Discussion
hello everyone, this is a welcome message.
i live in italy and i dont speak very well (mmmm...very bad....). i have always appreciated the british car, fantastic, handmade, with passion...
lotus, mg, ginetta, ultima, merlin, bristol, marcos ecc and others.
My dream, a tvr.
Griffith and Chimaera my preferite...
My choice a Chimaera (i hope)
Always see the used car ad, and the excellent condition of those car.
Any question:
1) what motor suggested? 400, 430, 450 500? for reliability?
2) what differences?
3) a friend of mine told me about problems of the body wear, the chassis...
4) some advice?
I'm sorry for my english, but after years of observation TVR world, i decided to try a Chimaera...
thanks for your attention.
Alex
i live in italy and i dont speak very well (mmmm...very bad....). i have always appreciated the british car, fantastic, handmade, with passion...
lotus, mg, ginetta, ultima, merlin, bristol, marcos ecc and others.
My dream, a tvr.
Griffith and Chimaera my preferite...
My choice a Chimaera (i hope)
Always see the used car ad, and the excellent condition of those car.
Any question:
1) what motor suggested? 400, 430, 450 500? for reliability?
2) what differences?
3) a friend of mine told me about problems of the body wear, the chassis...
4) some advice?
I'm sorry for my english, but after years of observation TVR world, i decided to try a Chimaera...
thanks for your attention.
Alex
Hi Alex,
Welcome along!
This website is a great starting place for someone interested in buying a TVR Chimaera: http://www.chimaerapages.com/
I think that the answers to all of your questions will be in there. I'm sure other posters will be along shortly to offer more specific advice.
Good luck!
Welcome along!
This website is a great starting place for someone interested in buying a TVR Chimaera: http://www.chimaerapages.com/
I think that the answers to all of your questions will be in there. I'm sure other posters will be along shortly to offer more specific advice.
Good luck!
Hi,
I'd say go for the Chimaera. I don't know what the situation is like in Italy, but here in the UK the Griffith - which is mechanically identical - is significantly more expensive for what is basically the same car. The Chimaera is not only better value, but it's even more practical (with a truly huge boot for a sports car) and allegedly better aerodynamically (in terms of cooling and high speed stability).
As for which one, well that would depend on budget and what exactly you're looking for. Given an identical age and spec the price rises with engine speed - 400s are cheapest, 500s are the most expensive and the rest fall somewhere between the two. The engines are all 'torque' engines rather than high-revving screamers, but the 500s are particularly relaxed in their power delivery. In contrast, the 430 is generally thought to be the most 'racey' in its delivery.
When driven hard the 500s are slightly more prone to engine failures than the others, but they're all fundamentally pretty tough. Power output varies from example to example and none of them acheive the manufacturers figures - a healthy 450 could well be making more power than a slightly tired 500, so the performance difference isn't as big as the figures would make out on paper.
Also, the condition varies a lot. Some times you get cars for sale at high prices which claim to be immaculate, but actually conceal stacks of faults, and sometimes you get great cars going for low prices. I know I keep saying this, but I believe the best value model is probably the 430 - being early cars and relatively low capacity their prices are quite low, but they have one of the best engines in the range.
I'd say go for the Chimaera. I don't know what the situation is like in Italy, but here in the UK the Griffith - which is mechanically identical - is significantly more expensive for what is basically the same car. The Chimaera is not only better value, but it's even more practical (with a truly huge boot for a sports car) and allegedly better aerodynamically (in terms of cooling and high speed stability).
As for which one, well that would depend on budget and what exactly you're looking for. Given an identical age and spec the price rises with engine speed - 400s are cheapest, 500s are the most expensive and the rest fall somewhere between the two. The engines are all 'torque' engines rather than high-revving screamers, but the 500s are particularly relaxed in their power delivery. In contrast, the 430 is generally thought to be the most 'racey' in its delivery.
When driven hard the 500s are slightly more prone to engine failures than the others, but they're all fundamentally pretty tough. Power output varies from example to example and none of them acheive the manufacturers figures - a healthy 450 could well be making more power than a slightly tired 500, so the performance difference isn't as big as the figures would make out on paper.
Also, the condition varies a lot. Some times you get cars for sale at high prices which claim to be immaculate, but actually conceal stacks of faults, and sometimes you get great cars going for low prices. I know I keep saying this, but I believe the best value model is probably the 430 - being early cars and relatively low capacity their prices are quite low, but they have one of the best engines in the range.
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