A pointless beer fueled rant about the virtues of a Cerbera!
Discussion
Just a little over two and a half years of ownership, despite the familiarity with the old beast, I still find myself in awe of what a piece of work a cerbera is! I still get that feeling of almost disbelief when you ring her out to high RPM in a low enough gear to get that kick in the pants feeling as you accelerate like a mad thing to that great shrill roar that starts to build up somewhere just north of 5k RPM and at such moments that little twitch or the rear at substantial enough speeds to remind you that this has a very serious power to weigh ratio and no electronic driver aids so you better be sure about the road conditions you make such a bold move.
What's more I while away many a pointless leisure hour, as a I suspect may of you do, pouring over the whole range of motoring magazines comparing specs and pondering what would the next step up the hi-performance food chain would cost, always coming to the same conclusion that there is very little you could own that can give you as much excitement for relatively little cash.
When I start to examine the higher end exotics few exceed the Cerbera magic power to weight figure until you start to get into silly territory, of course Im excluding the super lights Caterams and Aerial Atoms etc. Im talking 8 and 12 cylinder.
Considering my early 4.2 is still a peach and has only done 30k miles I guess it would only fetch an asking price in the low teens, at about four or five times its current value you are looking at the very early 360 ferrari's or perhaps an Diablo if we are talking about cars with sufficient grunt and presence to to be a worthy replacement, but are they four or more times the better car? Then there is the ubiquitous 911, definitely some fine examples to be had for maybe ony two or three times the value of the Cerb but I must admit only something like a GT3 RS 997 would be special enough and have you seen the price of them!
Looking at older/classics I suppose there's the V8 Lotus esprit's that are similar money and produce numbers almost comparable with the Cerb, but not really my cup of tea.
Jensen Interceptor, now there's a real 70s gentleman's GT, with a big stonking great 7 litre Chrysler big block and an interior like a Park Lane club, starting at probably less than Cerb money, but weighs almost half a ton more and only does 8 mpg, I see a company now will re-build one to modern spec, with a GM LS2 and jaguar derived IRS that will do 20 mpg
with the combined weight saving of the LS2 and the suspension but they want £70k for the damn thing!
So I think the only answer if one wanted a change might be another Cerbera with a LSX generation GM v8, but I guess one would miss the unique AJP8 character, so one would have to have both!
What's more I while away many a pointless leisure hour, as a I suspect may of you do, pouring over the whole range of motoring magazines comparing specs and pondering what would the next step up the hi-performance food chain would cost, always coming to the same conclusion that there is very little you could own that can give you as much excitement for relatively little cash.
When I start to examine the higher end exotics few exceed the Cerbera magic power to weight figure until you start to get into silly territory, of course Im excluding the super lights Caterams and Aerial Atoms etc. Im talking 8 and 12 cylinder.
Considering my early 4.2 is still a peach and has only done 30k miles I guess it would only fetch an asking price in the low teens, at about four or five times its current value you are looking at the very early 360 ferrari's or perhaps an Diablo if we are talking about cars with sufficient grunt and presence to to be a worthy replacement, but are they four or more times the better car? Then there is the ubiquitous 911, definitely some fine examples to be had for maybe ony two or three times the value of the Cerb but I must admit only something like a GT3 RS 997 would be special enough and have you seen the price of them!
Looking at older/classics I suppose there's the V8 Lotus esprit's that are similar money and produce numbers almost comparable with the Cerb, but not really my cup of tea.
Jensen Interceptor, now there's a real 70s gentleman's GT, with a big stonking great 7 litre Chrysler big block and an interior like a Park Lane club, starting at probably less than Cerb money, but weighs almost half a ton more and only does 8 mpg, I see a company now will re-build one to modern spec, with a GM LS2 and jaguar derived IRS that will do 20 mpg
with the combined weight saving of the LS2 and the suspension but they want £70k for the damn thing!
So I think the only answer if one wanted a change might be another Cerbera with a LSX generation GM v8, but I guess one would miss the unique AJP8 character, so one would have to have both!
Great post - sums up th allure of the Cerbera perfectly. I still get amazed watching the latest exotica costing £100k getting tested on top gear, like old Jeremy stating in awe that the car will do 180, o-60 in under 5 secs and and has 400hp!
errm....my old banger from blackpool will top that Jeremy, and guess what - it looks, and sounds, 10 times better as well.
