TVR Cerbera Buyers’ Guide
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Follow me as I run through my three year ownership experience of my TVR Cerbera 4.5 AJP. I discuss the good, the bad, the reliability and costs during ownership. Also, what to look for when you’re thinking of buying a Cerbera.
That’s the best review of any tvr I’ve seen to date, as a tvr owner I really enjoyed how you covered all aspects of tvr cars, very well done, your cerebera looks stunning. 👌👌
I love mk1 TVR Cerbera's, totally agree their front looks much better than mk2's, greets from Serbia.
The Cerbera is a beast! A monster! I still want one of these after all these years… 190mph+ 👍 They look and sound absolutely lovely creeping about the town too! 👍❤️
Still looks great in 2023. The exterior anyway 😅 and the sound….. ❤❤
My all time dream car! I was 21 when the Cerbera first released and i remember the car magazine writers going absolutely MENTAL over the incredible Cerbera (and that was the initial 4.2 V8) its pace, handling and mad noise. Plus i had that very same Clarkson VHS with a 4.2ltr Cerbera absolutely WASTING all competition (550bhp Vantage, 200bhp Caterham 7, Porsche 911 Turbo, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Dodge Viper etc) with only the 911 Turbo even putting up a fight and even that was WAY OFF. This is the ultimate TVR for me by far. Even before the later TVRs i loved the Griffith, Chimaera and even the early wedge V8s and Ford V6 powered sportscars. It broke my heart when TVR disappeared.
The engine in the Top Gear Cerbera wasn't quite standard. Brian Hosfield had "breathed" on it and it was more or less race standard. But it probably would have won anyway.
Great video as an insight for anyone thinking of committing to a Cerbera. I own one of the last V8's, a 53' reg. Our costs comparison is almost equal, given mine is a concourse winning car and has been looked after well through its whole life, so my purchase price was very similar to your overall spend including purchase. I'm happy to report that other than a wheel bearing, mine has been fault less so far in two years and 4k miles.
Only a TVR owner would be proud of being faultless over 4k miles
I think to say that your car has been faultless over 4k miles, just confirms how fragile the TVR is
It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.
Thanks Muchado for your own experience and point of view of an owners' review of their Cerbera and why you wanted one. When I eventually get mine back on the road after a 'little bit at a time' restoration, I would like to do something very similar to your video for my own experience of how much my Cerbera keeps costing over my 17 years ownership, and my history with it.
Excellent video. You have done a great job
Really excellent, thank you for this I have been considering a Cerbera and this is really useful it answered many of the questions forming in my mind and also highlighted some issues I had not anticipated. I dont believe anyone else has created anything else as helpful thank you.
Thank you for this, I have long considered a Cerbera and this is perhaps the single most useful resource I have found. Also a very well made video, almost seamless camera work, especially interior and engine bay, that is hard to do, I learnt camera work from my father who was a professional photographer and few on UA-cam could produce this standard.
Thanks for the kind words. Really hope the video helps you make a decision.
Super honest and insightful review, very wise advice on cars like these
I had a 4.2 from new in 1998 and the first garage bill I had was £3500. It went on from there and whilst I had a blast in the car I couldn’t wait to get rid of it!
I think this is why many people enjoy them for a couple of years, the move them on
I’d love to own one of these, but I wish they were left hand drive, I just can’t see shifting with my left hand. The body and the interior is so beautiful, it makes me want one so badly!
Good balanced advice. I chickened out on the Cerbera purchase and bought a Chimera a few years ago and loved it. I recognise the view so you are local to , me I’ve currently got a Green targa 4 so will keep a lookout for you👍
I had a 4.2 96p reg which I picked up from new from the factory. Broke down on the way home... Managed 10k miles in it in a year - and 7 visits to the garage ( and they never got the a/c to work properly). Sold it once the warranty ran out...
Was a real rollercoaster ownership experience. Expect many of the faults would have been sorted by now. Agree they are lovely looking things but they do try your patience...
This did make me laugh. "Don't modify your car, as it ruins it. Except for the modifications I've done myself, they are clearly the correct ones." I'm of the view that if people enjoy it, they should be allowed to modify it as they want.
Having said all that, it's a great video, and your car is a stunning example (though I do prefer the Tuscan style lights)
What a fantastic informative well presented review of the TVR CERBRA , ive been wanting one of these since i saw the review on Wheeler Dealers some years ago but really diddnt know enough about them, now after watching you its showed me in a great simple way how to to understand details the highs and lows of owning one. Absolutely top not presentation & ill be in touch with you when i find the right one for me.
my dream car
Great video, thanks. You have helped me make my decision.
My suspicion is the original TVR owners thrashed them from brand new, drove them unsympathetically and had no clue about the mechanical aspects.
The second owners probably did the same but practiced deferred servicing and so by the 3rd owner they are truly neglected but possibly still look nice.
When buying a car always give them a damn good long test drive, round the block simply won't do.
Take it for a minimum 45 min test drive, check for overheating and clutch slip and unusual noises etc
Test all the switches and functionality of everything.
Any negatives you find are haggling power to get the price down. ££££
Find out how long the previous owner had it for? If only a few months that is a red 🚩 to me.
So many cars are neglected these days and have what we call "deferred servicing" !
If you feel like moving this on, please PM me. You’ve done a grand job with this beauty. Lots of TLC. I’ve loved this car since I was in short trousers.
Thanks for the kind words
Amazing video this, love it
Thank you for divulging in all the costs
Very nice example 😎
Beautiful,beautiful example. With the deeper red it's stunning. Me personally I'd prefer this model with the chimaera looking front because I love it.
