TVR Cerbera 4.2 1997 V8 Flat Plane Crank Hot Rod 180Mph+ British Muscle Car

Item Features TVR Cerbera 4.2:

	Used: An item that has been previously used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. ... Read moreabout the condition	Year:	1997
Engine Size:	4,200	Manufacturer:	TVR
MOT Expiry:	05/2015	Model:	Cerbera
Transmission:	Manual	Type:	Coupe
Fuel:	Petrol	Doors:	2
Power:	360	Colour:	Yellow
Seats:	4	Mileage:	23,000
Drive Side:	Right-hand drive

vehicle description:

  
If you require an eye catching fast car then look no further… Possibly the fastest unmodified car for the price, anywhere bar none! 180Mph+, 0-60 4.0 seconds dead (Auto Car June 1996) 360Bhp/1100Kgs, little more weight than an Elise S yet more power than an ‘06 Porsche 997 Carrera S!
 
First registered 01/05/1997
 
It’s finished in sunset pearl yellow with contrasting full Prussian blue leather interior and navy blue wool carpets. It’s very eye catching and not for the shy or retiring type.
 
The MOT is valid up to 30th May 2015.
 
The Cerbera is showing just over 23,000 miles on the clock.
 
Chassis
Totally 100% original and has never been welded. If you come to see the car I would actively encourage you to examine the underside of the car as TVR chassis can suffer from rust, especially the outriggers. We can take all the wheels off for a better look if you wish. This chassis is in very good order indeed. When I purchased the car it was very obvious that it had been wax oyled previously and I have an old invoice for £450+VAT for this alone. I have re-waxed the chassis but before doing so took numerous detailed close-up photographs which can be viewed. The original outriggers are in top notch condition, I think you would be hard pushed to find a better original chassis. I would even let you remove the wax with some white spirit in order to satisfy your curiosity. So I believe, earlier Cerbera like this had their chassis powder coated by a professional, external company to TVR and, as such, did a better job. Later TVR cars were powder coated in house and, I think it is generally accepted, were not so well covered.
 
It has its original OZ 16” wheels which are in superb condition and seem to have never been refurbished. All the tyres have almost full tread depth but please bear in mind that the rear tyres are new semi slick track day type tyres as I wanted maximum grip on the rear in the dry. For this reason alone we will try and pick a dry day to test drive.
 
Body & Interior
All the electrics work including the clever windows that lower before it pops the door open at the touch of a button. It has to be said that by today’s standards the electrics are simple, there isn’t actually that much on the car. The bodywork and paint is in very good order. The only thing that visually affects the car is the front windscreen, as at its periphery, it appears to be delaminating slightly. This does not affect the view from inside looking out. The leather work in general is fantastic for a 17 year old car. Its mostly has a nice “as new” satin patina to it, but it does have wear on the driver’s bolster where you slide in and out. It’s quite awkward to get in and out of considering how long the doors are. It has the original, period, H.R.Owen tax disk holder, matching left hand side advertising disc and rear window advertising decal from H.R.Owen.     
 
AJP Speed 8 360BHP Engine, Borg-Warner T5 etc
What an amazing engine the Speed 8 is. Utilizing a flat plane crankshaft for ultra light weight design and superb exhaust scavenging properties (it only weighs 129KG all up and the same weight as an F1 Cosworth DFV V8!) and a V bank angle of only 75 degrees, this engine pulls hard from the word go. It has an amazing soundtrack, sounding more like a GSX-R than a car. It revs unbelievably responsively to every input of the throttle and, on over-run, there are the ubiquitous savage pops and bangs! If you have never actually driven a Speed 8 you just can’t imagine quite how responsive it is. It has a Revo fan control system fitted to ensure the fans cut in earlier than the standard setup. I have fitted a complete set of 10 brand new silicone hoses to the engine’s cooling system. 
AP Racing 4 pot callipers are fitted on all corners and they work as well at retardation as the Speed 8 does at head butting the horizon. Once you have done a couple of miles they are up to working temperature and as with the engine they are loud in operation.
Cerberas are fitted with the tried and tested Borg-Warner T5 gearbox (a la Sierra Cosworth) and it is quite simply a masterpiece. It’s precise with a heavy operation but never baulky. The clutch is perfect in its bite and travel, if a little heavy but it is a twin plate AP Racing clutch. I have, since owning the car carried out a considerable amount of fettling and have many invoices for everything, including new coolant hoses, belts, wiper motor, CV gaiters etc. Also included in the sale is an outside breathable cover plus a 24 hour trickle charger. I have never used the cover as it’s always been garaged in my charge. The ONLY thing on the car that is not working is the air conditioning. It has gas pressure in the system, but not enough to activate the clutch on the pump. I can demonstrate this, which shows heat exchanger integrity to be ok. I have fitted a new belt, it just needs charging, maybe a new receiver dryer.      
          
