Why did you buy a Cerb ?
Discussion
Went out in the Cerb earlier on, and it made me realise how amazing these Cars are. We could all have bought ourselves a decent fast, reliable sensible car, but we didn’t, we chose a Cerb instead. So I just wondered what it was that made you buy one………..
This afternoon I drove into town, window down on a nice sunny day, good music playing on the CD, accompanied by the sound of the exhaust. toodling along at 30mph in top gear in the heavy town traffic with no fuss or drama, people walking along looking at the car, and pointing it out to there kids to look. I even get little kids in prams look at it and smile at you as your waiting in a line of traffic. I love the occasional stretch of dual carriageway, step on the loud pedal and get that glorious sound as the car blasts you up to 70mph before you even know it, then snap, pop, and banging down to zero when the lights ahead go red. At the lights 2 scroggs on their way home from a burglary in there clapped out Peugeot estate car, wound there window down, shouting “FkN Gorgeous mate!! “and giving it the thumbs up.
Then driving through the rough part of the town, where kids in hoodies and blokes with cans of beer in there hand shout out and smile and give you the big thumbs up.
Now if I’d been in a Porsche I doubt if I would have got any of the above reactions, in fact I reckon even a million pound Bugatti Veyron would be hard pushed to get all that positive attention. There’s just something about these cars that seems to appeal to everyone, it’s a car that you could park in a rough Council Estate and everyone would look at it, but no one would touch it and when you come back they’d all tell you what a fantastic car it is, no resentment or jealousy.
And before anyone accuses me of being a sad b
d and attention seeker (it’ll probably be a non Cerb owner because they don’t understand) I’m not. I’m just making the observation that the Cerb is a car that seems to inspire affection and admiration from everyone.
It’s got Charisma, it’s fast, loud, beautiful and British.
Apologies for the boring drivel, but it is a quiet time on the Forum
one more 
and time for bed!
This afternoon I drove into town, window down on a nice sunny day, good music playing on the CD, accompanied by the sound of the exhaust. toodling along at 30mph in top gear in the heavy town traffic with no fuss or drama, people walking along looking at the car, and pointing it out to there kids to look. I even get little kids in prams look at it and smile at you as your waiting in a line of traffic. I love the occasional stretch of dual carriageway, step on the loud pedal and get that glorious sound as the car blasts you up to 70mph before you even know it, then snap, pop, and banging down to zero when the lights ahead go red. At the lights 2 scroggs on their way home from a burglary in there clapped out Peugeot estate car, wound there window down, shouting “FkN Gorgeous mate!! “and giving it the thumbs up.
Then driving through the rough part of the town, where kids in hoodies and blokes with cans of beer in there hand shout out and smile and give you the big thumbs up.
Now if I’d been in a Porsche I doubt if I would have got any of the above reactions, in fact I reckon even a million pound Bugatti Veyron would be hard pushed to get all that positive attention. There’s just something about these cars that seems to appeal to everyone, it’s a car that you could park in a rough Council Estate and everyone would look at it, but no one would touch it and when you come back they’d all tell you what a fantastic car it is, no resentment or jealousy.
And before anyone accuses me of being a sad b
d and attention seeker (it’ll probably be a non Cerb owner because they don’t understand) I’m not. I’m just making the observation that the Cerb is a car that seems to inspire affection and admiration from everyone. It’s got Charisma, it’s fast, loud, beautiful and British.
Apologies for the boring drivel, but it is a quiet time on the Forum
one more and time for bed!sleep envy said:
JensenA said:
Now if I’d been in a Porsche I doubt if I would have got any of the above reactions, in fact I reckon even a million pound Bugatti Veyron would be hard pushed to get all that positive attention.
check yourself
JensenA said:
It's just got to be a Porsche owner, I did say the non Cerb owners wouldnt understand
hit a nerve?what's that got to do with it?
FWIW I have considered buying a Tuscan but for various reasons decided it wouldn't be prudent
good luck to you
ETA - narrowed down your response target too, was that intentional?
