Sagaris month 5
Discussion
I just got back (to Paris) from a trip to Monza to see the Italian GP. The round trip was a further 1500 miles bringing the total to just under 4000.
Those of you who have read my earlier posts may think I have a tendency to gush a bit but I do try and be honest and impartial when writing about the car. This time however I'm going to struggle to remain objective because I am so totally blown away by the thing! Awesome trip. Incredible car. Without wishing to sound even more like a t
t, I felt privileged to have experienced it. Oh dear. Are you sitting comfortably? I was for up to 8hrs in the car. It looks for all the world like a hardcore trackday device but the Saggy has real legs on it. A proper little gt car after all. Helped by the long gearing and big hearted engine but also by the excellent homemade seats. I was going to fit buckets. Not anymore. Top job TVR. If only the air-con worked better. It really struggled with the Italian heat at traffic jams. A ride in a porsche cayenne showed me how much better air-con can be. I'll try and get mine improved somehow.
One thing I know for sure now is the rumoured hot weather testing for the Sagaris is all true. In searing heat and endless traffic jams (over an hour, mostly stationary outside Milan at 30 plus degrees outside) and this is the clincher - with a faulty water temp sensor and the thing didn't miss a beat. When the water sensor failed I thought it was curtains as I assumed it controlled the fans. The good news is that it doesn't and a working oil temp sensor meant I had a good idea how hot the engine got - never higher than 92 degrees C. I'm sure they go over 100 on trackdays so it was no problem.
Other problems include not being able to shut the little door in the boot that hides the tyre weld (a bit bugging but not exactly life threatening) and the reversing light comes on in 4th gear (which I've seen other Sagari do). That needs doing.
Now for the good stuff. My brother has a tuned 996 Porsche turbo that was along for the trip. It's putting out 550 bhp and is a real missile as you might expect. He's got a naughty exhaust pipe on it which makes it sound mean as hell too.
Lets put it this way. A standard 996 turbo is going to be in for a big shock. Given my car is absolutely standard, the noise and straight line performance were right up there with what was otherwise the fastest car I've ever been in. That thing'll do 160 if you sneeze. And up 'til about 140 (obviously kph) the standard Sagaris is right there in the rear view mirror despite being almost 50k (tuning costs money!) less expensive. Over 140? I don't really know but the 996's slippery (I prefer 'eggy') shape and monster power will start coming in to play, as it does over 200mph flat out.
And that's just the motorway stuff. Meet a 996 porsche on a twisty (ok preferably smooth) alpine pass and the Sagaris doesn't just match it, it'll show it how it's done. It's agility, grip, balance, communication and response are breathtaking. It certainly shut my Dad up who was in the passenger seat! The Porker's starting to show it's weight on these type of roads and good though it is, I had no intention of swapping keys. The Sagaris handles like a Lotus and goes like a Lamborghini.
Critics of the S6 and the direction that TVR are going in, please drive one of these cars. It's a massive achievement with a much broader spread of abilities than you'd ever think looking at it.
But by thunder what a looker. I know it's not for everyone over here but the vast majority of France, Switzerland and Italy seemed more than a bit pleased I brought it to their country. It got nothing but smiles, wide eyed stares, thumbs up, photographs and even applause from a continent that just didn't know what it was or where on earth (or elsewhere) it came from. Most people swore out loud or wanted to know what marque it was. Everybody smiled. Parked side by side my bro's immaculate, metallic black 996 turbo was virtually invisible. Which, ok, is not always a bad thing.
The most common repsonse regardless of country was along the lines of 'Il monstro'.
If you could hear the noise it made through the mont blanc tunnel, V8 lover or not. You'd be hard pushed not to agree.
>> Edited by the pits on Monday 5th September 20:31
>> Edited by the pits on Tuesday 6th September 10:04
Like me sideways, you're also an ex-Lotus owner, so the comment about handling like a Lotus is coming from experience.
I've also driven two Lamborghinis and to be honest our TVRs would leave them both standing! But to be fair they were both Countaches and modern Lambos are, I'm sure, much more on the pace.
Driving a Countach was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My advice for anyone thinking of doing the same is - don't! Keep it as a dream. The reality was pretty awful! In a nutshell all but the QV had similar power outputs to the S6. They weigh a lot more and the Italians were wildly optimistic with their power claims. The gearbox was from one of their tractors and it had no brakes whatsoever.
Still sounds and looks great though (sans rear spoiler for me).
I've also driven two Lamborghinis and to be honest our TVRs would leave them both standing! But to be fair they were both Countaches and modern Lambos are, I'm sure, much more on the pace.
Driving a Countach was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My advice for anyone thinking of doing the same is - don't! Keep it as a dream. The reality was pretty awful! In a nutshell all but the QV had similar power outputs to the S6. They weigh a lot more and the Italians were wildly optimistic with their power claims. The gearbox was from one of their tractors and it had no brakes whatsoever.
