The wierdest thing....

[pauljmcnulty]

Not 'quite' the same but I get hugely irritated by ignorant people in my village and elsewhere who say " thats not a proper Porsche " , if I am tempted to point out that it is proper enough to embarrass their car on any type of road they care to mention then they don't actually have an answer of course because there isn't one.

I don't mind this, it gives me a great sense of superiority that I know better than them. I guess Boxster drivers get the same feeling when told that the best roadster in the world is a "hairdresser's car". Or 911 drivers who are told "it's only a Beetle". I like being one of an educated minority. []

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: ukmastiff

Not 'quite' the same but I get hugely irritated by ignorant people in my village and elsewhere who say " thats not a proper Porsche " , if I am tempted to point out that it is proper enough to embarrass their car on any type of road they care to mention then they don't actually have an answer of course because there isn't one.

Cheers

Mas

I love this about our cars its the ability to go under the fast car radar and be under estimated driving it even though it's a Porsche that I like. Although occasionally in weak moments when women make this comment I do mention that it was as fast as the 911 turbo when it was released.

 

[Hilux]

hiya skooby, if you want to feel totally unmitagated hatred from other drivers, then nothing compares to owning a suburu sti,

I hope you dont take offence but the issue is not with Scoobys per se but is with the 30 something bald headed chav scum with England shirts and ear rings with their fat arms hanging onto the roof gutter demonstrating the fake Rolex bought in Fuengirola driving cheap old scooby`s at 3000 miles an hour in and around Asda car parks and council estates.

They are so cheap to buy that they have cheapened the marque unfortunately.

If you want both extremes of praise and abuse, drive a Westfield [&o]

If you want praise all day and evry time you stop somewhere drive a Mk 1 Golf (and have 17 year old chavs in Puntos and Corsa`s up yer arse all day too)

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

If you want praise all day and evry time you stop somewhere drive a Mk 1 Golf (and have 17 year old chavs in Puntos and Corsa`s up yer arse all day too)

TVR Cerbera is the only thing that ever got all smiles. People old and young smiled and pointed and it burbled and crackled past. Many other drivers gave thumbs up or a wheelie (bikes) when they saw me laying rubber down out of corners in a way that would usually attract shaken fists and flashed lights. Absolutely everyone turned round to look at the British spaceship, unfortunately that included two nice chaps in an undercover police car who took my licence away.

 

[wayner007]

ORIGINAL: DivineE

ORIGINAL: Hilux

If you want praise all day and evry time you stop somewhere drive a Mk 1 Golf (and have 17 year old chavs in Puntos and Corsa`s up yer arse all day too)

TVR Cerbera is the only thing that ever got all smiles. People old and young smiled and pointed and it burbled and crackled past. Many other drivers gave thumbs up or a wheelie (bikes) when they saw me laying rubber down out of corners in a way that would usually attract shaken fists and flashed lights. Absolutely everyone turned round to look at the British spaceship, unfortunately that included two nice chaps in an undercover police car who took my licence away.

That made me chuckle sorry.

 

[Frenchy]

Agree, that sounded funny Ben !
Get plenty of good vibes when in mine off other drivers, but you do get the odd idiot who tries to out accelerate you if you go to overtake them, the black turbo S blows them in to the weeds,they tend to pull in and behave after being embaressed by a 20 year old Porsche with a volkswagen engine fitted.
Ignorance is Bliss !

 

[Porka944s]

true, tvrs get that i used to go out in my mates tuscan, and school boys were always giving it the 'nice car mister' to him, people would thumbs up at zebras, amazing, i have had that a couple of time in the 944, to school boys its a big red porsche. made me feel good though. but to me its still the car i used to have a model of on my window ledge next the the f40, 911 convertible and that crazy bugatti quad turbo thing

 

[Hilux]

Trevors are lovely.

I love the Cerbera and nearly bought a Chimeara.

Instead I fitted a TVR box and V8 to a Ginetta G27 - now that was a TVR only 1/4 lighter - the most frighteningly quick thing I have nearly cacked my pants in - fond memories until I rolled it and nearly killed myself [&o]

 

[zcacogp]

Funny, I have never seen the appeal of TVR's. I know that people go all misty-eyed over them, but they are a car that I am quite happy to leave. Not sure why. Possibly because I have (maybe incorrectly) always seen them as a bit of a case of lots of power and no finesse, which is not my idea of a good car at all.

