Dream TVR Sandwich
Dream TVR Sandwich
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ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

209 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Just thought I'd share what proved to be an amazing drive over to the Silverstone Classic this morning.

On that lovely fast winding A413 road from Aylesbury to Buckingham a 280hp supercharged Frontline MGB GT caught me napping.

http://www.dep-o.co.uk/features/frontline-mg-le50/

Now I'm not endorsing this type of behaviour but this was just too tempting, so I went off in pursuit.

When I looked in my mirror a silver Ferrari 250GT SWB was chasing me yikes

Considering it's £??? million value it was a delight to see the driver was piloting it just as Enzo had intended.

http://rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057444

The TVR pulled away from that old Ferrari, but the Frontline was easily the equal of the Chimaera, I stayed with it until the screams of protest from my wife eventually stopped pay rolleyes

It was a moment that'll stay will me forever thumbup

MADMAX2

2,336 posts

224 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
dump the wife get a girlfriend smile

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

251 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
biglaugh
I had a similar experience on Tuesday with the new Ferrari f70.
He couldn't shake me off smile
Mind you he probably wasn't trying too hard!

Edited by Discopotatoes on Sunday 28th July 21:41

ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

209 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
biglaugh
I had a similar experience on Tuesday with the new Ferrari f70.
He couldn't shake me off smile
Mind you he probably wasn't trying too hard!

Edited by Discopotatoes on Sunday 28th July 21:41
Awesome thumbup

chris1972

3,597 posts

167 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
ChimpOnGas said:
Just thought I'd share what proved to be an amazing drive over to the Silverstone Classic this morning.

On that lovely fast winding A413 road from Aylesbury to Buckingham a 280hp supercharged Frontline MGB GT caught me napping.

http://www.dep-o.co.uk/features/frontline-mg-le50/

Now I'm not endorsing this type of behaviour but this was just too tempting, so I went off in pursuit.

When I looked in my mirror a silver Ferrari 250GT SWB was chasing me yikes

Considering it's £??? million value it was a delight to see the driver was piloting it just as Enzo had intended.

http://rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057444

The TVR pulled away from that old Ferrari, but the Frontline was easily the equal of the Chimaera, I stayed with it until the screams of protest from my wife eventually stopped pay rolleyes

It was a moment that'll stay will me forever thumbup
Time to add nitro into the mix as well!!! wink

cjj799

363 posts

209 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
biglaugh
I had a similar experience on Tuesday with the new Ferrari f70.
He couldn't shake me off smile
Mind you he probably wasn't trying too hard!

Edited by Discopotatoes on Sunday 28th July 21:41
Are you sure it was an F70? I doubt if it was.

Even if it was only an F12 with 730 bhp ( as opposed to the F70's 943 bhp) I'd say he wasn't trying too hard at all. In fact he was probably smoking a fag whilst speaking to his granny on his iPhone and trying to hook the phone up to the bluetooth at the same time. wink

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

251 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
cjj799 said:
Discopotatoes said:
biglaugh
I had a similar experience on Tuesday with the new Ferrari f70.
He couldn't shake me off smile
Mind you he probably wasn't trying too hard!

Edited by Discopotatoes on Sunday 28th July 21:41
Are you sure it was an F70? I doubt if it was.

Even if it was only an F12 with 730 bhp ( as opposed to the F70's 943 bhp) I'd say he wasn't trying too hard at all. In fact he was probably smoking a fag whilst speaking to his granny on his iPhone and trying to hook the phone up to the bluetooth at the same time. wink
Why do you doubt it was an f70?
When I first saw it in my mirrors I thought Lamborghini as it was white then as it passed me I saw the badge on the side,
Like I said he probably wasn't trying too hard and obviously wasn't using kerrs,
789 hp 1255kg power to weight = 628
So not that far away wink

cjj799

363 posts

209 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
Why do you doubt it was an f70?
When I first saw it in my mirrors I thought Lamborghini as it was white then as it passed me I saw the badge on the side,
Like I said he probably wasn't trying too hard and obviously wasn't using kerrs,
789 hp 1255kg power to weight = 628
So not that far away wink
I will stand to be corrected but I was not aware that any F70's have been produced yet, apart from motor show cars etc.

OK, 628 bhp per tonne might not be too far away from your Chim, but I think most of us have a bit of work to do yet to mix it in that type of company. smile

Edited by cjj799 on Sunday 28th July 23:22

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

251 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
cjj799 said:
Discopotatoes said:
Why do you doubt it was an f70?
When I first saw it in my mirrors I thought Lamborghini as it was white then as it passed me I saw the badge on the side,
Like I said he probably wasn't trying too hard and obviously wasn't using kerrs,
789 hp 1255kg power to weight = 628
So not that far away wink
I will stand to be corrected but I was not aware that any F70's have been produced yet, apart from motor show cars etc.

