TVR Chimaera and Audi RS4: PH Carpool
A TVR and an Audi RS4? That's pretty much the dream PH fleet in one hit
Graeme Hardie
Car:
1995 TVR Chimaera 4.0 HC
2007 Audi RS4 Avant
Owned since:
TVR - 2009
Audi - 2011
Previously owned:
In my late teens and early 20s I had numerous fast Fords including XR2, Escort RS Turbos, Fiesta RS Turbo and a Sapphire Cosworth. Then for a few years I ran a Vauxhall Frontera (Don't ask, although was actually a really good car for messing around in and lugging bikes around the country), then several exceptionally boring Honda company cars from Jazzes through to CRV diesels with a variety of 2.4 Type S Accords and Civics in between. Now in my 30s I've run some Golf GTI's and then the cars shown here.
Love at first drive says our Carpooler
"I've always been a TVR fan ever since as a child we used to visit family in London, who at the time lived near a TVR dealer. The V8 wedges were the car of the time and the sound of the engine used to get me up from the dinner table to peer out the window and occasionally dribble. I've always followed the Peter Wheeler Era of TVR and nearly bought a Cerbera a few years before the Chimaera came along. I saw a couple of dozen Chimaeras before I bought mine, and I fell in love with it on the first drive.
"The Audi's by far the most performance I could get in a practical day to day car with space for kids and my various bike trips, and I'd promised myself one the moment Audi chose to go for a high revving V8 and I subsequently saw the car at Geneva in 2005."
RS4 fits in with other pursuits too
"I'd become almost obsessed with TVRs and buying guides before I bought my Chimaera. There's so much to know and spending hours trawling through information and PH forums on other people's experiences (and in some instances, nightmares) paid dividends when I started going to see cars as I was already familiar with small, but not cheap issues. The car I bought had none of the outrigger issues or apparent cam wear, although I wished I'd given it a thorough night out in the rain to see where it leaked from. It's quite common in TVRs to not be as water tight as you'd perhaps hope, but I'm sure mine has it's own little rain cloud weather system inside the cabin as no matter how many seals I've changed on doors, roof and windscreen, I still occasionally find a few small damp patches in the car on the nights I leave it out of the garage.
"My research into the Audi was similar, although if there was one lesson to be learned, it was not to assume that buying a car through the Audi dealer network would provide a faultless vehicle. The supplying dealer up north was genuinely terrible and once the car was off its forecourt, they had no interest in dealing with problems at all.
Research into TVRs paid of handsomely
"These cars are not cheap to run, and I knew that when buying it in the first place, but without Swindon Audi, it would've been a nightmare and potentially very expensive indeed."
Things I love:
"No matter how I'm feeling or what sort of day I've had, a blast in the sunshine around my local country roads with the roof down in my Chimaera brings a massive smile to my face.
"The Audi is hugely practical and I've lugged my kids around and various bikes to races all over the country and across Europe in it yet it still can out-accelerate most cars on the road and sounds like a NASCAR on full tilt. Not sure 15-20K miles per year at 18-20mpg is doing my wallet much good though, but I tend to not think about that too much..."
If the conditions don't suit the TVR.......
"I know it's the considered the norm now, but it still annoys me when people who've never owned a TVR make a point of commenting on how unreliable they are. Mine's only ever let me down once and that was because I'd left the lights on and the battery had gone flat. Other than that, it's been a perfect example of reliability and starts on first turn of the key even when left for a few weeks unused.
"My Audi has developed a 'creaking' from the back seat, and no matter how hard I look or silicon lube the various hinges and fixings, I can't seem to cure it. It comes on sporadically too, and as you'd expect with these things, seems to stop the minute I get it near the dealer..."
Costs:
"If they're required, TVR parts are not super expensive as they've generally carry over parts from Ford or Land Rover. In my car I've only needed to replace the seat belts as they became stiff in release and pull back, and the clutch master cylinder which was less than £100 fitted. I did start getting it serviced at Neil Garners, who are a semi local TVR specialist, but I found that with the service schedule in hand, a friend's local garage could do the work with the right parts for a quarter of the costs and still stamp the book. Tax is steep, but not as much as the Audi and it flies through its MOT ever year.
When roadtrips beckon the Audi steps up
Where I've been:
"My TVR tends to really only get used for sunny local blasts, so it doesn't really have any road trips to its name under my tenure, which is probably a crime for a car which is such a comfortable and actually quite practical proposition.
"I've driven across Europe in the Audi and it proved the perfect car for it. It's just about low key enough to fly under the radar of unwanted attention, yet to those who know about cars, know what it is and what it's like. The sound of the V8 tends to send the kids to sleep too, so that's another bonus."
New RS4 tempts after a quick test drive
"Despite only covering a couple of thousand miles a year in the TVR, I justify keeping it to the Mrs as an appreciating asset. However, I think this year it might be time to trade it up and to finally either scratch the Cerbera 4.5 V8 itch I still have, or maybe cash in and buy a 997 Turbo now they're coming down to a reasonable price.
"Audi Swindon recently let me have its new shape (B8) RS4 for a few days on a couple of occasions, and although dynamically it felt like a step backwards, it's a natural progression from my car and as mine gets longer in the tooth, it'll soon get traded in for the new car. I thought long and hard about buying one now, but after back to back drives in mine and then the new B8 on the same route, I decided to extend the warranty on mine for another 12 months and then trade up to the new car later this year.
"I'll be sad to see the Audi go, but it's on 70K miles now, so it'll soon be time to step into a new car again."
Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!
Great write up, I think a fast Audi and a TVR are the perfect combo
Is that the Forest Of Dean cycle centre car-park?!
Subaru WRX estate
Lotus Exige
Specialized hardtail
As for the 20k of warranty work that sounds horrific. I drove a clients rs4 when it was new, a number of occasions and loved it. Personally I think the A4 would be too small for my needs, due to kids and bikes too and find my 5 series tourer just the ticket. An M5 wagon is the estate I want or e63 but then costs on a used item do scare me.
Think I'll have to live with the 5 series, a Marin hard tail and a brand new Scott racing bike.
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