Classifieds' Car Of The Day: Butch TVR Chimaera

Sports cars are stuffed full of technology these days. Traction control, stability control, electronically adjustable suspension; you name it. But what if you wanted something a little bit simpler, but suitably manly? Get yourself a TVR.

Prices of the 90s Chimaera have been on the up, but remain affordable. It's one of the less scary cars from the British manufacturer, but is still a formidable thing to drive. There's no traction control to save you if it all goes wrong, and there's not even any ABS.

Early '400' models have a 4.0-litre V8 producing 240bhp and 270lb/ft of torque. Doesn't sound much, but with its spaceframe chassis/fibreglass body construction, there's only 1,060kg to move about. As a result, it'll do 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds. Top speed is pretty respectable too, at 158mph.

If you do go for one of these cars, have a good look underneath at the chassis, as rot on the space frame can be problematic. This 1994 400 looks promising. It's done just 66,000 miles, has plenty of service history, and is up for £8,995. If you're still not convinced, watch the video below to get an idea of how good these things sound...

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