OK, 628 bhp per tonne might not be too far away from your Chim, but I think most of us have a bit of work to do yet to mix it in that type of company. smile

Edited by cjj799 on Sunday 28th July 23:22
All I know is it didn't look like any Ferrari I'd seen before so I may be wrong and I can't find any news on release dates,

Chilliman

12,422 posts

191 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
ChimpOnGas said:
a 280hp supercharged Frontline MGB GT caught me napping..... the Frontline was easily the equal of the Chimaera, It was a moment that'll stay will me forever thumbup
Hmm, let me get this right. You were equalled by an MGB? An MGB? Whilst I've owned a number of MGB's in the past (including a factory V8), and still own a '72 Roadster (currently in storage) I find it most distressing that you couldn't show an MGB a clean set of heels. OK so it's got a SC. But it's still an MGB. For God's sake man, as if that wasn't bad enough, you've fessed up to it publicly.

Lets hope the Griff girls don't see this, we'll never live it down.




An MGB. FFS




Spose it could have been worse, at least it wasn't an MX5





wink

Russell Mc

573 posts

181 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
An MGB with an MX5 engine no less

Griffithy

929 posts

306 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
Chilliman said:
Lets hope the Griff girls don't see this, we'll never live it down.
Too late loser

biglaugh

SILICONEKID343HP

14,997 posts

261 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
That's a very special MG ,the frontline stuff transforms the car with full independent suspension with coil overs

That car has been on piston heads ! What engine is it ?

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/news/news-new-mgb-...


ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

209 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
SILICONEKID343HP said:
That's a very special MG ,the frontline stuff transforms the car with full independent suspension with coil overs

That car has been on piston heads ! What engine is it ?

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/news/news-new-mgb-...

Actually that's the very car.

Ordinarily I'd totally agree with Cilliman, I was brought up to call the MGB Roadster a Morris Oxford convertible, the MGB GT was the Austin Cambridge coupe.

An MGB in it's natural original state is not a very clever thing, it's just a BMC parts bin special really & not a very good one at that.

I know this £50k Frontline very well wink

A Frontline starts life with a reinforced & seam welded new heritage shell.

After that all the suspension is completely re-engineered and extremely effective modern power, transmission & running gear is added.

The whole thing is then painted & trimmed to perfection, the end result being something that looks like an MGB.......

But in practice couldn't be further away from the original car.

Trust me, a Frontline MGB is a very very rapid weapon on a fast A road like the A413.

But he still didn't get away from me in "Ol Gasbag" cool

ToneyCaroney

1,082 posts

214 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
ChimpOnGas said:
When I looked in my mirror a silver Ferrari 250GT SWB was chasing me yikes

Considering it's £??? million value it was a delight to see the driver was piloting it just as Enzo had intended.
Probably this one. It was in the paddock on Saturday looking fabulous. Not concours but actually looking well used and all the better for it.



As for MGBs, a yellow GT (not an LE50) made both me and a guy in a AM Vantage look a bit silly on the way to Silverstone. Don't know what he'd done to the bloody thing but it shifted like no MGB I've ever seen. So, if it's any consolation, you aren't alone smile

chris1972

3,597 posts

167 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
ToneyCaroney said:
Probably this one. It was in the paddock on Saturday looking fabulous. Not concours but actually looking well used and all the better for it.



As for MGBs, a yellow GT (not an LE50) made both me and a guy in a AM Vantage look a bit silly on the way to Silverstone. Don't know what he'd done to the bloody thing but it shifted like no MGB I've ever seen. So, if it's any consolation, you aren't alone smile
That looks awesome!

ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

209 months

Monday 29th July 2013
quotequote all
ToneyCaroney said:
ChimpOnGas said:
When I looked in my mirror a silver Ferrari 250GT SWB was chasing me yikes

Considering it's £??? million value it was a delight to see the driver was piloting it just as Enzo had intended.
Probably this one. It was in the paddock on Saturday looking fabulous. Not concours but actually looking well used and all the better for it.



As for MGBs, a yellow GT (not an LE50) made both me and a guy in a AM Vantage look a bit silly on the way to Silverstone. Don't know what he'd done to the bloody thing but it shifted like no MGB I've ever seen. So, if it's any consolation, you aren't alone smile
That's the one, he was pressing on too.

The Frontline LE50 in question wasn't supercharged so makes 215hp but weighs in at only 860kg (250hp per tonne)

A Ferrari 250SWB will typically make about 270hp from the Colombo V12 pushing along 1100kg (245hp per tonne)

"Ol Gasbag" makes 260hp & carries 1100kg with her gas bottles filled & 3 gallons of petrol on board (236hp per tonne)

So all three pretty evenly matched, it's the kind of even match where better brakes and handling really count.

