Cerbera Speed 12... serious business...

  • Thread starter Thread starter brambos
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KK ill just tell you pretty much what happened.

Peter wheeler designed the car to beat the Mclaren F1, and built the Speed 12 and it actually did compete as a race car, but had a detuned 650 hp version of the 7.7L V12. He ended up making plans to make a production road car version of it which is the one in game and took pre orders for the car which he was going to sell for ~300k. The Road Version had a non-detuned motor and produced over 800 BHP, and when he took one of the prototype road cars for a test drive he returned and cancelled all the preorders and gave everyone their money back because him being a professional race car driver was so scared and found the car so uncontrollable and insane that he deemed it unsafe for public roads, and ended up tearing all of the road cars apart for spare parts for the actual race cars.

Pretty much what happened.

It never was sold but was supposed to be around 300k pounds.
 
Poppins
KK ill just tell you pretty much what happened.

Peter wheeler designed the car to beat the Mclaren F1, and built the Speed 12 and it actually did compete as a race car, but had a detuned 650 hp version of the 7.7L V12. He ended up making plans to make a production road car version of it which is the one in game and took pre orders for the car which he was going to sell for ~300k. The Road Version had a non-detuned motor and produced over 800 BHP, and when he took one of the prototype road cars for a test drive he returned and cancelled all the preorders and gave everyone their money back because him being a professional race car driver was so scared and found the car so uncontrollable and insane that he deemed it unsafe for public roads, and ended up tearing all of the road cars apart for spare parts for the actual race cars.

Pretty much what happened.

It never was sold but was supposed to be around 300k pounds.
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So it is a prototype than. Than why does it have a production car price tag? Like I said, its a level 21 car, an prototype, build like a race car, should be 1.5 million. But I didn't mind buying it for the 300K :sly:
 
Well its a prototype because it wasnt ever sold, they built more then one of them though so I wouldnt consider it a "prototype" but I know what you mean. Either way it should be 500k.
 
Loved this baby since GT2 :) It's the perfect car for my driving style: Insanely FFFFFast on straights & slow on corners :) Too bad it never reached production... :'(
 
With SS tires on it (stock - oil change only), I turned a faster lap time on the Autumn Ring Mini than with a stock 787b on SS, so it can definitely corner if you respect it's power and know how to drive it.

It's actually pretty well balanced and a complete beast... if you don't mod the crap out of it. (Why do people do this?)
 
It is probably been my most favourite 'monster' car in every GT game its been in. Absolutely love it and have (day)dreams of buying a real racecar version of it and unrestricting the engine when i win enough in Lotto. ;) Mainly because i doubt the owner of the only road car made would be willing to part with it.
 
Griffith500
speed12-22.jpg
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:drool:
 
Knew i would continue to love this car in GT5 when i found that you can do a standing burnout all the way down the main straight at grand valley.... crap tyres and start in 4th or 5th and it will smoke all the way...... love it!
 
Poppins
It was supposed to be sold for around 200-300k pounds so it is pretty accurate, it should be double though seeing as credits are pretty much american currency.

The Speed 12 is my favourite car in the game and always will be. You need to have near stock suspension settings with a tiny bit of tweaking to get it to handle good, due to it having almost 70% of the weight over the front wheels.
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It was set to go on sale for £188,000, that's the price that the people who put deposits down were expected to pay before the production run was cancelled and their deposits paid back.

xNEVER-ONEx
So it is a prototype than. Than why does it have a production car price tag? Like I said, its a level 21 car, an prototype, build like a race car, should be 1.5 million. But I didn't mind buying it for the 300K :sly:
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Not quite, the car in the game is what's sometimes referred to as the Cerbera Speed 12 MKI, TVR built a handful of road going cars and carted them around various shows, one of which was eventually sold. However after TVR scrapped their plans to send the car into production they cannibalised the show cars for parts to maintain the race cars. Why pay to build more parts when you can just take them off a car that's going to be scrapped. The Speed 12 that was sold was one such car that had been ripped to bits as spares for the race cars.

