Assignment 5 - Nine Elms Photography

I’ll let you into a secret.
There’s a classic 4 seater sports car available for under the price of many boring family cars, that would
embarrass many modern sports cars costing ten times as much. What’s best is it’s British.
The TVR Cerbera.
The Cerbera was acclaimed by TVR fans from the moment it made it’s debut at the 1995 Lodon Motor
Show. Styled by Damian McTaggart, the Cerbera’s longer length than previous cars is accentuated by the
long frameless doors and it’s sloping rear screen, whilst the low roof adds a sinister, brooding touch.
With this car, TVR’s owner at the time, Peter Wheeler, conceived to turn TVR into a fully qualified supercar manufacturer.
I asked TVR owners what they liked about their cars and this article and photographs were inspired by
their comments.
“The enjoyment of driving often means I drive for longer than I plan too. I often find myself surrounded
by unusual or beautiful scenery in the TVR…” - Parveen
Below: Side view, showing the sleek, flowing lines that help the TVR Cerbera reach almost 200mph.
The Cerbera was the first road
going TVR to feature the Speed
Eight engine. This engine is quite
remarkable in design in that it owes
more to the current trend in racing
engines than to anything that has
ever been seen before in a road
car.
In other words, instead of basing a
race engine on an existing road
engine, TVR developed an engine
for the Cerbera out of a race
engine.
“Developed from an F1 engine design, the TVR produced
lightweight v8 power plant that powers the car to almost 200mph”
The result is that the Speed Eight has many features in it which would be more commonly found on an F1
engine. Examples of these are its extremely sophisticated water circulation system, its lubrication system
which delivers oil at high pressure to the engine and at low pressure to the crankshaft and a block so rigid
that it can be used as a stressed member. An all alloy engine with its eight cylinders arranged in a 75
degree Vee, the Speed Eight engine has more torque in its various specifications than any other normally
aspirated petrol engine of equivalent size and weight. At 121 kg, the engine is indeed lighter than the V8
F1 and F3000 engines with which it shares so many features.
“The very fact it’s British designed and hand
made by a skilled workforce that took pride in
each car produced.” - Mal
The car itself was designed from
the start as a four-seater. The rear
seats are smaller than the front, a
design commonly referred to as a
"2+2". However, the interior is
designed so that the passenger seat
can slide farther forward than the
driver's seat. This allows more
room for the person sitting behind
the front passenger. TVR have
referred to this as a "3+1" design.
Nick Coghlan, the designer,
rejected earlier TVR designs of a
simple curved dash in favour of a futuristic looking pod. Even today, the interior looks amazing, with it’s
curved instrument binnacle and sculpted facia.
As owner Mike puts it: “The totally unique interior - the high leather covered transmission tunnel at perfect elbow height, the swoops and surves of the dash, that there's no ignition key and that you need to
know what the buttons all do, the small perfectly sized steering wheel with all the major controls at
your fingertips.“
The two spoke steering wheel demonstrated further quirkiness, with
Formula 1 style buttons plus an additional pod mounted beneath
the steering column, featuring the fuel gauge, clock and air vent,
plus starter button. Much of the switchgear was bespoke made in
house to enhance the feel of quality.
To complete the experience, TVR added keyless entry and starting a
good five years before major manufacturers offered such
technology.
“All those little beautifully machined parts of aluminium and knowing that TVR made them, rather
than robbing them from the parts bin of another manufacturer. “ James
On the road, the high tech feel is
fitting and the engine gives it’s first
hint of performance as it’s started.
At low revs it’s easily driveable, but
after 3000 revs all hell breaks
loose. The revs pick up very quickly
and the toque kicks in strongly.
Keep pushing and the AJP8’s ability
to rev towards it’s 8000 rpm
redline is nothing short of
sensational.
You need to be supremely
focussed if you start indulging in
“The way it makes you excited to be driving it, even on mundane trips” - Rob
all that performance. Wheel spin is
easy in first and second gears,
corners arrive very quickly but the super sharp steering and feedback promote confidence in the cars
ability.
Original fitted with Bilstein shock absorbers, most have been improved with Aftermarket Nitrons or Gaz
shocks. Added to the extra wheelbase over other TVR’s and the ride is less jittery and more
communicative. If you’re not careful though, the light weight and huge performance can catch you out,
provoking the rear end to step out. No surprising then that a lot less than half of the production run of
1996 cars still survive.
The sheer performance of the thing. The way it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, your back sweat, and the
slight tremble and shake of the adrenaline dump after a really fast blat..like you've just experienced something and come
back from the experience ALIVE!
Above: “I was going to put the car away for the winter, but I just can’t bear the thought of not starting
her up and driving her at least once a week.” - Rob
Opposite: “The waiting for the fuel pump to 'prime' is nice too as someone said earlier. Then there is the
big warm special feeling as it fires up, splutters, pops and bangs and finally settles to a thunderous idle,
eager to go for a drive .“ - Simon
TECHNICAL INFO
TVR Cerbera 4.2
Engine : 4.2 alloy V8 engine
Capacity: 4185 cc
Max Power:
380 bhp @
6500 rpm
Max Torque:
350 ft.lbs @
4500 rpm
0 to 60 mph:
4.2 secs
0 to 100 mph:9.9 secs
Maximum: 190 mph
1 Mile from Standing Start: 31
secs
“The ‘TVR’ factor...when you are behind someone in the outside lane they tend to move out of the way
when they see a TVR in their mirrors. “ - Andy
“The wonderful people, friends I have made and things I have done that would never have happened
without the car..” - Dick
There’s wonderful support for TVR owners.
The TVR Car Club welcomes anyone interested in TVRs, with regional
meetings in every area of the UK, and many countries around the world,
national and international events, a host of members benefits and
discounts, plus a full colour award winning monthly magazine. And online
forum.
Many specialised suppliers and repair facilities still exist, including a lot of the
original factory staff.
Pistonheads is an online forum, originally started as an alternative to the TVR
car club but has expanded to cover all forms of motoring and motorsport. For
the TVR owner it has frequently used forums of very knowledgeable
members.
At their peak, Cerbera’s attracted celebrity
attention, with owners such as David
Beckham, Gary Numan, Keith Flint & Liam
Hewlett of The Prodigy and Kevin McCloud to
name but a few.
Cerberas continued to roll out of the Blackpool
factory until 2004, by which time TVR’s
reputation for extreme styling and garish
paint finishes had driven it away from the
hard won mainstream.
Unable to shake it’s reputation for unreliability and service claims on the newer models , TVR entered a
period of commercial instability and TVR was sold to a Russian millionaire who resolved a lot of the
reliability issues with the new models, but by then the damage was done. The decline in TVR’s health
continued and by the end of 2006 the administrators were called in. It was a sad end, particularly for the
skilled workers who had done so much to put TVR on the supercar map. A number of the workers have
since set up their own successful companies supporting these vehicles .
TVR still exists on paper, the past couple of years punctuated by sporadic announcements that production
will restart, most likely abroad. Lets hope it does, but for now, some say these landmark models remain
the Blackpool marque’s finest hour.
Some tips for shooting at night
General tips