All three proper old school classic cars with added thrills & huge charm.
  • The Fronline costs £50,000.00
  • The Ferrari costs £? Million/s
  • Or you could have a nice Eagle E-Type built for £250,000.00
  • A decent Chimaera can still be had for less that £10,000.00

I'm not saying a TVR is even close to a Ferrari 250SWB.

But if you like your sports cars with old school thrills but want something with better brakes & handling than the period stuff, you'll not find a better candidate than a TVR Chimaera (or Griff).

The fact a sorted Chimaera can be had for less that £10k makes it the classic sports car bargain of the century in my book.

That Frontline LE50 knew I was behind him & was trying his best to get away, the Ferrari was pressing on trying to stay with us both but his brakes & beam axle were not helping him.

Neither were looking at my TVR saying to themselves that's a £10k car, the TVR was getting respect & we were all having the times of our lives driving

But only one of us was doing the cost equivalent of 50mpg at the same time smokin

Troyr

3 posts

159 months

Tuesday 30th July 2013
quotequote all
Hi guys
As the driver of the old gas bag I thought I better reply...
I recall that group of 4 and remarked to my wife that the red Chimera was showing me he's "not that slow"
I collected the car from Frontline 3 weeks ago and have just come back from a 4000m run-in trip through Europe
I got the high performance option that makes 238hp at 8000rpm (all of which was in use during that traffic event)
Not bad from a 2L engine with Mazda's aproval
It's also got power steering, air conditioning, cruise control and a real radio among other things
It's off to my home in Australia this week
I looked at a lot of cars before deciding on the LE50 including a Ferrari, Maseratti and AM
None of them would come near it for handling and only the Lotus 7 would keep up in a straight line
I had a great run both days to the track but never exceeded 80mph, except overtaking (for safety reasons of course!)
The drive home Saturday night was a bit ordinary. Haven't you guys heard of drainage?
Thanks for your input to my holiday and I'm just sorry you're so slow smile
Cheers
Troy

ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

209 months

Tuesday 30th July 2013
quotequote all
Troyr said:
Hi guys
As the driver of the old gas bag I thought I better reply...
I recall that group of 4 and remarked to my wife that the red Chimera was showing me he's "not that slow"
I collected the car from Frontline 3 weeks ago and have just come back from a 4000m run-in trip through Europe
I got the high performance option that makes 238hp at 8000rpm (all of which was in use during that traffic event)
Not bad from a 2L engine with Mazda's aproval
It's also got power steering, air conditioning, cruise control and a real radio among other things
It's off to my home in Australia this week
I looked at a lot of cars before deciding on the LE50 including a Ferrari, Maseratti and AM
None of them would come near it for handling and only the Lotus 7 would keep up in a straight line
I had a great run both days to the track but never exceeded 80mph, except overtaking (for safety reasons of course!)
The drive home Saturday night was a bit ordinary. Haven't you guys heard of drainage?
Thanks for your input to my holiday and I'm just sorry you're so slow smile
Cheers
Troy
Massive thumbup Troy, we appreciate you joining us here to tell us all about your Frontline LE50.

What an amazing car, and shockingly fast on that winding road from Aylesbury to Buckingham.

I had to pull out of the fun after 5 minutes as the wife wasn't keen on our antics, and I value my family jewels wink

But I briefly got some play time in with you, and we both very much left the group behind driving

I was running on LPG at the time & doing the cost equivalent of 50mpg, but she's making more power than petrol that way wink

A massive thanks for making my day, & congratulations on choosing the Frontline LE50.

It retains everything good about a classic car but completely engineers out the limitations & compromises.

I must say she sounded absolutely awsome when you flew by me too, especially for a four banger wink

Top effort from the sheep farmer thumbup

As you can see I've been a fan of your car for some time now.....








PS: Stop stealing our nice cars & taking them to kangaroo country laugh

Troyr

3 posts

159 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
It sounds like your car is fast enough Chimp, you just need a faster wife!
This is the third car I've rescued from the sleet and salt!
And the second time I've shared a container with a TVR too
Last time it was a Tuscan race car, this time a GT racer (I haven't seen it yet)
A circuit racing buddy of mine collects (and races) them
In Australia we make big lazy boring sedans with ludicrous engines like the poor old Americans
I keep promising to bring one of mine back but I cant bear to part with any
This one will become the flagship of the fleet (of old English and European relics)
The great sound appears between 5 and 8,000rpm. below that it sounds remarkably like a B!
I have only manages 46mpg on my travels so far
Anyway, take care
Troy