Peter Wheeler who owned TVR at the time eventually decided he wanted to build and sell a single Speed 12. So he took what was left of the one remaining chassis. Reversed what he did for the race cars and cannibalised the race cars for parts to finish the road car and hey presto, he had a road version of the Speed 12. Unfortunately the original bodywork had been destroyed so they used the race cars bodywork. Painted it nice and shiny metallic red, and sold it.

This is what the single sold road car actually looks like:
2000-TVR-Cerbera-Speed-12-2.jpg

2000-TVR-Cerbera-Speed-12-3.jpg


Poppins
Well its a prototype because it wasnt ever sold, they built more then one of them though so I wouldnt consider it a "prototype" but I know what you mean. Either way it should be 500k.
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So no, the Speed 12 in GT3, 4 and 5 isn't a prototype, the Speed 12 in GT2 is, that was based on the old Project 12/7 concept. But the Cerbera Speed 12 from GT3 onwards is a road car that was put for sale and bought by a private buyer who I had the pleasure of speaking to on the net regularly at one time. The Speed 12 in GT3, 4 and 5 however is pre-makeover. It's the same car, but since the original shell was destroyed TVR didn't bother making a new one, they just took a surviving shell off one of the race cars instead.

It's worth noting that the term "road car" should be used very loosely when describing the Speed 12, yes by definition it is, it's road legal, and a car, therefore it's a road car. However starting the thing up is a half hour process, using the car on a road requires no more than 1/8th throttle input if that and there is no ABS, Traction control, Air bags or Stability management systems to help you out. The car is as practical as a glass safe left on display and unlocked, it's absolutely insane, but that's why people love it. You would never have one if it was your only car, you would have one as an expensive toy though. I remember 5 years ago the Speed 12 was taken to GT4's launch party in London, it made the news going for it's MOT and at the show they started it up, turned all the lights out and everyone watched as it spat flames out of the sides. It's so over the top it's fantastic.
 
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Just bought one, painted it black and added an enormous wing at the back.

Calling it batmobile right now. It's raw, outrageous, eats lambos for breakfast and spit the rest out of the exhaust. It's a really retarded machine.

Lovin every bit of it.
 
Argh! Now I want one and must wait for it to pop up in the Used or Online car dealership. Bugger.

I do recall the car from the previous GT games :)

Terry 'EarlyAPEX' Best
 
Terry
Argh! Now I want one and must wait for it to pop up in the Used or Online car dealership. Bugger.

I do recall the car from the previous GT games :)

Terry 'EarlyAPEX' Best
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Just a warning, if your looking for a great all around car used for racing purposes, you might end up being disappointed. The car is fairly difficult to drive and you will end up putting up faster laps in cars with 400 hp less. But the real charm of the car is really how it drives, sounds and just the over all beastness of it.
 
Argh! Now I want one and must wait for it to pop up in the Used or Online car dealership. Bugger.
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If you don't find one in the next two days, PM me. I'll be happy to send you one. :)
 
Nice post Dave A, very informative. There are clips on youtube of that red one, the only one on the road, and it was (as a previous poster stated) indeed auctioned on eBay a few years ago.

I have a photo somewhere of a show model, I think it was from the Birmingham motor show and was in reflex spice or similar, will scan and upload if anyone is interested.

Regarding the concept version in a few pics above and in GT2, i'm not sure the road version (the purple one) ever existed at all? I googled a while back and could only find models of it, although clearly there was some sort of racing version. I guess I should look that up again, though the later "Cerbera" version looks way better IMHO

Not sure anyone mentioned yet, but the eventual engine was effectively two Cerbera Speed Six engines bolted together. That's always gonna be fireworks...

Oh and let's find the best paint chip match for the red one =)
 
Loved this car on RED ROCK VALLEY in GT2. Your are never really adhered to the earth around fast corners but man when you get the balance of turn in and throttle just right lap after lap it's so rewarding and utterly rapid. I miss those days. Thanks for reminding me about this car.

Off topic: I wish they had the Battle Axe of Blackpool in GT5. The TVR Sagaris. Love love this cars looks. They have the less visceral, tamer looking cousin in the game so don't know why they didn't do the Sagaris. As a premium of course.
 