Oh, and seeing that one up on the lift at the last Silverstone rolling road day ... about 5 years old and already had terminal (MOT-failing) chassis rot ...


Oli.

 

[poprock]

TVRs are all about being over the top, ridiculous, grin-inducing cars. I definitely see the appeal. The basic recipe for a TVR has always been to build a "˜good enough' car and then stick an engine in the front that's way more powerful than necessary. I like the bonkers approach. My Dad has one.

Not a car for me though, really. I enjoy precise handling and some grip around the corners.

 

[DivineE]

Funny. The last two comments here seem to be about bad handling? I think TVR's get an unfairly bad reputation for handling because they were mostly bought (when new) by young business men who wanted the most flash car they could afford to show off in and discovered sooner rather than later that it was not like the Mk4 Golf Gti they sold to get it.

Inevitably they all died quite quickly and the car became listed in Evo's top 5 scary cars. If however it had been a car bought by ex racing drivers as weekend/track day toys I am certain it would have been a very different story. Admittedly my car had optional upgraded suspension fitted but it was that handling of that car that has left the most lasting impression. Not in a scalpel sharp way like a GT3 because it did have rough edges (bad high speed stability over bumps, compression lock on down changes, loss of steering due to the front end lifting when you full throttle out of 2nd gear bends) but the handling is 100% intuitive. The car always reacts exactly as you want and expect it to. Plus its so light that it brakes and turns in like nothing else I've driven (I imagine a caterham might feel the same but I've never driven one). With no weight on the tires it's grip limits mid corner are fantastic even on quite thin tires and you can just pull your line in tighter and tighter as you go.

Another good feature is the extremely long travel on the throttle pedal allowing you very accurate and linear control over the throttle. If you've ever wondered why they seem so good at doing doughnuts its because you can very easily apply just the right amount of throttle to keep them spinning without getting too much speed up and causing it to do a sudden 180.

It's not all good. The built quality is AWFUL, it's hot as hell in the cabin in summer, it really does stink like a canoe factory and its power delivery never really feels that fast until you have another car with you to compare it against, so most of the time you end up doing prison worthy speeds without really feeling your driving quickly. If I had all the money in the world then there would be a place for another Cerbera in my garage but this time purely as a track car. It would feel totally at home on an episode of GT racer but perhaps less so on the road.

 

[MarkK]

I loved the fact they were British but I had a pax lap in one around Bedford(it was a fairly new then Tuscan) and the interior trim started to fall off as he driver started to hoof it around,I drove a Chimera and all the controls just felt oddly weighted and positioned didn't like that,plus when they get hot they smell of glue.My favourite was the Griffith 500 with the trusty old lump
in it.

 

[poprock]

ORIGINAL: DivineE

Funny. The last two comments here seem to be about bad handling?

I wouldn't say bad, just different. They do their job very well, giving you a ton of horsepower that you can control intuitively "¦ but you know from the off that you'll be slowing down X amount for that next corner or else wearing the shrubbery!

TVRs demand a bit of respect from the driver and fair enough! Not a million miles away from a Cobra in that respect.

 

[ChasR]

Chimaera and Griffith were not too different under the skin. They both even shared the same upgraded Rover V8 engines!

As for attitudes, I once pulled out of a sidestreet, and had some chav in a very low Saxo VTR come speeding around the corner just as I was coming onto my side of the road. He went full speed over the speed bump and almost hit me (narrow road). He then opened his window showing off his greasy gel enticed hair with his Goldie Lookin' Chain bracelet waving, and shouted at me 'F**king W***er' and proceeded to punch one of my wing mirrors and sped off. No one was hurt but I will not talk about how I reacted.

Today I overtook a Renault Megane on a country road. He proceeded to speed up to my bumper and clap in the window and wave as I turned off. All this was down to me overtaking him doing 60 whilst he was doing 40 for a mile...

Getting out of junctions was tricky too with not many people giving way at all.

Out of all of the older cars I have had, the VW Beetle 1200 and Chrome Bumper MGB GT both got the most admiration from street onlookers and were oddly enough the best cars to drive on the road from people letting you out despite it not being your right of way. The '44 is definately the best to drive out of them. I still have my mate telling me I'm a fool for putting mine up for sale (and within my peer group and ex work colleagues they thought it was a great car too).