Don't you just love em
PS - Love to see TG do a Stig/Cerbera lap, to see what it's really iike - Would we be dissapointed? do you think? Are we all living in cloud cuckoo land and looking at our cars through Cerb tinted specs?
errm....my old banger from blackpool will top that Jeremy, and guess what - it looks, and sounds, 10 times better as well.
Don't you just love em
PS - Love to see TG do a Stig/Cerbera lap, to see what it's really iike - Would we be dissapointed? do you think? Are we all living in cloud cuckoo land and looking at our cars through Cerb tinted specs?
JensenA said:
Love to see TG do a Stig/Cerbera lap, to see what it's really iike - Would we be dissapointed? do you think? Are we all living in cloud cuckoo land and looking at our cars through Cerb tinted specs?
I had a go on the Top Gear track a while back in the Cerb and put in a very poor lap, but then I'n not the stig, managed a couple of 360 spins on a wet track on the Hammer Head and at Gambon, it's a lot harder than it looks! A Stig lap would be good but they rareley put anything non-current round the track for the program.
To be honest I dont think it would do very well; it's a GT tourer - not a track car. I'm looking to get one (or possibly a Tuscan) to replace my Chimaera, but I still think that point to point I could get around quicker in the Alfa 3.0GTV I had a few years back. They always feel just a bit too twitchy to me. I've got a copy of CAR from 1996 that tests 20 cars against each other on a track, with several drivers trying each car to find the best handling one. Cars ranged from an MGF and a 306 GTI to a Lambo. Also included Elise, M3, Imprezza, MR2, 911, Skyline. Overall the Cerb comes bottom, as although it was one of the quicker cars on the straight, it was basically too unsettled at speed.
The article says "At 139mph, the Cerbera was just 2mph slower than the Lambo before the chicane. Yet it was one of the slowest through it, and the only car that was still travelling sideways past the pit entrance some 50 yards further on".
The article says "At 139mph, the Cerbera was just 2mph slower than the Lambo before the chicane. Yet it was one of the slowest through it, and the only car that was still travelling sideways past the pit entrance some 50 yards further on".
Erich Stahler said:
What's more I while away many a pointless leisure hour, as a I suspect may of you do, pouring over the whole range of motoring magazines comparing specs and pondering what would the next step up the hi-performance food chain would cost, always coming to the same conclusion that there is very little you could own that can give you as much excitement for relatively little cash
This is so true!I started my venture in to performance cars with a long list of cars I had always wanted to own, including Astons, Lambos, Porsches, etc. The plan was always to keep one for a year, maybe two and then move on down the list.
I don't seem to have moved just yet!
BLUETHUNDER said:
All this talk about the Cerb putting in a poor lap,then Look at some of Bosscerbera,s stuff.In the right hands it will piss over most cars around a track and put in a decent time.Look for some of his video,s on youtube.(he may be along shortly to give a link)Very impressive stuff.
Yeah but don't forget that its a track day not a race so not everything is equal. And also on top of that I don't think either of the BossCerbs (4.5 or 5.0) are your standard Cerbera, it seems the word fettled comes to mind.I am not disagreeing with you - there are a few Cerbera race cars out there, they wouldn't be there if the car had no potential to go fast round a track, however a normal Cerbera how it came out of the factory without the suspension properly setup probably would be the worst car on track. Though to take this a step further, most of the cars represented here have had their suspension worked on so they should be more than capable on track.
Lack of flex is not a prerequisit to a good handling car. Take the old lotus elan, one of the bast handling cars of its era and it had a terribly flexible chassis such that it could be easily bent or broken if it was towed.
Every time a mantra develops about handling, I tend to treat it with a good deal of suspicion.
Every time a mantra develops about handling, I tend to treat it with a good deal of suspicion.
BLUETHUNDER said:
Ron Fellows said:
Brill post mate!
I can honestly say tho' anyone looking at a cerb replacement should look at the Z06. I spent months looking for something to give me that thrill and this was the only thing close. Switch off the traction and stability control and its a TVR.
I can honestly say tho' anyone looking at a cerb replacement should look at the Z06. I spent months looking for something to give me that thrill and this was the only thing close. Switch off the traction and stability control and its a TVR.
julian64 said:
BLUETHUNDER said:
Ron Fellows said:
Brill post mate!
I can honestly say tho' anyone looking at a cerb replacement should look at the Z06. I spent months looking for something to give me that thrill and this was the only thing close. Switch off the traction and stability control and its a TVR.
I can honestly say tho' anyone looking at a cerb replacement should look at the Z06. I spent months looking for something to give me that thrill and this was the only thing close. Switch off the traction and stability control and its a TVR.
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