Mon-Fri: 8am-4.30pm
Sat/Sun: By Appointments Only
339 Bedworth Road,
Longford, Coventry, CV6 6BN.
Tel: 024 7636 6177
Fax: 024 7636 5428
Email: dom@tvrpower.co.uk
- Having test driven the TVR Power 4.0 litre RV8 Supercharger over the Alps for a week in 2006, it was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement I found myself driving down to Power’s workshop six years later to take a look at their latest RV8 offering; the new Powers Performance Rover V8 Turbocharger.
To my way of thinking the TVR Power Supercharger conversion was the ultimate RV8 package. It delivered superb drivability, was fabulously smooth and over 2,000 rapidly covered miles, many at altitude, returned us over 18 mpg. It kept up with the Sags and left the 5.0 litre RV8 powered cars for dead. So how can anything compare with that? I was intrigued to find out.
- Greeted by Dom Trickett, Managing Director of Powers Performance, we walk to the far side of the workshop discussing the merits of the turbocharger. But why an RV8 turbo? Dom explains:“We have a long and successful history with turbochargers.
Before our involvement with TVR, as North Coventry Kawasaki, we were turbocharging high powered drag bikes as far back as 1987.It was only in the mid 1980’s we started developing the Rover V8 for TVR with firstly the 3.5, then the 3.9, 4.0, 4.3 and the 4.5 litre. The culmination of this development work was when NCK was commissioned to build the first batch of 30 Rover 4.5 litre race engines for the new Tuscan Challenge race series over the winter of 1988. So with our successful history of both turbo and RV8 development ,it is a natural progression to marry the two together. And we are gladwe did. The results are amazing.” 
- Power’s original development Chimaera having moved on some time ago, I am introduced to an inoffensive and almost White Elephant coloured Chimaera. And other than a tidy set of aftermarket wheels and a front brake upgrade, the car appears completely standard. But as I was about to find out, nothing could be further from the truth.
- Keen to examine the turbo installation, on opening the bonnet my first impression is how un-cluttered the engine bay is. This is in marked contrast to the supercharger installation which by comparison appears to fill up the engine bay, making it look quite busy. In fact it would be fair to say that at first glance this new turbocharger installation could almost be missed.The very nature of a turbocharger demands that, being driven by the exhaust gasses, it is located adjacent to the exhaust system, in this case towards the front of the collector.
On a Chimaera or Griffith this positions the turbo unit towards the bottom front of the engine bay, locating it veryneatly to the rear of the radiator. To achieve this installation the header tank and radiator bottom hose are relocated, the cross member nibbled into to accommodate the turbo unit and the power steering lines replaced with braided hoses. Other than that, within the engine bay there is really nothing much else to see. Hidden from view and installed in front of the radiator is the turbo’s intercooler. This cools downthe air passing through the turbo, ensuring both the efficiency of the unit and longevity of theengine.
It has to be said that Power’s RV8 Turbo installation is incredibly neat and decidedlyunderstated. But why a single turbo unit and not a twin, surely a single turbo unit will show yousome lag? Dom explains: “The older technology single turbo systems we used to work withdid show you an amount of lag, so twin turbos became pretty much standard issue to try toovercome the problem. However modern technology gives us the benefit of progressiveboost control, making single turbo installations so much more efficient. We decided to go the single turbo route as our new package occupies very little engine bay space, is easier to maintain and delivers us excellent power with great drivability.“ 
- Certainly the Turbo’s figures cannot be argued with. The 4.0 litre supercharger which I tookacross the Alps, from its original 190bhp and 210lb ft of torque at the rear wheels, delivered inexcess of 260bhp with 260lb ft of torque. But the turbo is in another league. From its original 191bhp and 213lb ft of torque at the rear wheels, the Powers Perfomance 4.0 litreRV8 Turbo charger produces 317bhp with 380lb ft of torque running with 15 pounds of boost, or 338 bhp with a huge 427lb ft of torque at the rear wheels running with20 pounds of boost. That is incredibly 30% more bhp than the supercharger and 64%more torque. Unbelievable! The Alps are beckoning.
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Astonishing figures but is the power usable?Well I’m delighted to report that it is. Each Powers Performance Turbo package includes a coil pack driven MBE system which does away with the need for your stepper motor, air mass meter and distributor. Also included in the package is a new engine wiring harness, trigger wheel, set of high volume injectorsand new MBE ECU mapped to 100 rpm increments. This ensures the Powers Performance Turbocharger delivers its power efficiently, making it wonderfully smooth, very drivable, amazingly responsive and breath takingly quick.
MBE is an optional extra which is required on all our Turbos packages @ £2,495 + vat, this includes bespoke mapping
Please "note" our Turbo packages can run with any other after market ECUs
Supply and install Turbo Kit only £3500.00 + vat (ECU Optional extras)- Optional extras MBE ECU £2495.00 + vat (bespoke mapped)
- Supply and install Turbo Kit wth MBE Ecu £5495.00 + vat
- Supply DIY kits £2750.00 + vat