talkmagic.co.uk

a Tuscan TVR. i just raced it in a video game of mine and never knew there was such a car that really existed. are these things common place over there? or are they really really rare. i wonder how much it would be to get one of these cars over here to the USA so i can play with it. do a Carrel Shelby on it and take one of your light little sports cars and throw a beefy, high revving ford v8 into it. are there any other bizarre cars like this over there i should know about?

In the UK? Rare, I'd say. Or at least, I've never seen one.

A friend of mine has one. It spends more time in for repairs than it does on the road! But he's a family law solicitor, and the b***ger can afford it...

And it's dichoric paintwork is lovely—until someone bumps you and you have to pay £4000 for a panel repair.

Nice cars though, but I have to say, as a passenger, it's one of the most uncomfortable rides I ever had!

TVRs already have V8s in them - used to be Rover I believe, although they make their own now.

Yeah, TVRs are a bit like Lotus'... Built for Britons who like a combination of wild thrills with something to complain about

see quite a few TVRs and other sports cars round here for some reason, probably on their way out to derbyshire to drive round the bendy roads.

Farlsborough wrote:Yeah, TVRs are a bit like Lotus'

yep, Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious

my boss owns one... took me for a spin in it, down the A38 at 160+ mph, the vibration was amazing, a proper adrenaline thrill. and top it off at 55mph round a round-a-bout... hmmm

uses alot of fuel though... i think he said he spent over £150 in the first three days of owning it, just on fuel

seige wrote:Nice cars though, but I have to say, as a passenger, it's one of the most uncomfortable rides I ever had!

Oh be fair, uncomfortable in one of those cars is the drivers fault. One of my teachers has one (don't know how), and it drives like a dream.

crozboz wrote:

seige wrote:Nice cars though, but I have to say, as a passenger, it's one of the most uncomfortable rides I ever had!

Oh be fair, uncomfortable in one of those cars is the drivers fault. One of my teachers has one (don't know how), and it drives like a dream.

Actually, it's the designer's fault. Limited legroom, odd seating position, and the fact that I'm a rather leggy passenger meant the centre console was also a problem.

Coupled with the fact that we were going like a rocket down minor B roads and it was unearthly!

Give me the leather Recaros of my Cossie any day.

I had four TVR's over the years (350i, 390SE, Griffith, Cerbera), they were a real hoot until I got fed up with bits dropping off and the electrics going to pot.

The Griff was the best value car I have ever bought. I bought it new, ran it for two years then sold it for more than I paid for it! Stroke of luck that the new price shot up over the time I had it so the used value never dropped. Wish I could do that again!

Fun weekend cars but with poor traction in the wet and no modern safety aids (like ABS/traction control etc.) they can be lethal in the wrong hands! Totally different to my current Porsche 911... you'd have to be a complete idiot to crash that!

Yorkshire Pudding wrote:my current Porsche 911... you'd have to be a complete idiot to crash that!

well...there are apparently a lot of idiots in this world.

Actually I've always wondered how safe those cars were, having all that horsepower and weighing so little relatively... (I've never driven one). There was a terrible accident around here involving one a few years ago because it got AIRBORNE after the driver lost control at high speed on a highway.

I guess fishtailing is lessened by the fact that it's shorter than some larger RWD sports cars?

I must be a member of a real minority as I really dislike Porches and have never understood the fascination for them. Uncomfortable, horrible driving position and although quite thrilling to get up to speed I've found saloons which give more excitement and feel. Only drove a Ferrari once. Loved it but the owner would not let me 'test it' . Shortly after buying it he and his brother went to a Ferrari owners meet. Apparently they had a great day but when they returned to the car park to head home it took them the best part of half an hour to walk around trying to find his car amongst all the other red machines!!!

Then, what do I know. My vehicle of choice is a Defender and the day mobile is a Volvo... ...I'll get my knitted cardigan...

azraelws6 wrote:... There was a terrible accident around here involving one a few years ago because it got AIRBORNE after the driver lost control at high speed on a highway.

I guess fishtailing is lessened by the fact that it's shorter than some larger RWD sports cars?

You're right in that 'a few years ago' 911's were notoriously dangerous on their limit. Modern 911's, unlike TVR's, have very sophisticated stability management systems which immediately correct any oversteer or understeer by selectively applying braking or power to any of the four driven wheels independently (see http://www.porsche.com/uk/models/911/91 ... il/safety/ and click 'Porsche Stability Management'). With the traction afforded by rear weight bias and optional four wheel drive, fishtailing has never really been an issue but, again, PSM would sort it out (like magic!) if you managed to initiate it. You can, of course, turn off the PSM but only a completely irresponsible and antisocial menace would do so on a public road which is also used by mothers and children. All the technology fitted to 911's (and indeed many other modern cars) and the fact that you should never drive anywhere near a cars limits on a public road anyway, mean you would have to be a complete prat to lose control.

Of course, I guess you're right in that there isn't a shortage of complete prats on our roads.