Chimaera in Classic Motoring March edition
Discussion
In the mid 90's a Lotus Elan was 25 years old and while at the time is was accepted as a classic it was also ridiculed in many circles for it's unreliability and plastic body.
At the time prospective buyers were well advised to check the chassis on a Lotus Elan very carefully as they were renowned for corrosion.
Ring any bells?
During this time you could pick up a reasonable Elan convertible for £7k but you'd often find after a couple of years the chassis was in need of attention.
Sound familiar?
In response the Lotus specialists started to make a nice little business out of body off chassis restorations helped greatly by the availability of new replacement chassis'.
Is this a story you recognise?
Fast forward to the present day and a you'll be lucky to find an Elan convertible advertised for less than £30k.
All the chassis fears have gone away as almost all have been restored, all the reliability jokes have largely disappeared because it just isn't relevant now the car is a fully accepted classic.
People are still putting Ford Zetec or Duratec engines in them just like people are putting LS engines in Chims & Griffs.
So just as the Elan rose from £7k to £30k in 20 years so will a Chimaera, you may have to spend some money on the chassis during that time but all the evidence says it will happen.
Buy now, enjoy now, when funds allow sort the chassis to future proof your investment, enjoy some more.
I'd say there's no better time to get into TVR ownership, it's the 60's Elan story all over again just 20 years later.
At the time prospective buyers were well advised to check the chassis on a Lotus Elan very carefully as they were renowned for corrosion.
Ring any bells?
During this time you could pick up a reasonable Elan convertible for £7k but you'd often find after a couple of years the chassis was in need of attention.
Sound familiar?
In response the Lotus specialists started to make a nice little business out of body off chassis restorations helped greatly by the availability of new replacement chassis'.
Is this a story you recognise?
Fast forward to the present day and a you'll be lucky to find an Elan convertible advertised for less than £30k.
All the chassis fears have gone away as almost all have been restored, all the reliability jokes have largely disappeared because it just isn't relevant now the car is a fully accepted classic.
People are still putting Ford Zetec or Duratec engines in them just like people are putting LS engines in Chims & Griffs.
So just as the Elan rose from £7k to £30k in 20 years so will a Chimaera, you may have to spend some money on the chassis during that time but all the evidence says it will happen.
Buy now, enjoy now, when funds allow sort the chassis to future proof your investment, enjoy some more.
I'd say there's no better time to get into TVR ownership, it's the 60's Elan story all over again just 20 years later.
I am hoping to be in a position to move on from my TVR to something more exotic within the next year or two, but now I'm considering hanging on to the TVR as well. Partly driven by the fear of getting out at the wrong time, but if I'm honest, it's mainly because whatever I buy is bound to lack the analogue rawness of the TVR and I know that's something I will crave occasionally. There are certain days and situations where nothing else will do. 
The truth is my Elan comparison is just a educated guess based on two cars that both share a separate backbone chassis/fibreglass body design and at one time a dubious reputation for quality.
But predicting the future is always a dangerous game.
For fear of getting shot down in flames here the Griffith will always be the investors choice, but just as Aston DB6's followed DB5's, so the Chimaera will follow the Griffith as people realise it's the same car.... just cheaper & better in many ways
The right models of certain rare & high end marks will always deliver a reasonable return in the long run, and of late this seems to be spilling over into the higher production marks too, just look at what's recently been happening with values of the last of the air cooled Porsche 911's (993).
With this in mind it's worth reminding ourselves that TVR stole a few 993 sales from Porsche back in the mid nineties, the British working class hero Griffs & Chimaeras went toe to toe with yuppy Porsches on the streets of 90's Britain often embarrassing the Teutonic beetle sports car from the Father Land.
Many petrol heads remember those days with affection, and just like the current batch of young Shoreditch fashion victims dress and consume electro music like they're living in the 80's, soon we'll be seeing a rise in 90's nostalgia. In fact its already happening.
Gradually this 90's nostalgia will find it's way to a new breed of British classic car buyer who sees romance in that Porsche vs TVR battle and wants to recreate it.
So at one end we have the Elan comparison and at the other we have a rise in 90's nostalgia, squeezed in between are those iconic Rover V8 engined mid 90's TVRs, its a recipe no prospective classic enthusiast should ignore.
Add to this the rather small pool of cars on the market which is a direct result of the low production figures, and the old rule of supply & demand will always ensure your Griff or Chimaera will at the very least hold its value.