Nice in depth video & lovely car. Did any TVR have more Alcantara interior? I find so much leather a bit garish & obviously more dead cow, which to me is a bit distasteful.
You will find some Cerberas with an Alcantara interior, as a good number of them have been refurbished. Most left the factory with leather though. The Tuscan and Tamoras are far more common to find with Alcantara from the factory…
Nicely! - defo will buy when when i move back to the UK
lovely motor. Thanks for posting!
Nice video . . always wanted a TVR but it probably won't happen now.
Great video. Well presented and factual. Let me know when you are ready to move on to another car. It looks lovely.
I also prefer these original Cerberas, much prettier in my eyes.
I have a 4.5AJP like you, I wanted to point out to you that your headlights are not original equipment, they have been upgraded usually with VW Lupo lights. These are considered a decent upgrade, as the beam pattern is better and brighter. Happy to chat about ownership if you would like. I am also lucky to have quite a few AJP8 engine spares! Regards Neil
Thanks for the message. They are Lupo lights as you say, and I think the clear plastic lenses look nicer than the standard fitment items.
I would agree. Mine was prior updated with tuscan lights and after burner lights were fitted at factory I think. I have a lot of very rare engine spares so if you get stuck or broken with your AJP drop me a line. Kind Regards Neil
I dont think ive ever had a bill less than £1500 for my t350 other than the mot. 😅😅😅 its been a lot more than i expected.
Wow.great video explanation overall.
a incredible car to drive
I bumbled down to a TVR dealer weeked in my V8S [the 4l V8 TVR brought out to calm the raving mob when the Griff was shown at a motor show but was not yet being produced]. I sat in a Cerbera and was horrified. The view forward was like the view from the driver's seat in a Royal Horse Artillery Abbott 120mm self propelled gun. That is - virtually nill. A letterbox. View to the rear somewhat less.
I subsequently read a piece in 'Sprint', the TVRCC mag, by a woman who wrote 'Can my husband be trusted in a Cerbera'. He had been loaned one for the w/e whlile his Chimmy was being serviced. The answer was 'No'. This bears out the statistic that a disporportionate number of insurance claims for serious TVR accidents did not involve any other vehicle.
I loved my V8S dearly. Faster to 60 than a Testa Rossa. Faster to 100 than a 308QV. But a Chimera? Thanks - I pass.
Grear video thanks
I LOVE it!
You can tell that's a V8 because it sounds like a tractor on start up.
I much prefer the Speed Six, which is much smoother once rebuilt, though the AJP V8 is still a great engine.
*engine starts - gives the camera a sonic 'Glasgow Kiss' (stitch that!)
SWEET! ;-)
pure filth love it
just saw on of these in stock trim wipe the floor with a stock 1992 viper. as a viper fan i was not impressed.
Here we are in America thinking about swaddling our children in the biggest SUV available, and you're talking about taking your children out in this. Someone's wrong, and I'm not thinking it's you.....
Aren't those lupo lights? Not original then... don't get me wrong, I like the lupos
Not a big fan of the cluster lights much prefer the round lights what you have.
when your outside fella might be a good idea to turn your volume up was hard to hear you.
Aren't those VW Lupo headlights?
Yes, VW Lupo lights
Well, they look brilliant, on a car like this.
Crumbs, Can I come and work for you sir? I dont suppose you need a visitor service manager do you?
Is that the sea or the beach behind you?
Hi otherwise your car looks amazing, only thing that cought my eye is that steering wheel is uoside down!!!
I think that might just have been how the wheels were turned at the time!
I thought that engine was 42l and 360bhp?
There’s also a 4.2 with 360bhp. This is the 4.5 with 420bhp. Apart from the displacement, the engines are generally the same
It doesn't cost that much to service what is basically a small block Chevy
That's the Rover V8 not the AJP8... 🤦🏻♂️
Leyland mirror toggle not Ford
It's basically a British Camaro
I S THE CHASSIS STILL RUSTING AWAY
I wouldn't own this car if I couldn't wrench on it.
Great video mate, thanks for posting 👍 I think I would take the original engine out and replace it with a 6.2 Lt Chev and a 6 speed auto. Would be far cheaper In the long run .... 500+ bhp and total reliable. !
Just no :D....An auto box in a TVR is wrong on so many levels it's triggered my gag reflex, and that chevy lump is probably getting on for twice the weight of the AJP, the combination of that and a heavier auto box in a light car that's going to make it so nose heavy it'd take the sports out of spots car. I'm not even going to start on the driving dynamics of an engine like that vs the AJP as perhaps you could manage to tune it out
@@waynestallwood8786 the Ls3/4 chev is all alloy... the auto box is all alloy , what ever you want, 4-5-6 speed . Tried and proven products. Differents in weight would not be here or there...., maybe 20 -30 kg absolute max. Oh, and far cheaper to maintain. You want to drive it. ? Or do you want to have it getting serviced every 2-4000 km ? Thank you for you get back. 👍. Long live the. TVR’s. 👍🥃🇦🇺
6.2 LS3 weighs 60kg more than the AJPv8, auto gearboxes are not all alloy,. If you are thinking about something like the 6T70/75/80 then those are over 100kg with fluids. The original gearbox in this car is 34kg. So in total you are adding 120kg in places the chassis designer never intended...mostly at the front which is the worst place to add weight.
Sure I want to drive it, but I'd like to *want* to drive it...and it to handle how TVR intended and not be standing on its nose :D
You will never be able to truly enjoy a car like that unless you work on it yourself.
need to be louder
Do not buy a TVR, you could have stopped there.
Have you owned one?