History file
An interesting history file if a little patchy, including invoices dating back to 2001 and unusually V5 document information for all but one of the previous owners. Some old MOT certificates and sale invoices. It also has its original leather bound owner’s hand book. This particular car was considered a category d write off in 2010 which is reflected in the price. I have in the history file a “Statement of Fact” from Allianz Insurance Co. regarding the incident and the damage the car incurred. It sustained damage to the rear left-hand side area of the boot. If you lift the carpet in the boot you can see where it has been repaired with new glass fibre weave in the floor of the boot. I will email genuine prospective buyers photographic evidence of this if required. The chassis does not extend to the boot floor area as it ends at the differential, so only the glass body and exhaust sustained damaged. The exhaust tip still has a graze on its left side under the car. Quite how this results in being classified is beyond me.
 
There have been six previous owners to myself. The first had it for two years. The second was a City of London company in Lloyds Avenue. They owned it until 2001. The third owner had it the longest and parted company with it in 2009. The fourth owner is the imbecile that damaged the boot floor and after that incident it barely turned a wheel until the next custodian. Number five did about 500 miles in it and moved on. This gentleman is an off shore security specialist so he was never around to really enjoy the car, plus so I was informed, he had a rather special big Bhp Supra. The sixth was a professional chap, who intended to use the car for track days but never got around to it, young family etc.      
 
 
Research TVR
If you are looking at this add thinking “I like it, but I’m uncertain of the TVR engine”, don’t be. Research the AJP8/Speed 8 and you will find this TVR engine has little in the way of issues. The Speed 8 is relatively simple in its overall design, light and very powerful. Plus there are a multitude of suppliers for TVR parts, “Racing Green” being one of the best. There is also an Android app called “RS-AJP” which allows you to plug-in to theCerbera “MBE” ECU and read off MIL codes and display all engine parameters. If you Google “RS-AJP” you will find videos of how it appears and operates, it’s very impressive.     
 
Video
If you need to refresh your mind as to how fast these really are, allow Mr Clarkson to demonstrate… http://youtu.be/XGATSb54YEQ
or, may I suggest...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1X9Tl_qe4
 
Sale
Any test drives will be done by me unless you can prove to me that you are insured “specifically” on this car for the day AND I am holding the cash, i.e. you break it, you buy it. I have never asked this for any other car sale in the past, but the Cerbera is not like any other car on the road, it is quite frankly brutal. No traction control, no ABS, no air bags… its hard core. I completely understand that buying a TVR can, on the face of it, appear to be a bit of a gamble. I want you to see the car and enjoy a good, long test drive so you can rest assured that this is the right car for you. Payment should be cash or bank transfer (CHAPs) but I will always entertain a PX at a trade price up or down, WHY. I hope that helps. If you have any further questions please get in contact through eBay and I will do my very best to answer them. It might take me until the evening to get back to you. If paying by CHAPs, all funds must be cleared before the car is released. Please look up CHAPs rules and regulations. Thank you.
 
Before I forget, you are more than welcome to bring a TVRspecialist along to look at the car. My only proviso is, if they want to drive it they must prove they have the correct insurance and I will accompany them on any test drive they might wish to carry out. There is usually one advertising his services on eBay.
 
 

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