Sometimes seemingly more like a gentleman’s Jaguar than a hand-built Blackpudlian cut-throat, the Chimaera has occasionally been accused of being the ‘soft’ option of TVR ownership.
But don’t let a boot big enough to take two golf bags and a theatrical leather interior fool you: this is still a machine that packs both bark and bite.
While the Griffith, and especially the 500, may have ended up as TVR’s most famous creation (thanks in no small part to stardom on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo series), it was actually the Chimaera that was its most successful, selling over twice as many units as the Griffith. Indeed, it introduced to the marque customers who would never have previously considered a TVR.
What’s more, the Chimaera shouldn’t be avoided because of TVR’s reputation for unreliability. True, this is no Honda Jazz, but a well-cared-for example really can be a dependable proposition. In fact, of the 5000 TVRs left on our roads, almost 2000 of them are Chimaeras.
Interestingly, an old story goes that ex-boss Peter Wheeler’s German Pointer, Ned, is often credited for assisting with the design of the Chimaera. As Wheeler was quoted at the time: “Yes, he was charging about as usual and took a bite out of the polystyrene model we had on the table.” Allegedly, this creative input was subsequently incorporated into the design of the indicator recesses.
All Chimaeras used some form of the aluminium Rover V8 (which was agreed to be much more reliable than TVR’s in-house designs) in various states of tune. The entry-level 4.0-litre was available right through the 13-year production run (1991-2003). Initially, a 280bhp 4.3 was the option, before being replaced in 1994 by a 275bhp 4.0-litre high-compression version.
Cars built after 1994 are the more desirable, when a Borg Warner gearbox replaced the old Rover T5 – it was still a five-speed manual, but the later ’box was a much stronger unit. They can be told apart quite easily by the position of reverse: it’s next to first in the Rover but below fifth in the Borg Warner. The Chimaera 500 came along in 1994, with the 340bhp 5.0 motor nicked from the Griffith 500. It is brutally fast, and as such it remains the most desirable today.
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I had a Chimaera for five years in the noughties and I'm a huge fan. Based on my experience they are a lot more reliable than you might imagine and the handling was not the widow-maker reality as would be spouted by the pub bores - and through the club and friends I drove the Griffith 500, the T350, TVR S3 and various Tuscans (including a beautiful early Tuscan V8 that is regularly raced at Goodwood)....I think the generic negative elements of TVR are very much unfounded...maybe that keeps the prices down! Now - don't get me going on why I hated my 2002 911....