NORTHERN SOUL

Mention the fact that you’re considering buying a TVR to anyone you happen to bump into at your local boozer and you’ll be greeted with an initial look of excitement followed by a wince and something along the lines of: “But what about the build quality?” It’s true that TVR did go through a bad patch in terms of quality and reliability. Critics might argue that the bad patch actually lasted several decades, but that would be harsh. By the time the Chimaera came along in 1992, build standards were drastically improved. Not only that, the Griffith-derived Chimaera was designed to be the most user-friendly – and most practical – TVR the world had ever seen.

Although the 1992-2003 Chimaera demanded fewer compromises from its owners than any TVR before, it had lost none of its driver appeal in the process. It was still a quick machine in the great TVR tradition, employing ex-Rover V8 power in a choice of capacity and output. During the Chimaera’s career, buyers were offered 4.0-, 4.3-, 4.5- and 5.0-litre versions (linked to Borg