Cerbera Speed 12

Posted on April 7, 2023 by classiccarweekly

2000 TVR Cerbera Speed 12

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Sywell, England | May 20, 2023

Holy grail territory right here. As far as 1990s (and early 2000s) unobtanium supercars go, they don’t get much harder to come by than this. And that’s because it is the only one ever completed. The basic road-going Cerbera is already a pretty outlandish car. But TVR turned it up to 11… er 12, with this one.

The idea for this car first surfaced in 1996 with the Project 7/12 concept. It was aimed at GT1 competition. By 1998, the first race car was ready. Now called the Speed 12, the car competed in a few British GT Championship races. In 2000, a GT2 racer was completed, and TVR started taking orders for the road-going version.

Then Peter Wheeler, the head of TVR, drove one of the prototypes and realized it was too insane – even for TVR – to sell to the public. That’s because the car was powered by a 7.7-liter V12 that made around 840 horsepower. TVR’s with fewer cylinders and much less power are known to be handfuls.

So TVR dismantled all of the prototypes, except one. Over the next few years it was upgraded with all of their racing know-how, including the engine. It was purchased by the current owner in 2010 and has been kept in ready-to-go condition by a former TVR mechanic. Silverstone hasn’t put an estimate on it, but you can read more here.

Update: Sold $736,235.

Cerbera Speed Six

Posted on May 16, 2019 by classiccarweekly

1999 TVR Cerbera 4.0L Speed Six

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 18, 2019

I will not hide the fact that the Cerbera is one of my favorite cars of the 90s. It is great looking and, as TVRs tend to be, completely bonkers, unnecessary, and irrational. And this one is purple!

The 4.0L Speed Six model was the “base model” of the Cerbera and is powered by a 4.0-liter inline-six making 350 horsepower. With that naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, it could hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and topped out at 170 mph. Not bad. Later models only got more powerful and faster.

This example received a replacement factory chassis in 2005 as well as a factory engine rebuild. Only about 1,500 Cerberas were produced between 1996 and 2003, with the six-cylinder model being the rarest. The craziest part about these cars is that, despite all of their power, performance, style, exotic-ness, and rarity… they are cheap. This one is expected to sell for between $19,500-$25,000. Just wait until you can start importing them into the US… Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $20,648.

Cerbera Speed Eight

Posted on November 22, 2016 by classiccarweekly

1999 TVR Cerbera 4.5L Speed Eight

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | November 26, 2016

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The TVR Cerbera is one of my favorite cars. Of all time. Ever. Why? No idea, really. Peter Wheeler bought TVR in the 1980s and introduced a series of sporty, exotic (and sometimes, downright weird) road cars through the 1990s and into the 2000s. The Cerbera was a 2+2 (a four-seat coupe, or a 3+1 in TVR parlance as the front seats were kind of offset so the rear passenger-side occupant had as much room as those upfront) that was available from 1995 through 2003.

Cerberas were generally eight-cylinder cars (a six was also offered), like this 4.5L Speed Eight that uses a 4.5-liter V-8 making 420 horsepower. Top speed was 185 mph and it will hit 60 in 4.1 seconds. It is a seriously quick car – but a handful as they didn’t have traction control. It’s a beast that takes some serious finesse to drive fast. They also never had the best reputation for quality, but who cares about reliability when you look this cool?

This car sports the wild TVR interior of the 1990s – it’s purple and has all the weird switch and gauge placements that made these cars famous. TVR built 271 Cerberas in 1999, supposedly, with a grand total of just 1,578 total. This one is really nice and for a while these were just used sports cars in the U.K. Now they are getting harder to find. Their prices are still relatively low, so get them before they all disappear – either into disrepair or into a million little pieces when they hit something or catch fire. This one should bring between $21,000-$28,000. That’s a steal and I wish I lived in the U.K. just so I could snag it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,508.