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Tyger
Not sure anyone mentioned yet, but the eventual engine was effectively two Cerbera Speed Six engines bolted together. That's always gonna be fireworks...
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Yeah that's pretty much the simplistic version, two of the AJP6 engines mated together onto a common crank. Obviously it's not that simple a process but that's the simple explanation. They could of tried two AJP8's, that would have been insane, but also very unreliable which sadly was the reason TVR dumped the AJP8's and carried on with just AJP6 powered cars instead. The AJP8 may have been unreliable but I still loved those V8 Cerbera's.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrMI3gc6x4

That was taken on a scorching hot day at Blackpool on a TVR owners day. I was helping to marshal the event and had plenty of close contact with that car - its simply amazing. It was driven down a ridiculously narrow stretch of the prom, turned then driven back. The driver remarked that the faster he went the easier it became to drive as the car skipped over the rough joins in the concrete slabs. Think he got up to about 150mph, all on a stretch no more than 2ft either side of the car.

It is the one and only road legal version, but as stated already not in the slightest bit practical. It was having massive problems with overheating just getting to the prom from the factory, but so many people were so glad they did.

Not driven it in GT5 yet, but now i plan to rectify that forthwith!
TVR2006-003.JPG
 
Dave A
They could of tried two AJP8's, that would have been insane, but also very unreliable which sadly was the reason TVR dumped the AJP8's and carried on with just AJP6 powered cars instead. The AJP8 may have been unreliable but I still loved those V8 Cerbera's.
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This thread reminds me of days not so long ago, living in a short cul de sac in a very quiet area and 3 of us had TVRs; Griffith, Tuscan and Tamora. Everybody got up when we left home in the morning. :lol: One neighbour left the area, I had to sell for family reasons but the Griffith still grumbles at the weekend... lovely ! A car that you just have to drive at least once in your life, and when the kids get a bit older, hmmm I may go searching for a Griffith (my favourite) one day.
 
StevenDunn99
This thread reminds me of days not so long ago, living in a short cul de sac in a very quiet area and 3 of us had TVRs; Griffith, Tuscan and Tamora. Everybody got up when we left home in the morning. :lol: One neighbour left the area, I had to sell for family reasons but the Griffith still grumbles at the weekend... lovely ! A car that you just have to drive at least once in your life, and when the kids get a bit older, hmmm I may go searching for a Griffith (my favourite) one day.
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Some of the wedge-shaped cars like the 350i they made in the 1980s-early 90s were very underrated, i seem to remember some pretty awesome figures for 0-60, would be nice to see one of those in GT.
 
Hepatic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrMI3gc6x4

That was taken on a scorching hot day at Blackpool on a TVR owners day. I was helping to marshal the event and had plenty of close contact with that car - its simply amazing. It was driven down a ridiculously narrow stretch of the prom, turned then driven back. The driver remarked that the faster he went the easier it became to drive as the car skipped over the rough joins in the concrete slabs. Think he got up to about 150mph, all on a stretch no more than 2ft either side of the car.

It is the one and only road legal version, but as stated already not in the slightest bit practical. It was having massive problems with overheating just getting to the prom from the factory, but so many people were so glad they did.

Not driven it in GT5 yet, but now i plan to rectify that forthwith!
TVR2006-003.JPG
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Ohh never saw that, cheers! Earlier I said we should try to find the paint chip, whilst i'm away from my PS3 now, pretty sure it's a "standard" (ha) TVR paint job we can get from the Tuscan or Tamora. So going to respray it later :)
 
Tyger
Ohh never saw that, cheers! Earlier I said we should try to find the paint chip, whilst i'm away from my PS3 now, pretty sure it's a "standard" (ha) TVR paint job we can get from the Tuscan or Tamora. So going to respray it later :)
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Yes... If I come across another one on the UCD I'm going to snatch it up, put a wing on it and paint it this color... 👍
 
I have 2 of these in my garage, and I haven't driven either one of them yet. I guess I will have to pull one out tonight when I get home.
 
I love the Speed 12, it and the Aston V8 Vantage are probably the only two non-Japanese cars that I seriously love. Oh, and every Lotus. And every other TVR and Aston Martin. And the Caterham. And the Marcos, Mini and every other British car. Shocking.
 
I would sell my left testicle even just to see a Speed 12 in real life, let alone drive one. How much does it cost in the UCD? I want it so bad but haven't seen it pop up yet
 

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