Edited by sleep envy on Thursday 17th April 01:35
Didn't hit a nerve at all It just reinforces the point I was making, you don't buy a Cerb if your 'prudent', that's a quality that would make you select something like a Porsche, certainly not a TVR. TVR's, especially the Cerebra, are cars that are bought with the heart, and that is what makes them special in our eyes, and apparently, in the eyes of many of the general public too.
It just reinforces the point I was making, you don't buy a Cerb if your 'prudent', that's a quality that would make you select something like a Porsche, certainly not a TVR. TVR's, especially the Cerebra, are cars that are bought with the heart, and that is what makes them special in our eyes, and apparently, in the eyes of many of the general public too. I always wanted one.I remembered when they first went on sale back in 96.About a month after the launch i saw one pulling out of a back street in Brixton south London,and was really blown away by the styling.It was the first time i saw one in the flesh and thought i will have to have one.I think what really made my mind up was the Clarkson video.I can watch that over and over again and never get tired of it,and that set me on the road to TVR ownership.But before the Cerb,i had to get the whole RV8 sound out of my system.So i bought a Chimaera.I still think they sound the best of all the TVRs.But funnily enough it wouldnt sound right on a Cerb.After three happy years of Chimaera ownership,i parted company and bought a Cerb.Its been trying at times.But when everything is going well the rewards are great.
Why did I buy? - I think the diatribe half way down this thread sums it up as best I can: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Attention in cars is a funny thing, because its really the right kind of attention you're after. The local chavs certainly attract lots of attention in their day-glo painted euroboxes with four baked-bean tins farting disonently behind them. Likewise, a rag-top Ferrari 360/430 will certainly turn heads.
The beutiful thing about the attention the Cerb attracts is that it doesn't set you out as a driver to be an attention seeker. Sure, you get a few disapproving looks from old ladies as they cover their grandchildrens ears and usher them into doorways as if the four horsemen of the apocalypse are riding into town, but mostly the looks you get are a combination of curiosity and astonishment (combined with a mildly warm glow that such a thing exists!!). It's like all the best bits of driving a classic (rarity value, demonstration of dedication to the cause, etc) and a supercar (wow-factor, looks proper fast), without the self-aggrandising "bling" and arogant self-importance that the Ferrari and it's ilk necessarily imply.
As an aside, regular modern 911s don't generally turn heads IME, and the ones that do (vintage stuff aside) tend to inspire negative or resentful reactions to the air of arrogance that they excude.
Attention in cars is a funny thing, because its really the right kind of attention you're after. The local chavs certainly attract lots of attention in their day-glo painted euroboxes with four baked-bean tins farting disonently behind them. Likewise, a rag-top Ferrari 360/430 will certainly turn heads.
The beutiful thing about the attention the Cerb attracts is that it doesn't set you out as a driver to be an attention seeker. Sure, you get a few disapproving looks from old ladies as they cover their grandchildrens ears and usher them into doorways as if the four horsemen of the apocalypse are riding into town, but mostly the looks you get are a combination of curiosity and astonishment (combined with a mildly warm glow that such a thing exists!!). It's like all the best bits of driving a classic (rarity value, demonstration of dedication to the cause, etc) and a supercar (wow-factor, looks proper fast), without the self-aggrandising "bling" and arogant self-importance that the Ferrari and it's ilk necessarily imply.
As an aside, regular modern 911s don't generally turn heads IME, and the ones that do (vintage stuff aside) tend to inspire negative or resentful reactions to the air of arrogance that they excude.
sleep envy said:
JensenA said:
Now if I’d been in a Porsche I doubt if I would have got any of the above reactions, in fact I reckon even a million pound Bugatti Veyron would be hard pushed to get all that positive attention.
check yourself
But what do us Cerbera owners know? You almost, maybe, could have bought a Tuscan once upon a time.
Fell in love with the Cerb when it was launched - drove one of Walldonways 1st (if not their 1st) demonstrators (a Rosso 4.2, registration N1JTS) & it was a long distance relationship from there.
Some 5 years later, we bought a used 4.2 from Walldonway (in 2001) & still have it !