But a word of warning, there's many an amateur investor who's had his fingers burnt trying to make money out of classic cars.
I recommend putting rising values to the back of your mind, buy a TVR because you've always wanted one not because you expect to make money on it.
Drive it, enjoy it & hang onto it... and you never know after 10 years of TVR pleasure you may just see it go up in value too.
But honestly, that really should just be seen as a nice little bonus, the motivation of TVR ownership should always be lead by your heart not by your wallet.
But predicting the future is always a dangerous game.
For fear of getting shot down in flames here the Griffith will always be the investors choice, but just as Aston DB6's followed DB5's, so the Chimaera will follow the Griffith as people realise it's the same car.... just cheaper & better in many ways
The right models of certain rare & high end marks will always deliver a reasonable return in the long run, and of late this seems to be spilling over into the higher production marks too, just look at what's recently been happening with values of the last of the air cooled Porsche 911's (993).
With this in mind it's worth reminding ourselves that TVR stole a few 993 sales from Porsche back in the mid nineties, the British working class hero Griffs & Chimaeras went toe to toe with yuppy Porsches on the streets of 90's Britain often embarrassing the Teutonic beetle sports car from the Father Land.
Many petrol heads remember those days with affection, and just like the current batch of young Shoreditch fashion victims dress and consume electro music like they're living in the 80's, soon we'll be seeing a rise in 90's nostalgia. In fact its already happening.
Gradually this 90's nostalgia will find it's way to a new breed of British classic car buyer who sees romance in that Porsche vs TVR battle and wants to recreate it.
So at one end we have the Elan comparison and at the other we have a rise in 90's nostalgia, squeezed in between are those iconic Rover V8 engined mid 90's TVRs, its a recipe no prospective classic enthusiast should ignore.
Add to this the rather small pool of cars on the market which is a direct result of the low production figures, and the old rule of supply & demand will always ensure your Griff or Chimaera will at the very least hold its value.
But a word of warning, there's many an amateur investor who's had his fingers burnt trying to make money out of classic cars.
I recommend putting rising values to the back of your mind, buy a TVR because you've always wanted one not because you expect to make money on it.
Drive it, enjoy it & hang onto it... and you never know after 10 years of TVR pleasure you may just see it go up in value too.
But honestly, that really should just be seen as a nice little bonus, the motivation of TVR ownership should always be lead by your heart not by your wallet.
RDJ said:
Now almost universally tipped by motoring hacks as the next classic car to take off on values 
Hope so, same for all TVRs. But, But, see Robert Peston's big bubble report on the massive, massive Chinese Dept (TV last evening) Also, Soros says much the same. Our dept as well. A lot of motoring hacks are dealers wanting to cash in and inflate the prices. Sorry for the pessimism, bubble burst in the UK Classic car market about 10 years ago. 900T-R said:
Well, good thing the Chinese and Russians are hardly going to affect the market for old TVRs, then. 
Holland enthusiasts will be looking for bargains with I think their rapid auctions, start high, settle low? Correct me, your Black Tulip burst the bubble historically. Good luck. We all have to be smart arses!
900T-R said:
Well, good thing the Chinese and Russians are hardly going to affect the market for old TVRs, then.
Holland enthusiasts will be looking for bargains with I think their rapid auctions, start high, settle low? Correct me, your Black Tulip burst the bubble historically. Good luck. We all have to be smart arses!As TVRs enter the classic sector, all the old BS from pub bores about reliability and build quality doesn't matter any more and has been forgotten. People expect old cars to be troublesome and expensive and are pleasantly surprised about how reliable and cheap to run these cars actually are.
Plus I would rather know that tin worm is easily dealt with in TVRs than possibly lurking everywhere in a steel body, requiring literally pulling the whole car to pieces to fix.
Plus I would rather know that tin worm is easily dealt with in TVRs than possibly lurking everywhere in a steel body, requiring literally pulling the whole car to pieces to fix.
Bluebottle said:
The more the values go up, the less likely insurance companies are to write off damaged vehicles...and that can only be a good thing
Very true, and the same thing will mean all those TVR wrecks up there in Northumberland will go from breakers to viable restoration projects.The man that owns them may not have a whiter than white reputation, be he's certainly nobodies fool.
He's sitting quietly on a potential goldmine, sure.. all the time hes selling parts & knocking out the lightly repaired cars he's making a living.
But the retirement fund will come when the value of his stock starts to rocket, and it will.
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