Still sounds and looks great though (sans rear spoiler for me).
) and at the moment I don't know when it's due to arrive. It's pure agony reading these posts 
DJC said:
Pits Im rapidly comming round to your opinion of this motor
'Coming' for chrissakes. I know there aren't any schools in the traditional sense north of Rugby, but this is a global website. You don't want the international community thinking that our fighter planes are being designed by an illiterate do you? It reflects on all of us!
D'you know Arb......funny thing and a small point of observation but I've yet to see you post a comment on any thread that's relevant to the actual subject of that thread.........
the pits said:
The Sagaris handles like a Lotus and goes like a Lamborghini.
Another great report......
Pits.....
......one of the first observations that Ray made after tracking the Sagaris was that the handling on the corners reminded him of our Lotus 2+2S. He did a track day at Castle Coombe in the Cerb where he was powering away from 2 Lotus Elises on the straights, but they were all over him like a rash on the corners and he said then (in some frustration I might add!
) that if TVR could produce a car that could do the straights like a Cerb and corner like a Lotus then TVR would have cracked it. As reported, he was chuffed at Snetterton.
sorry PP
YP
>> Edited by yellow peril on Tuesday 6th September 07:51
yellow peril said:
D'you know Arb......funny thing and a small point of observation but I've yet to see you post a comment on any thread that's relevant to the actual subject of that thread.........
>> Edited by yellow peril on Tuesday 6th September 07:51
Beats droning on about myself endlessly.
TheArb said:
Pits Im rapidly comming round to your opinion of this motor
'Coming' for chrissakes. I know there aren't any schools in the traditional sense north of Rugby, but this is a global website. You don't want the international community thinking that our fighter planes are being designed by an illiterate do you? It reflects on all of us!
Pmsl
Lad if I were you Id be much much more concerned about whether I could count than whether I could write! Otherwise a whole lot of software is in a whole heap of trouble! But hey, its only 1s and 0s so it shouldnt be too hard right?...
TheArb said:
D'you know Arb......funny thing and a small point of observation but I've yet to see you post a comment on any thread that's relevant to the actual subject of that thread.........
>> Edited by yellow peril on Tuesday 6th September 07:51
Beats droning on about myself endlessly.
Oooo nasty....
One thing about being an RO is that one develops the thick skin of a 25 year old elephant.........and comments like that are water off the back of a 25 year old duck.....
YP
yellow peril said:
yellow peril said:
D'you know Arb......funny thing and a small point of observation but I've yet to see you post a comment on any thread that's relevant to the actual subject of that thread.........
>> Edited by yellow peril on Tuesday 6th September 07:51
Beats droning on about myself endlessly.
Oooo nasty....
One thing about being an RO is that one develops the thick skin of a 25 year old elephant.........and comments like that are water off the back of a 25 year old duck.....
YP
Oh I thought he was on about me!
Good write up before YP. Tell Ray good to see some ballsy driving
'Gris is in for the 1000 mile service atm, was told by DM that the rubber is being taken off round the bonnet completely...it wasnt needed! This will/is a new official fix apparently!
DJC said:
was told by DM that the rubber is being taken off round the bonnet completely...it wasnt needed! This will/is a new official fix apparently!
I've heard this too. However, apparently the access bonnet can move around slightly without the rubber and starts to wear the paintwork in areas with paint to paint contact. The damage probably won’t be that visible but it’s hardly an ideal fix. IMHO they need a flat strip of rubber all the way round which is stuck on properly, rather like a big rubber band.
the pits said:
My vote goes for a complete carbon fibre bonnet. Lighter and stiffer, it would wobble less and look even cooler unpainted! Especiallyl with a set of those racing bonnet clips.
It'd be pricey but I'd pay.
My original fix suggestion to Ben at DM was if there was none forthcomming from the factory before mine was delivered, then I wanted racing clips putting on.
Must admit, for a carbon fibre car, I want it completely unpainted. Truly hard as the muts nuts!
the pits said:
My vote goes for a complete carbon fibre bonnet. Lighter and stiffer, it would wobble less and look even cooler unpainted! Especiallyl with a set of those racing bonnet clips.
It'd be pricey but I'd pay.
Sounds good to me, must admit it would look
in unpainted carbon fibre. Must be some companies out there that could put one together. What about these?
PP
Edited to add link
>> Edited by PinkPanther on Wednesday 7th September 11:41
the pits said:
Nice one! I'll give them a bell.
There's a thread on the Cerbera forum started by Ash (SXS) about custom CF bonnets. Why not find out who's proposing to do those and see if they'll do a Saggy?
The thread implies that they're prepared to change the design, if they can guarantee a number of orders (which was pretty low IIRC).
d
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