The Griffith is TVR’s breakthrough model, the one that enabled it to smash into the world of high-performance road cars. The current Griffith is known as the 500, and it stays true to the TVR formula of brute power and good looks. 

The front looks similar to the Lotus Elise, but less froglike. While the Elise’s body hints at its lightweight approach to performance, the Griffith signals its intent with its muscular, ready-to-pounce look. Pounce it will, because it’s powered by a 320-bhp 5-liter V8.The Griffith rockets to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds, and while an ordinary sedan might reach 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds, by that time, the Griffith is already at 160 km/h. 

The chassis is constructed from tubular steel and composite body panels. Inside, it’s classic British-car looks with a gorgeous dashboard with wooden inserts. Not that you’ll spend too much time admiring the dash. You'll probably be too busy concentrating on the driving; the Griffith does demand driver concentration, particularly in the wet. A slight prod of the throttle can rocket the car forward, whether or not the front wheels are pointed in the right direction.

Chimaera 

For those of you who’ve seen Mission Impossible 2 and actually listened to its awful dialogue, you may have figured that the TVR lineup is named after mythological creatures: the Chimaera, as you now know, is monster with the head of a lion and a serpent for its tail.Not a very promising image for a sportscar, as you might think its rear end would be ready to bite you if you’re not careful. 

However, the Griffith’s rear end is more likely to bite than the Chimaera's. If you had to have a TVR for daily use, the Chimaera would be it. For one, you can attach a roof for bad weather, and the trunk space is generous.

Again the construction is reinforced-plastic body on tubular steel structure. It's the only way that small manufacturers can continue to build cars like this. Not the Chimaera looks like it came out from a home-assembly kit car garage. It looks sturdy and well-engineered. Build quality and refinement are quite good. 

Your Chimaera, should you decide to accept it, can come with any engine configuration, as long as it’s a V8.Your choice between two V8s, actually. The 5.0 is shared with the Griffith, so the 320 bhp is not surprising. If that’s a little too much—remember, this is the “practical” TVR—then the 4.5 liter might be a better choice. It makes a lot of power, too: 285 bhp at 5500 rpm. The torque, though, is surprisingly massive, even for a V8 of this displacement:413 Nm at 4500 rpm. That’s good enough to propel the 1060 kg car from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, to a top speed of 256 km/h.