From Steve Bowden for May 's Car of the Month. In Steve's own words:
"I purchased my first TVR, a Cherry Pearl Chimaera 400 in 1996. The noise and the effortless power of a V8 in a body that weighed the same as a classic mini was too much of an allure. That Chimaera is still mine, owned for 29 years , pampered but used on nice summer and winters days.
These cars come from the heyday of TVR under Peter Wheeler, and despite their relative small size were designed for a 6 foot 6 Peter to drive , so have plenty of room inside. Using versions of the tried and tested Rover V8, despite being the smallest engined cars, the 400 ( 4 Litre ) cars had a perfect match of road performance and simplicity , and sold well. Earlier cars like mine tended to have manual steering, which gives more feel but can be heavy at parking speeds. Later cars became more common with power steering but having a Griffith 500 aswell ( more on that in another article) with PAS, I like the feel of the manual cars.
Mine is one of the first to use the stronger Borg Warner T5 gearboxes as used in the Sierra Cosworth, and the later Rover V8 serpentine engine. Both of which tend to be preferered by people looking for Chimearas.
After 29 years I’ve seen most good and bad about the cars. They are simple cars, easy to work on but like most have a few common well understood weaknesses but these can be either managed through maintainance or simple repair. Most people talk of rotten chassis' but that’s generally through neglect, as the fibreglass upper body stays shiny. My car still maintains all of its original chassis tubing. Despite the closing of TVR production in 2006, there is still a very active club and specialist parts and servicing industry.
Despite its age, it’s more than capable of keeping up in modern traffic with a 5 second 0-60 capability, but also an effortless summer cruise as you listen to the V8 soundtrack. It still has its original carpets, leather interior and paintwork in great condition, after all it’s only original once.
Roll on 40 years of age!"
