Where is the First & Last Chimaera's

[Colin L]

As the title says we all know the Griff & Cerbera boys & girls know were theirs are but who has or do they still run the very first Chimaera & the last one made ?

It's just a thought that it would be fun to find out if they are still out there.

Colin L

[Andy_mr2sc]

I own a chim registered in March '93 which must be one of the first and my friend has an '02 chim with the fared in headlights which must be one of the last?

Andy.

[seeby]

Mine is a 96 so it must be somewhere in the middle.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

There's a couple of ultra-low-mileage '03 Chimaeras advertised on PH at the moment. These really must have been amongst the last:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3038745.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3033547.htm

[Colin L]

Great but surely we must be able to track down the first and last ones?

I mean we can't let the Griff boys have there own book & history, yet the Greatest TVR sales wise is left in the shade.

Now Chimaera's are the greatest TVR off all time too, but we must be able to come up with some more history info.

Colin L

[Grey Ghost]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

There's a couple of ultra-low-mileage '03 Chimaeras advertised on PH at the moment. These really must have been amongst the last:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3038745.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3033547.htm

Same car, same background in shots, same price.........but two different company names on the adverts

[K4TRV]

So to determine the earliest Chimaera, is it the lowest number in the VIN for 1993??

Mines "1188" for sometime around Mar/Apr 93. It's not the first, but close, I believe?

Trev

ETA. I do remember someone saying they had/seen a Oct/Nov 1992 Chim that was used at the 1992 Motorshow for starting in 1993??? Kinda hard then to find the "first" ??? No idea about numbers now ???

Edited by K4TRV on Monday 22 August 14:30

[FastRich]

Slightly O/T but not at the same time...

Before the Chim, I had an MG RV8. I was trying to trace it recently and spoke to some MG Historians (the guys must have had some major beards going on...but they were very friendly and extremely helpful). Despite never registering the car on the V8 Register, one of them was able to tell me the car I had, chassis 0362 was the 27th Nightfire Red UK car built on bodyshell No. 140 and was, in total, the 111th RV8 built.

Surely there's a 'little book' or some record that someone must have somewhere with build information for all the TVR's ever built? It seems unlikely that there was never any record of such things, or that the record was destroyed.

[quattrophenia]

Think the subject of the earliest Chim has been discussed before. I was surprised to hear about a 1992 registered Chim and was informed there were one or 2 out there?
I have seen a few '02', '52' and an '03' reg. According to TVR's rather sketchy production numbers there were approximately 6 registered in 2003. When you consider that if any of those 6 were registered in January to March of 2003 would be on a 52 plate it must make the few 03 reg cars the very last. Saw one at Chatsworth last year.
I think mine is in the last 10 to be registered before the mark 3 faired in lights were introduced and is in the last 100 or so to be produced, if that can be my little claim to fame.
Would have been nice if the very last car had had some sort of plaque fitted to commemorate the end of production.

[RetroWheels]

K4TRV said:

So to determine the earliest Chimaera, is it the lowest number in the VIN for 1993??

Mines "1188" for sometime around Mar/Apr 93. It's not the first, but close, I believe?

Trev

ETA. I do remember someone saying they had/seen a Oct/Nov 1992 Chim that was used at the 1992 Motorshow for starting in 1993??? Kinda hard then to find the "first" ??? No idea about numbers now ???

Edited by K4TRV on Monday 22 August 14:30

Yours could well be the first customer car.. ordered 13/01/93 and build begun 28/01/93 .. the very few prior to this were Demo or Press cars.

[Andy_mr2sc]

My vin ends in 11109 and was registered 15th March 1993 if that helps?
Seems like a high number for the year or is the first digit disregarded?

Andy

[900T-R]

1359 here IIRC, first registered June 11th, 1993.

[RetroWheels]

Andy_mr2sc said:

My vin ends in 11109 and was registered 15th March 1993 if that helps?
Seems like a high number for the year or is the first digit disregarded?

Andy

I've got some records , all though by no means comprehensive ,the earliest starts ...1106 then jumps to ...1131 all very early cars - as an example ...1178 was a TVR Pres car.
I dont know, but i would'nt be suprised if yours was the 9th car in build.
Surface and Design have build records and Malcolm on here (potato muncher)would likely know.

[K4TRV]

RetroWheels said:

K4TRV said:

So to determine the earliest Chimaera, is it the lowest number in the VIN for 1993??

Mines "1188" for sometime around Mar/Apr 93. It's not the first, but close, I believe?

Trev

ETA. I do remember someone saying they had/seen a Oct/Nov 1992 Chim that was used at the 1992 Motorshow for starting in 1993??? Kinda hard then to find the "first" ??? No idea about numbers now ???

Edited by K4TRV on Monday 22 August 14:30

Yours could well be the first customer car.. ordered 13/01/93 and build begun 28/01/93 .. the very few prior to this were Demo or Press cars.

Very interesting, thank you. I need to see when it was first registered (at work currently), but have-a-feeling-in-my-water that it's definately not the first. The numbering scheme seems to have determined that already....!! But really nice to know it is an early example and still largely unmolested (well, it does well in the TVR Speed Champs last 2-years against "so-called" quicker cars!! (to be rolling-roaded soon!) Trev

[Andy_mr2sc]

Does this mean it's worth more because it's such an early model or less because it's so old?
I'd like to think the former but more realistically it's the latter!!

I met Malcolm a few months ago on a visit to Blackpool but unfortunately was not in my Chim.
I don't suppose he has read this and can shed some more light on it?

Andy

[K4TRV]

Andy_mr2sc said:

Does this mean it's worth more because it's such an early model or less because it's so old?
I'd like to think the former but more realistically it's the latter!!

I met Malcolm a few months ago on a visit to Blackpool but unfortunately was not in my Chim.
I don't suppose he has read this and can shed some more light on it?

Andy

I'd also like to think the former.

My reg Doc says 24 Mar 1993 first Registered. So it's up there with the early ones!!

Trev

[Colin L]

But still no sign off the first Chimaera !

A photo would be good too, you just can't beat a good Chimaera

This is mine a nice '96 one started out a 400HC now a 450 with tweeks, old 400 engine resting in the garage after covering 130,000 miles,


But it would be good to see a picture off the first & last Chimaera's

They must be out there some where

Colin L

[rickprice]

If they're still alive?

[Timja]

I seem to remember that this Green TVR was a very early one...

[timshap]

Just checked mine and the chassis was stamped Dec 1993 and it was first registered in Jan 1994 as a Chim 500 VIN 1100
It was originally ordered as a 4.3 and the factory swopped it for a 500 from the Grif line.
I think it might be the first Chim 500?

Tim