TVR Chimaera

The TVR Chimaera is a 2-seater roadster sports car produced by british automakers TVR between 1992 and 2003. The name was derived from the monstrous creature of Greek mythology which was made of the parts of multiple animals called "Chimaera".

The car was first debuted at the Earl's Court Motor Show in 1992, the Chimaera featured the same backbone chassis as the Griffith and the same derivatives of the Rover V8 engine. The car was intended to be the long distance tourer of the range and as such was longer, more spacious and had slightly softer suspension.

The suspension featured all round independent, unequal-length double wishbones and coil over gas dampers assisted by anti-roll bars. Ground clearance was about 5 inches.

The front disc brakes were 239 mm (9.4 in) on smaller displacement cars, and 260 mm (10 in) diameter and ventilated on five litre models. The rear disc brakes were 253 mm (10.0 in), or 273 mm (10.7 in) in diameter on the five litre model. There was a cable-operated hand brake for the rear wheels.

Steering was optionally power-assisted and worked via rack and pinion with adjustable steering column. There were 2.2 turns lock to lock for the power-assisted steering or 2.5 for unassisted. The steering wheel was 350 mm (14 in) in diameter and leather-covered, although other wheels could be specified by the customer. The standard fit was by Personal, in keeping with a majority of TVR models.

The TVR intended to replace the griffith by the Chimaera but due to ongoing demand of both the models company continued them both. TVR introduced the Chimaera 500, a high performance model of the Chimaera, in 1994. The BorgWarner T5 manual transmission replaced the Rover LT77 unit on the rest of the range. A few interior changes were done by TVR like new alternator, power steering and a single Vee belt were fitted to improve reliability. The 4.3 litre engine option replaces the 4.0 litre High Compression option.