As others have said, they do attract attention, but it's the right sort of attention similar to what you get driving a classis - but you know you have the raw power to see of a 911 Turbo in a straight line !
Some 5 years later, we bought a used 4.2 from Walldonway (in 2001) & still have it !
As others have said, they do attract attention, but it's the right sort of attention similar to what you get driving a classis - but you know you have the raw power to see of a 911 Turbo in a straight line !
My wife (English) turned me on to TVRs when she moved over to America to live with me (before we got married). Searching for all that I could about them I thought, 'Damn, that is something that could not be built in America. I want one.'
We moved here in 2001 and I saw only a few TVRs and they were just so pretty and so different. There is nothing that looks like them, the way they carry themselves but are not crazy outlandish like an Italian car and much more inspiring than a German.
In 2004 I was in a position to buy one and decided on the Cerb after finding this website. I asked if there was a Cerb owner close to where I lived just for the purpose of looking at one without feeling pressured to buy one. I met Simon, really nice guy, and he showed me around the car and even took me for a ride, which I was not expecting.
Why did I buy one? For me it was the entire car.
The outside, an elegant shape, old school British (with the lights), but somewhat modern. The interior, space ship? outrageous? quirky? no, it looks like some poured their heart and soul into the design. not the most practical (lack of storage), but every time I get in the car it seems I'm looking at something that was very very personal. The engine, my god, I was right, it could never be built in America and allowed on the roads. Just the raw anger of it. The driving experience and the feel of the car reminds me a lot of my mg midget, only better built. I know exactly what the car is doing, I can feel everything, nothing is hidden and everything is up to the driver, nothing is taken away by electronics.
We moved here in 2001 and I saw only a few TVRs and they were just so pretty and so different. There is nothing that looks like them, the way they carry themselves but are not crazy outlandish like an Italian car and much more inspiring than a German.
In 2004 I was in a position to buy one and decided on the Cerb after finding this website. I asked if there was a Cerb owner close to where I lived just for the purpose of looking at one without feeling pressured to buy one. I met Simon, really nice guy, and he showed me around the car and even took me for a ride, which I was not expecting.
Why did I buy one? For me it was the entire car.
The outside, an elegant shape, old school British (with the lights), but somewhat modern. The interior, space ship? outrageous? quirky? no, it looks like some poured their heart and soul into the design. not the most practical (lack of storage), but every time I get in the car it seems I'm looking at something that was very very personal. The engine, my god, I was right, it could never be built in America and allowed on the roads. Just the raw anger of it. The driving experience and the feel of the car reminds me a lot of my mg midget, only better built. I know exactly what the car is doing, I can feel everything, nothing is hidden and everything is up to the driver, nothing is taken away by electronics.
For me, the Cerb is the most outrageous machine attainable, that was the case 5 years ago, & it's still the case now.
If i ever need a shot in the arm, or a quick personal motivation kick, it take the Cerb for a spin.
It really does reach the parts that other cars don't reach
But, we'd better look after them guys, 'cus there's nothing else out there to replace them!!
If i ever need a shot in the arm, or a quick personal motivation kick, it take the Cerb for a spin.
It really does reach the parts that other cars don't reach
But, we'd better look after them guys, 'cus there's nothing else out there to replace them!!
i went to the glasgow motor show in 98 and saw a silver cerbera and wanted one! but back then i was into bikes too so a cerbera was just a dream and i had fast bikes to keep my adrenelin going until i got caught doing 132mph and lost my licence, if that wasn't bad enough i split up with my daughters mother and got sued by the royal bank of scotland for 10 grand over a bank error from a year before, that all happened in 2002-2003 so i had hit rock bottom no driving licence no place to live and i was about a total of 16 grand in debt!!! so i knew the only way was up!! the main question was how high! so i set my sights on a TVR cerbera as my goal, by the end of 2005 i piad of all my debt and resat my driving test and baught my TVR cerbera so for me its always going to be more than just a car its a achievement and a turning point in my life,so why did i buy a cerb?
i wanted to start living my dreams instead of being stuck in my nightmares
i wanted to start living my dreams instead of being stuck in my nightmares
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff