Pros Classic TVR. Beautiful looking. Superb performance. Great value.
Cons Only available second hand. Costly to run.
In mythology a Chimaera was a fire breathing, goat-body, lion head monster with the tail of a serpent. In reality The TVR Chimaera is a two-seater convertible sports car manufactured by TVR between 1992 and 2003 although it did have a fair old beast of an engine. The car has a similar chassis to the TVR Griffith and used the same versions of the Rover V8 engine. The Chimaera was intended to be the long distance tourer of the TVR range and so is longer and more spacious than other TVR models. Legend has it that when designing a new car polystyrene models would be cut up until TVR boss Peter Wheeler liked them. The pet spaniel Ned bit a lump out of a model Chimaera. This then became the site of the Chimaera indicators as it was to the bosss liking. The Chimaera was powered by a 285 bhp 4.5 litre engine with the option of the 320 bhp powerplant out of the Griffith 500. This created fantastic performance, rounding off the Chimaera reputation as both Grand Tourer and sportscar depending on your mood. The chassis was developed directly from the racing version of the TVR Tuscan. With strong ventilated disc brakes it stops promptly as well as going like a rocket.
4.0 3,950 V8 152mph
4.0 HC 3,950 Hi-Lift Cam V8 158mph
4.3 4,280 V8 158mph
4.5 4,495 V8 158mph
5.0 4,988 V8 163mph
It took TVR workers 450 man hours to build every Chimaera. This included hand stitching of the leather seats and burr walnut dashboard. The switchgear was machined from high quality billet aluminium and every customer was encouraged to visit the factory to see their car being built. During its production The TVR Chimaera went into production in 1993 and since then more than ten thousand were built, making it the most popular TVR during its production. The Chimaera is a popular quality TVR.
1992 - Chimaera introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show.
1993 - Went into production in February.
1994 - Chimaera and Griffith 500 switched to a Borg Warner T5 gearbox.
1996 - Motor Show a revised Chimaera with a fresh nose and tail and high quality aluminium switchgear.
1997 - Rear lights changed from a parts Fiesta unit to a TVR designed Chimaera part.
2001 - Revised front end with covered headlights.
6000 TVR Chimaeras were built but only about 600 were the 5 litre model. These rare cars have purple coloured rocker covers and Griffith styled wheels. Many regard them as the best of the Chimaera range offering performance close to the Griffith 500 while still offering decent practicality associated with the Chimaera.
