does size really matter???
Discussion
Right, after several months of pondering finally decided on the model to go for,and the sensible choice ( relaTIVly) is the Chimaera...now have narrowed it down to either a 4.5 post 98 or a 5.0 post 98 ....
now the question, keeping in mind that the car will probably never go on a track, and that the roads near me are not really conducive to any excessive speeds, will haver the occasional motorway trip, is the 4.5 a better bet than the 5.0? would love a 5.0 but am I being gready?
obviously both are outrageously fast, would I really appreciate the extra power, are there other fundamental differences between the two appart from engine size? ie brakes.
also have to take into account the fact that there is a wider choice of 4.5 with regard to colour and interior.
I know most poeple who own a 5.0 would say dont go for anything else and the same for 4.5's ..so any opinions will be waited accordingly....
and yes i have driven both, and liked both, used to have a 4.2 cerb so am used to the power, its the servising costs I ahd a problem with, which will hopefully be better with the chim.
am looking to spend up to £20k but would like something around the £18.5k mark .
any advice will be very gratefully received..
thnx
Steve.
now the question, keeping in mind that the car will probably never go on a track, and that the roads near me are not really conducive to any excessive speeds, will haver the occasional motorway trip, is the 4.5 a better bet than the 5.0? would love a 5.0 but am I being gready?
obviously both are outrageously fast, would I really appreciate the extra power, are there other fundamental differences between the two appart from engine size? ie brakes.
also have to take into account the fact that there is a wider choice of 4.5 with regard to colour and interior.
I know most poeple who own a 5.0 would say dont go for anything else and the same for 4.5's ..so any opinions will be waited accordingly....
and yes i have driven both, and liked both, used to have a 4.2 cerb so am used to the power, its the servising costs I ahd a problem with, which will hopefully be better with the chim.
am looking to spend up to £20k but would like something around the £18.5k mark .
any advice will be very gratefully received..
thnx
Steve.
Went through the same process earlier this year eventually decided that price/colour & service history were going to be the determining factors. Didn't make my search harder by excluding one or t'other. Totally delighted with the 450 and don't feel that this is in any way an inferior product to the 500.
Interesting time of the year to be buying - although prices might appear soft at the moment, most owners would not be out to sell unless there's a pressing need. So you're either looking at cars that didn't sell at the end of the summer and have been priced down or folks with a need to sell (new house, baby, both etc). Either way, good luck.
Hutch
Interesting time of the year to be buying - although prices might appear soft at the moment, most owners would not be out to sell unless there's a pressing need. So you're either looking at cars that didn't sell at the end of the summer and have been priced down or folks with a need to sell (new house, baby, both etc). Either way, good luck.
Hutch
The 4.5 will be more durable as it uses the standard Range Rover lump with mods to the cylinder heads, should do well over 100k without a problem, a very sweet engine ! only about 20-25 bhp between 4.5 & 500 but the 500 also has a similar increase in torque, so is without doubt quicker, especially in the mid-range. But if speed isn't the issue go for the 4.5. i own neither so unbiased ?
Tim
Tim
"The ultimate development of the Rover based V8 is the 4.5. You don't sound bothered about the extra 30bhp so the 4.5 is the car for you.
????????????????????
How can it be if the 5.0L has more power and is much quicker ?? Confused !!!
Here is a couple of reasons to buy a 5.0L :
1. There are very few around hence very desirabile so very easy to sell and seem to hold their money much better as they are the ultimate Chimaera.
2. There are loads of 4.5's about hence much harder to sell and TVR's are hard enough to sell at the best of times !!!!!
3. The first time you pull up at the lights next to a 4.5 Chimaera you will be whising you had bought the 5.0L
4. 0-60 4.1 sec ( not much else does)
5. The 5.0L will out run any porsche bar the 959 and any Ferrari bar the F40 and poss 360
6. The 4.5 won't !!!!!!!
I know some ideas sensibile some just childish I know !!!!
????????????????????
How can it be if the 5.0L has more power and is much quicker ?? Confused !!!
Here is a couple of reasons to buy a 5.0L :
1. There are very few around hence very desirabile so very easy to sell and seem to hold their money much better as they are the ultimate Chimaera.
2. There are loads of 4.5's about hence much harder to sell and TVR's are hard enough to sell at the best of times !!!!!
3. The first time you pull up at the lights next to a 4.5 Chimaera you will be whising you had bought the 5.0L
4. 0-60 4.1 sec ( not much else does)
5. The 5.0L will out run any porsche bar the 959 and any Ferrari bar the F40 and poss 360
6. The 4.5 won't !!!!!!!
I know some ideas sensibile some just childish I know !!!!
thanks for the comments guys, have considered re4sale as a factor but only a small one, after a few years of ownership( hopfully) i'm sure they will pretty mutch flatten out on the depreciation curve and as long as the colour combo is a good one resale would be more or less a similar proposition, although I will admit with the 5.0 being rarer would hold a premium. but thn you could spend more maintaining it in the long run as well....
difficult decision...there doesnt seem to be much in the purchase price at the moment , I'd say about a £1.5k difference between similar aged and coloured cars, still on the fence i'm afraid, but the idea of the 'Ultimate' chimaera does appeal, going to be down to heart vs head I think ....
difficult decision...there doesnt seem to be much in the purchase price at the moment , I'd say about a £1.5k difference between similar aged and coloured cars, still on the fence i'm afraid, but the idea of the 'Ultimate' chimaera does appeal, going to be down to heart vs head I think ....
