TVR Cerbera

-----------------EXTERIOR----------------------

The Cerbera follows in the Griffith's footsteps by placing form slightly ahead of functionality. It has a sleekness to it, but looks more like something we'd see at a car show. It's definitely a good-looking car: wide, low to the ground, and just as slipstreamed as the Griffith. It's a mixture of classic British (round headlamps included) and concept car. In fact, the Cerbera is longer and has a longer wheelbase, which makes it heavier but also more balanced and not as nose-heavy as the Griffith.

This car is more stable than a Griffith, but it's not perfect. The longer bodywork and 101" wheelbase does make the Cerbera not as prone to spinning. It can be pushed harder, and is easier to correct when mistakes do occur.

Unfortunately, there are some flaws. Mainly the back-end of the car lacks downforce, yet the front end seems to have plenty. We'll only notice this during some of the longer, faster turns (over 100 mph) when the car occasionally loses traction. Again, the Cerbera's maneuverability is definitely better than the Griffith's, but this car is still challenging to drive.

A nice feature is the lack of weight. You might hesitate to undergo full reductions if you want your Cerbera to have more stability; if not, be prepared for occasional 2-wheel fun if you hit a curb here or there! Sometimes it seems this car should be in a circus somewhere.

In GT1, there are two of these: the regular car we buy from the dealer and the LM. In GT2, there are three: the 4.2, 4.5, and again the LM prize car.

---------------ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN-------------------

The engine in this car comes standard with loads of horsepower and plenty of mid-range torque to wind those back wheels quickly. Only one stage of tuning is available in GT1, and for most racing situations, that's all you'll need in this game. In GT2, the same is true: there are 3 na upgrades for the dealer-bought cars, but in my experience (at the Pacific Regionals, anyways) i barely needed to modify my car to win.

In the 1st game, you won't even have to tune the engine if you get its weight off, unless you're planning on racing in the hard-tuned or mega-speed events. The Cerbera is one of about 10 cars that will do well in the Stock car event, though it will slide around the track like the Viper does, so bring your safety restraints.

A shortfall is that this engine lacks horses when compared with some others in any of the racing series. Not only this, but its light weight means you'll be doing some driving with 2 or all 4 of the wheels off the pavement fairly frequently at these high speeds. The lack of horsepower can be remedied if you happen to win the Japanese / British series in GT1 or one of the enduros (i think) in GT2. You'll be rewarded with a brand-new Cerbera LM, which has about 100 more horses than the car you buy at the shop, and can attain an incredibly low pound / power ratio.

One thing questionable about the engine (and this could be a fault of Gran Turismo's designers) is that it doesn't sound much like a V8. I'm not sure what a real-life Cerbera engine sounds like (I've never even seen one!) but to me this car sounds suspiciously like an inline 6. The Cerbera in the 2nd game sounds like my mom's Electrolux. The engine BEHAVES like a V8, though, no doubt about that.

Lots of torque mid-range that peaks off just below the redline, lots of tire-screaming. You can get the close or super-close gearbox, but don't use the super-close one on tracks like Grand Valley which feature a long straightaway or the engine will clip. Like other high-performance vehicles, you won't need the racing gearbox unless you're absolutely anal about setting your own ratios.

------------------CHASSIS / HANDLING--------------------

Here we have yet another well-balanced undercarriage for the most part. Standard or modified, it has plenty of flexibility, though you may find that without sports, semi-racing, or racing tires, your car will be going sideways on twisty tracks almost as much as it's going straight! Once you get over this (assuming you can master countersteer and occasional drifting, that is) this car is as much fun to drive as a Viper, and has similar handling capabilities.

The tires are good but not sticky. Sports or semi-racing tires are good for intermediate races, while slicks are fine for the GT cup and other advanced forays. All in all, there isn't much negative to say about this portion of the car other than the fact that for some it will be annoying to drive (see the above sections for descriptions about 2-wheel maneuvers). This is more a fault of the car's weight, not its suspension. Use low spring settings (with dampers set mid-range) to help remedy this.

The brakes are excellent. You will not need the brake controller even when racing intermediate events, though it does help a lot during advanced races. In GT2, the adjustable limited-slip device is a good buy to induce more understeer or save yourself from some embarassing spins in races, but it's not the be-all and end-all for success. There is no substitute for good driving, after all.