Unbeatable thrills
2005 TVR SAGARIS
‘I’ve been a TVR enthusiast for 15 years now – I’m a former biker, but when you get to 40 years old it tends to hurt more when you fall off, so I turned to sports cars and started with a TVR S2. With a couple of other TVRs in between, I was lucky enough to buy my dream TVR, the Sagaris, in 2010.
‘ TVRs get right under your skin. The sense of occasion when you start it up and go for a drive, the noise of the exhaust, the styling of the interior and the exterior, there is nothing else quite like it – and for the money there is not a lot performancewise that comes close.
‘I have my own welding business and make exhaust manifolds for all types of TVR, so I’ve changed the exhaust system on my car, fitted bigger camshafts, changed the airbox, upgraded the injectors, remapped the engine and added a few other stainless-steel parts.
‘I’ve been a member of the Sporting Bears for some six years; the members are a fantastic bunch of people who all have nice cars and feel that it’s a way of giving something back. I live on the Isle of Wight, and over the last three years have been organising Sporting Bears events on the island as well, which is very rewarding. I get 24 cars together from across the south of England to come to the island and we give rides to the children of the YMCA young carers in the morning and then in the afternoon we give rides to the children of a local special needs school.
‘Another favourite event with the Sporting Bears is the NEC – it’s one of the few events where Bears are drawn from across the country, so you get to catch up with lots of friends, plus with it being so busy we get to raise a fantastic amount of money. I just always hope the roads are dry and frost free in the mornings!’