Right, after several months of pondering finally decided on the model to go for,and the sensible choice ( relaTIVly) is the Chimaera...now have narrowed it down to either a 4.5 post 98 or a 5.0 post 98 ....
now the question, keeping in mind that the car will probably never go on a track, and that the roads near me are not really conducive to any excessive speeds, will haver the occasional motorway trip, is the 4.5 a better bet than the 5.0? would love a 5.0 but am I being gready?
obviously both are outrageously fast, would I really appreciate the extra power, are there other fundamental differences between the two appart from engine size? ie brakes.
also have to take into account the fact that there is a wider choice of 4.5 with regard to colour and interior.
I know most poeple who own a 5.0 would say dont go for anything else and the same for 4.5's ..so any opinions will be waited accordingly....
and yes i have driven both, and liked both, used to have a 4.2 cerb so am used to the power, its the servising costs I ahd a problem with, which will hopefully be better with the chim.
am looking to spend up to £20k but would like something around the £18.5k mark .
any advice will be very gratefully received..
thnx
Steve.
Depends what you want it for. If for track days then get the 5L and have it upgraded to 5.3L by V8 developments with multi-throttle induction kit so that it has some real power. The theorists tell us that you could get 100bhp per litre. On an ordinary road car when do you need all this extra power? Getting away from the lights? Dicing? I assume you have perhaps outgrown these things. The image perhaps--no problem--Douglas Valley Breakers will almost certainly have a 5L badge--send to Leven Technology for gold plating and replace the 4.5--who will know the difference? One more thing--if you get ACT's induction kit fitted + Mark Adams tuning you will probably be first away at the lights also --if that matters.
I would have thought the condition of the car should be the most important thing, the difference between 4.5 and 5.0 is fairly academic. Another point which may or may not be of interest to you is that before buying my Chim I asked a TVR service manager I know well about the running costs of the three models. He very quickly pointed out that a 4.0 and 4.5 are very similar, the 5.0 is the next level up. From other owners I have spoken to the bloke who owns Shell would also agree with him!
Ivan
Ivan
from past posts I would have thought that the difference in MPG would be about 3-4 per .5ltre. and surely servicing costs would be almost identical, only big difference in cost I can see is the initial outlay for the car...
I'm buying the car for my benefit and pleasure so I dont really care what badge it has on the back as long as it has TVR on it... dont think I'll be goin gfor any mods either, I thnik they are quite enough as they are..
yes condition is vitally important, will probably get Rob Ingley(sp?) on the case in the new year.
I'm buying the car for my benefit and pleasure so I dont really care what badge it has on the back as long as it has TVR on it... dont think I'll be goin gfor any mods either, I thnik they are quite enough as they are..
yes condition is vitally important, will probably get Rob Ingley(sp?) on the case in the new year.
The 5.0 is F**king fast - but not as fast as philb makes out - do you have one!? Top end can be a bit lame when you are on VERY open road (mine is in perfect tune thanks). But in twistys the monster torques means it's easily a match for a Tuscan (not when roads open out), and will murder a 4.0 or 4.5. Can't see the point in upgrading motor for the road - just save for a Cerb 4.5!
Jellison,
Yes have had two 500's now and a 400,cerbie 4.5,sp6, 355gts parents have a 360,996 tt,512TR oh and a 959(which is my mum's).
We have also owned an F40, 993 tt to name but a few !!!
My current 500 (late 1999 standard) hits 0-60 according to my Ap22 in 4.017 secs (quicker than stated and wastes all our cars bar the 959 which is quicker mainley due to the 4wd. The 360 is pretty close however but not close enough !!
Yes have had two 500's now and a 400,cerbie 4.5,sp6, 355gts parents have a 360,996 tt,512TR oh and a 959(which is my mum's).
We have also owned an F40, 993 tt to name but a few !!!
My current 500 (late 1999 standard) hits 0-60 according to my Ap22 in 4.017 secs (quicker than stated and wastes all our cars bar the 959 which is quicker mainley due to the 4wd. The 360 is pretty close however but not close enough !!
I can't claim to have owned so many sports cars, but did buy my 500 after my Cerb 4.2. Like you, I still wanted some power but without the threat of big garage bills and unreliability (I say threat, because my Cerb never let me down).
The 500 doesn't match the wild acceleration the 4.2 delivers when the revs are up and it runs out of steam over 150. Having said that, the low end torque compensates to a significant degree and on the road you quickly get up enough speed to get the heart pumping. After 2000 miles, I'm missing the Cerb less but, having test driven both models several times, think I would have felt dissatisfied with a Chim 4.5 which IMO is softer all round...suspension, brakes, power and noise.
The 500 doesn't match the wild acceleration the 4.2 delivers when the revs are up and it runs out of steam over 150. Having said that, the low end torque compensates to a significant degree and on the road you quickly get up enough speed to get the heart pumping. After 2000 miles, I'm missing the Cerb less but, having test driven both models several times, think I would have felt dissatisfied with a Chim 4.5 which IMO is softer all round...suspension, brakes, power and noise.
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