Tuscan performance

[duke thrust]

Hi all, apologies if this has been covered before

I'm thinking of moving on from the Chimaera 500 and I've been totally consumed with the thought of getting a Cerbera 4.5 - but recently I've noticed just how nice the Tuscan is...

Questions then:
1) On paper performance puts the Tuscan 4.0 at similar performance to the Chim 500 - is this the case? Will I have to got for a Red Rose spec or a Tuscan S to really feel a difference? Having driven a friends Cerbera it's in a different league to the Chim 500 at higher speeds, just a complete rocket ship. How does the 4.0 compare?
2) Concerned with the S6's reputation, is it safe to go for a higher mileage example (40K) as then the problems will be behind it? Only go for a car that's had a re-build?

Cheers guys

[pete]

I've recently moved from a Griff 500 to a Tuscan 3.6. My Griff was very healthy by 500 standards with 280 real bhp and 300 lb.ft of torque, but the Tuscan just blows it away.

I think the power delivery is a big part of it. The speed six engine feels much more peaky than the Rover V8 (peak torque on mine is at 5500rpm!), which lulls you into a false sense of security until you realise you're accelerating more and more quickly as the revs pile on. The fact that it revs happily to over 7000rpm probably has something to do with it too!

When you add in the effect of better brakes, then more chassis development and another few inches of wheelbase improving the handling, it's a quantum leap in performance all round.

Pete

[nsparey]

pete said:

I've recently moved from a Griff 500 to a Tuscan 3.6. My Griff was very healthy by 500 standards with 280 real bhp and 300 lb.ft of torque, but the Tuscan just blows it away. I think the power delivery is a big part of it. The speed six engine feels much more peaky than the Rover V8 (peak torque on mine is at 5500rpm!), which lulls you into a false sense of security until you realise you're accelerating more and more quickly as the revs pile on. The fact that it revs happily to over 7000rpm probably has something to do with it too! When you add in the effect of better brakes, then more chassis development and another few inches of wheelbase improving the handling, it's a quantum leap in performance all round. Pete

totaly agree.

I went from a grif 500se to a tuscan S, ok so the S is quicker on paper than the griff but in real world terms the difference is mind blowing. I was thinking of performance upgrades for the griff after a month or two of ownership, the tuscan however is faster than I will ever need it to be. And a 100% more reliable!

[Bitter'n'twisted]

nsparey said:

pete said: I've recently moved from a Griff 500 to a Tuscan 3.6. My Griff was very healthy by 500 standards with 280 real bhp and 300 lb.ft of torque, but the Tuscan just blows it away. I think the power delivery is a big part of it. The speed six engine feels much more peaky than the Rover V8 (peak torque on mine is at 5500rpm!), which lulls you into a false sense of security until you realise you're accelerating more and more quickly as the revs pile on. The fact that it revs happily to over 7000rpm probably has something to do with it too! When you add in the effect of better brakes, then more chassis development and another few inches of wheelbase improving the handling, it's a quantum leap in performance all round. Pete totaly agree. I went from a grif 500se to a tuscan S, ok so the S is quicker on paper than the griff but in real world terms the difference is mind blowing. I was thinking of performance upgrades for the griff after a month or two of ownership, the tuscan however is faster than I will ever need it to be. And a 100% more reliable!

Went from a Griff 500 to the Tuscan S.
Totally agree with all of above!

[UpTheIron]

Went from Chimaera 450 to Tuscan.

No comparison.

Go for it.

[CerbyT]

Went from Cerbera 4.5 to Tuscan S.......Tuscan feels quicker!

[kippax]

Went from 4.3 Chim to 4lt Tuscan the difference is similar to when I went from Mitsubishu FTO to M3 EVO absolutely mind blowing!

Howard.

[HarryW]

Follow and can normally keep up with nearly all RV8 engined Tivs and the majority of the AJP8's ones (up to sensible speeds). I must say I cannot keep up with Tuscans, well the ones I go out on a drive with anyway .

harry

[dvpeace]

Tuscan 4.0l is very quick. I was at Snetterton last week, the fastest cars on the track were the Tuscans (in a straight line). We just blew everyone away.

[ggt]

i went from a 500 chim to a tuscan 4 ltr, its like comparing a spitfire to a F16.

[the-gofer]

I went from a Chimaera 450 to a Tuscan 4.0 - The difference towards the top end is unbelievable. The Tuscan is just untouchable, however, you do have to work the gears a bit with the Tusc, you don't seem to get the bottom end "grunt" that you get with the RV8.

The handling took some getting used to as well - I could really bury my Chim into bends, and the Tusc has a habit of being a bit "snappy" - there seems to be less of a progressive feel when really going for the bends - you have grip, then all of a sudden you're sideways. Mind you, mine hasn't really been setup, and is running on the standard shockers and springs.

I have had a lot of problems with the Tuscan since I bought it six months ago, and do occasionally remember the Chim with fond thoughts of a rock-solid car. I have to admit, though, whenever you are hit with a bill for maintenance/repairs, you always look at previous cars with rose-tinted specs.

Overall, GO FOR IT ! You can't beat the feel of the Tuscan.

p.s. If you have the money (which most of us don't) emulate Bob The Planner and have both! V8 grunt, and S6 power!!

[CK]

Agree with all the above, went from Griff 500 to Tuscan S, absolutely no comparison in terms of acceleration and it just drives so well.
Go for it.
CK

[T88CAN]

CK said:

, went from Griff 500 to Tuscan S, it just Go for it. CK

We know we have the bank charges to prove it
hi Chris long time no see

[theblacktuscks]

FWIW I have just got a Tuscan S Mk2 and I'm in the processing of running it in. However, I can tell youb that the difference between the mark 1 I had and the mark 2 is amazing. Better handling, more ride compliant etc etc.

[simon818]

Hi everyone,

As a Chimaera owner fancying an upgrade to the Speed6, can you previous V8 owners advise the difference in petrol consumption between the two engines. Just interested.

Thank you.

[chris watton]

simon818 said:

Hi everyone, As a Chimaera owner fancying an upgrade to the Speed6, can you previous V8 owners advise the difference in petrol consumption between the two engines. Just interested. Thank you.

The S6 is a LOT more economical, I was initially very suprised how good on fuel the Tam is, compared to my Chim 450, and it's a lot faster into the bargain, it's a win, win situation

[simon818]

Hi Chris,

thanks for your reply, very pleasing by the sounds of things. Great number plate by the way!

[chris watton]

simon818 said:

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply, very pleasing by the sounds of things. Great number plate by the way!

Cheers Simon , I loved my Chim, but after the newer crop of TVRs, there's no way I could go back, even the handling very predictable! I think the 'economy' (for want of a better word!) comes from the fact that the power of the S6 comes on further up the rev range (that's not to say it's slow on pick up), so if you're driving round town, or stuck behind numpties (as I was today!), you're not using a lot of petrol, whereas the V8s have power a lot further down the rev range, thus using more fuel all the time, if that makes sense!