of feedback. Other than that, its expensive if it goes wrong, and if you think your V8S is expensive to run....
They reckon a Griff/Chim/V8S cost about 50% more to run than a V6S. They reckon that a cerb costs double to run than a Rover V8 car. It comes at a price.
The engine responds differently in terms of the rev range. Pootle along using low revs and its not going to set the world alight. The lazy Rover V8 can pull like a train from low revs, and there isnt much point revving past 4250. The AJP is different to that and the SP6 even more so, the serious power comes higher up the range.
The view from the inside is like a post box, which I find a bit different to adjust to.
But its simply awesome. Did I mention its fast....
Cheers Shnozz 
I read your earlier comments about Cerbera owners having little else to aspire to. I wonder why the Tuscan and other TVR's dont have the same appeal - I dont know if anyone else shares that view.
Does 4 seconds to 60 feel that much faster than 5? Is the cerb lower/lighter, and in terms of reliability, how does the AJP block compare to the Rover?
>> Edited by ukbob on Monday 4th October 23:29
I read your earlier comments about Cerbera owners having little else to aspire to. I wonder why the Tuscan and other TVR's dont have the same appeal - I dont know if anyone else shares that view.
Does 4 seconds to 60 feel that much faster than 5? Is the cerb lower/lighter, and in terms of reliability, how does the AJP block compare to the Rover?
>> Edited by ukbob on Monday 4th October 23:29
ukbob said:
Cheers Shnozz
I read your earlier comments about Cerbera owners having little else to aspire to. I wonder why the Tuscan and other TVR's dont have the same appeal - I dont know if anyone else shares that view.
Does 4 seconds to 60 feel that much faster than 5? Is the cerb lower/lighter, and in terms of reliability, how does the AJP block compare to the Rover?
>> Edited by ukbob on Monday 4th October 23:29
Hi Rob,
Were you thinking of "Tripps", he's recently sold his S and bought a lovely Cerbera. Post him a thread on general gassing or the Cerbie forum and I'm sure he'll be only too happy to let you know how it feels to own one.
ukbob said:
Cheers Shnozz
I read your earlier comments about Cerbera owners having little else to aspire to. I wonder why the Tuscan and other TVR's dont have the same appeal - I dont know if anyone else shares that view.
Does 4 seconds to 60 feel that much faster than 5? Is the cerb lower/lighter, and in terms of reliability, how does the AJP block compare to the Rover?
well none of my mates with cerbs have had any great engine woes, all of them being AJP rather than SP6. A few clutch issues etc but nothing out of the norm. General research suggests that the AJP isnt quite as durable as the RV8, but then its a race engine for the road, not an old fashionned 40 year old american engine. Lets face it, although TVRs are fast due to weight/power ratio, 240bhp from 4 litres means its pretty unstressed so can do 100k+ with no worries. I certainly wouldnt say the AJP was fragile, but there have been the occasional issue, perhaps more so than the RV8 owners.
Don't forget the insurance Rob. At your current premium a Cerbie could push it into the astronomical!! A bu$$er I know as if I didn't have the insurance to cover then I would be on a Griff by now. Having been in a Cerbie at 150mph, it's plenty quick, but it didn't feel as exciting as the S. Where the S felt like you were giving it some the Cerbie felt bored. This is all good when you are taking corners at 90 and the S is stuggling to get to 90, but when the old Bib catch you trying to get more out of your car it's license losing time.
I am not sure how much difference there would be in insurance to be fair Chris. If the V8S is similar price to the Chim then the cerbera is only a very small amount more for me. I did a comparison quote on Tesco to get an idea before i got serious. Although my TVR is insured with a specialist broker so its cheaper than tesco, it was a good comparison. The chim was £680 on tesco 
and the cerbera £717. So would take a guess at the more reasonable price I pay to the broker the difference would be marginal.
and the cerbera £717. So would take a guess at the more reasonable price I pay to the broker the difference would be marginal.Yes but :invaderzimvoice: They Lie!! :invaderzimvoiceoff: When I quoted for the Chim, the difference was only £20, when I phoned up to actually change the policy the difference was £500! aLS Rob only has somthing like 0-1 year NCB IIRC and pays more than I did when I first started with the S.
furry muff, but I dont think the difference for me will be a great deal. Quite a few have gone over to a cerb from griffs/chims and reported little difference. Performance may be a lot quicker, but I would guess that ££ damage ratio isnt much different. The tuscan is the one that fairs badly cos of the accident stats on that model.
I think Mannings wanted £60 p/a more for a cerb for me but in other cases I have just heard of paying an admin charge and no change in annual policy price.
I think Mannings wanted £60 p/a more for a cerb for me but in other cases I have just heard of paying an admin charge and no change in annual policy price.
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look. To me the Cerbera looks a very muscular and striking car but I guess because it is a modern shaped coupe it doesn't look significantly different enough to the more daring mainstream cars that we have seen emerging over recent years and consequently doesn't appear to turn heads as much as an S.
