My 400 has gone my 450 is here
Discussion
t.
Its a good 120bhp up on a sorted 4l..FreeLitres said:
Reading this, I feel like the Big Kid watching the Medium Kid pick on the Little Kid! 
(Yes I know a well sorted 450 will beat an average 500 blah blah..)
I'd like to be sitting on your side of the fence one day, but have a feeling that a 450 is a more realistic ambition: I've been in a well sorted 400 minus pre cats and actually that felt pretty rapid from the passenger seat. I have the worry that after a while it won't feel quick enough from the driver's seat though...(Yes I know a well sorted 450 will beat an average 500 blah blah..)
I drove an AMG E63 at Mercedes Benz world a few months ago (present from the OH): It was 480 HP and the C class body. I wonder which Chimaera would beat it in accelaration terms as it must weigh a lot more, as this is my benchmark for a fast car (be gentle I do drive a 2.0Tdi for work
).
OldSkoolRS said:
I drove an AMG E63 at Mercedes Benz world a few months ago - this is my benchmark for a fast car
Nice benchmark - I love AMG Mercs. We had a CLK(?) 55AMG joing us at the last TVR club run - it had no trouble in keeping up at usual pace!To be honest, I'm still too scared of my 500 to give it the full beans on anything except a very safe/straight/quiet road, so there will be quite a few cars out there that could teach me a lesson!
Thanks 666SVT and Freelitres: I only took it upto about 85mph as it isn't a long straight and I was pretty nervous if I'm honest. The straight was the only time I gave it the full throttle albeit briefly to give me plenty of time to brake before the sharp right hander. The 'Silver Arrows'drivers get to 110mph apparently on the same straight for comparison. I reckon the guy sitting in with me probably thought I was a big wuss, but it's hard to go from driving a FWD diesel estate to a powerful RWD V8, but I hope to be able to do that at weekends at some point with a TVR.
If Wikipedi is to be believed and AMG's website, the C Class I drove is 480HP and 1730Kg which is 277 HP/Ton. A 450 would be a little under this figure and a 500 would be 320HP/Ton (if the 1060Kg weight figure is correct on Wiki). So basically I need to get a well sorted 450 or a 500 in good condition to met my benchmark...I don't need to worry about the >100mph performance really (do I? ).
If Wikipedi is to be believed and AMG's website, the C Class I drove is 480HP and 1730Kg which is 277 HP/Ton. A 450 would be a little under this figure and a 500 would be 320HP/Ton (if the 1060Kg weight figure is correct on Wiki). So basically I need to get a well sorted 450 or a 500 in good condition to met my benchmark...I don't need to worry about the >100mph performance really (do I?
).I hadn't realised that. Oh well I guess I need a 500 and a supercharger then. 
I have been looking at Tuscans as well, but I really want a V8 and the cost of rebuilding the speed six puts me off, incase I was unlucky and bought a pup. I can't explain why, but I feel more confident about pulling a Rover V8 apart if I had to, even though I'm more used to 4 cylinder Ford engines.
I have been looking at Tuscans as well, but I really want a V8 and the cost of rebuilding the speed six puts me off, incase I was unlucky and bought a pup. I can't explain why, but I feel more confident about pulling a Rover V8 apart if I had to, even though I'm more used to 4 cylinder Ford engines.I love the RV8 cars. I am no expert on S6 eninges but if you are worried about rebuilds, you could look for one that has had a rebuild from the likes of TVR Power. These will come with a warranty for a number of years. (They must use a material other than the usual factory chocolate).
FreeLitres said:
I love the RV8 cars. I am no expert on S6 eninges but if you are worried about rebuilds, you could look for one that has had a rebuild from the likes of TVR Power. These will come with a warranty for a number of years. (They must use a material other than the usual factory chocolate).
I guess you're right and I have seen a few advertised as having a recently rebuilt engine (maybe even selling so they can pay back their credit card? ). However I started off looking at maybe spending £8K on a Chimaera that I can 'improve' but is basically sound, to looking at Tuscans for at least twice this amount. Kind of depends on me getting over £10K for my RS2000 so I don't have to dig too much into my savings as well, so at the moment it's largely academic (but fun researching). Plus I just ordered a copy of the Steve Heath 'bible' from Amazon, so I guess I'm Chimaera bound. EDIT: Appologies to the OP for taking over this thread somewhat.
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