TVR Chimaera 4.0-Litre

Founded by Trevor Wilkinson in Blackpool way back in 1947, TVR made its first cars in 1949 but the real glory days of the firm came in the 1980s and 90s when, under the stewardship of Peter Wheeler, TVR adopted tuned Rover V8 engines slotted into beautifully sculpted fibreglass bodyshells. Lightweight and powerful, these were fantastically exciting sportscars which eschewed modern technology like traction control and ABS brakes in favour of old school driving thrills.

Launched in 1992, the Chimaera was typical of the breed with a 240bhp 4-litre V8 that could hurl it to 60 in 4.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 152mph. Intended to be the long distance tourer of the range, it used the same backbone chassis as the more hardcore Griffith but with slightly softer suspension and a much larger boot that could comfortably swallow the luggage of two people. Powerful disc brakes at each corner kept everything under control while suspension was independent all round with unequal-length double wishbones and coil-over gas dampers assisted by anti-roll bars. Icing the cake was the spine-tingling exhaust note which rose to a brutal howl at high revs.

Dating from 1994, this particular Chimaera has covered some 72,000 miles from new and comes with a comprehensive service history comprising 16 stamps to date, mainly at TVR dealerships and the last at specialist David Gerald of Inkberrow about 500 miles ago. Looking most appealing in Mica Blue with a biscuit leather interior, it is said to be in good condition throughout and has recently benefited from new chassis outriggers, one of the few weaknesses of these cars. Currently taxed and with an MOT until April 2011, it is ready for immediate action.