I'd still love one tho!
I'd still love one tho!
kentishs2 said:
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look. To me the Cerbera looks a very muscular and striking car but I guess because it is a modern shaped coupe it doesn't look significantly different enough to the more daring mainstream cars that we have seen emerging over recent years and consequently doesn't appear to turn heads as much as an S.
I'd still love one tho!
really
i am shocked by that. People looked at me in my S. They look more in the Chim. They look more in a cerbera. And they look more in a Tuscan. 3 years of TVRing down Sarf and thats always been the case around these parts, on the road, parked up, wherever.
WildfireS3 said:
Ah, it may be an age thing for me. I will wait until I'm over 25 then see what happens to my access to other cars. Mind you I was told to come back when I was 35 by one company.
Only 2 years to go!!
I found mine dropped a fair bit after 25, despite being told it wouldnt really until I was 30. At 23 I was paying around £1300 pa for the S3 whereas last year, at 25 on the chim, it was £570 IIRC.
shnozz said:
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look. To me the Cerbera looks a very muscular and striking car but I guess because it is a modern shaped coupe it doesn't look significantly different enough to the more daring mainstream cars that we have seen emerging over recent years and consequently doesn't appear to turn heads as much as an S.
I'd still love one tho!
really
i am shocked by that. People looked at me in my S. They look more in the Chim. They look more in a cerbera. And they look more in a Tuscan. 3 years of TVRing down Sarf and thats always been the case around these parts, on the road, parked up, wherever.
Any Tiv turns my head!
kentishs2 said:
shnozz said:
kentishs2 said:
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look. To me the Cerbera looks a very muscular and striking car but I guess because it is a modern shaped coupe it doesn't look significantly different enough to the more daring mainstream cars that we have seen emerging over recent years and consequently doesn't appear to turn heads as much as an S.
I'd still love one tho!
really
i am shocked by that. People looked at me in my S. They look more in the Chim. They look more in a cerbera. And they look more in a Tuscan. 3 years of TVRing down Sarf and thats always been the case around these parts, on the road, parked up, wherever.
Any Tiv turns my head!
I followed an Excel through the village the other week and nobody really gave it a second glance but several stared at my S. I was holding the revs at 3500 and making lots of noise, so that may have had something to do with it
I'm looking forward to getting my straight through exhaust built, people will most certainly hear me coming down the road.
>> Edited by kentishs2 on Tuesday 5th October 10:34
kentishS2 said:I'll have to ask
Hi Rob,
Were you thinking of "Tripps", he's recently sold his S and bought a lovely Cerbera. Post him a thread on general gassing or the Cerbie forum and I'm sure he'll be only too happy to let you know how it feels to own one.
Shnozz said here in the S forum recently, something to the effect of "Once you've driven a cerb, there is absolutely nothing else you will ever want to drive". If I finish sorting my S (almost there) I might be able to sell for 10k, meaning I only need another 10-15k to buy a cerb, which I think I can find in the next 12 months. Im curious, and suppose I just want a car to aspire to, to give me that "One day" warm fuzzy feeling inside
WildfireS3 said:
Don't forget the insurance Rob. At your current premium a Cerbie could push it into the astronomical!! A bu$$er I know as if I didn't have the insurance to cover then I would be on a Griff by now. Having been in a Cerbie at 150mph, it's plenty quick, but it didn't feel as exciting as the S. Where the S felt like you were giving it some the Cerbie felt bored. This is all good when you are taking corners at 90 and the S is stuggling to get to 90, but when the old Bib catch you trying to get more out of your car it's license losing time.
Ive never been a fan of top speed, and years ago, the only time I was ever in a cerb, also did 150 a motorway. I cant remember what it was like to compare though, but jeez, you're right, I think insurance might be a real problem
kentishs2 said:Do you really think this is the case?
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look.
I still remember being in the cerb, everyone stared, people shaking their heads smiling. I suppose a car should please the driver not the public, but I thought the cerb was more of a head turner than an S.ukbob said:
Strange thing is that when I followed a Cerbera last week on the way to work, hardly anyone looked at it but when I go out in the S I find that loads of people will stop and turn around to look.
Do you really think this is the case?
I'd certainly look at the Cerb but then that's me and I like the Cerb and I'm a TVR nut anyway.
Perhaps it was because we were driving along a faster road but people in cars didn't appear to look as it passed by but I noticed that many heads turn as I pass other cars on dual carriageways. The S does look significantly different from most other cars, perhaps a Cerbie doesn't to normal folk?
I had a bit of a blat last night and a fella in a MX5 had a bit of fun. I had seen him ahead of me passing everything so I caught up with him and I was very impressed at how nimble his Mazda was, probably as good as the S but I left him standing on the straights but then I do have an extra 1100cc's under the hood.
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