Plan ahead. Research the location beforehand as it will be different in the night time. Check the
weather forecast .

If possible, take someone with you. They can help with the setup, hold the torch or just be their for
security. Be wary of being out on your own with expensive camera equipment.

Take a fully charged phone and let someone know where you are going.

Wear warm clothing. It will be colder than you think.

Use a torch both to aid focussing and to help setting up the shot/equipment. Also useful if you
need to lighten a foreground part of the image or for light painting.

Use a tripod. If it’s windy weight it down. Secure camera straps so they don’t get caught and pull
over the camera/tripod, or cause shake by being blown about in the wind.

Take fully charged batteries and spares. If it’s cold then batteries don’t last as long. Also long
exposures decrease battery life.
Camera Tips

Know your equipment. In the cold and dark isn’t the time to be searching for a feature.

Use a remote shutter release to avoid camera shake as you press the button.

If your camera allows it, use the function to pre-lock up the mirror before the shot is taken., again
to reduce the possibilities of blur from camera shake.

You can use auto focus, then switch to manual, or use manual focus with auto assist. Ensuring you
are on manual focussing stops the lens from hunting in low light levels.

Shoot raw to maximise the possibilities of getting a usable shot.

I find it best to shoot in manual mode. Set the aperture for required depth of field, set to the lowest
ISO to minimise noise and then the appropriate shutter speed to get the exposure.

Bracket shots. In an ideal world you’ll get it right first time, but there’s no harm in bracketing to
increase your chances.

Beware of condensation on both subject and lenses. You may need time for your camera
equipment to acclimatise to the cold/heat, whilst condensation forming on vehicles will affect the
final image. Microfibre cloths are great for resolving these issue quickly. Don’t use tissues, but
these are useful for a runny nose!

Consider different times of the night. Just after sunset the sky turns dark blue which is an
interesting alternative to black. Don’t discount the deep orange skies of sunset and sunrise.