----------------------EXTERIOR---------------
Even though in the late 90s this was a new car, it preserves the lines of older British autos like the MGB,
Triumph TR6, and Jaguar E-Type. The designers seem to have created the Griffith with these earlier cars in mind. Fair enough.
The 4.0 is a small car, and it's more nimble than a lot of other A-class vehicles in GT1. It is also very
light (2,336 lbs.) so when you race it, you can use these traits to your advantage IF you can control the darn thing. So this
is the thing: um, actually..this car is VERY difficult to control. Remember this! Its small size is an advantage
in slower races, but the Griffith loses serious stability thru tighter corners and over curbs, making any advantage of size
or weight worthless at times.
The Cerbera does better than the Griffith--which will spin out without apology, warning, or grace! Why do
you think this car is featured in the Route 11 phase of the GT1 IA test....possibly THE most difficult challenge of all the
license tests? It's cuz this car sucks at holding the road!
And it's ironic because British roadsters are supposedly made to ‘hold the road’ where others
fail, at least that's the stereotype. Really, it's not the Griffith's fault...cars of this size usually don't have 330+
horsepower engines blasting them around.
But we have a nice array of colors to choose from at the dealer. The Griffith 4.0 is only featured
in GT1...in GT2 and later games they dropped it for the more potent 500 and Blackpool versions. The 4.0 is a fun car (despite
the above words), full of spirit, but it needs to seriously be tamed.
----------------ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN-----------------
British sports cars are famous for breaking down and spending lots of time at the repair shop. The saying
goes: “It runs great when it's actually running”. ;) Luckily, we dont have to worry about our model EVER breaking
down.
This car (like other TVRs) comes standard with an awesome, high-output V8 engine built by Rover. Like the
Cerbera, the GT1 engine sample sounds more like a 6 cylinder than a V8. This may be the way this car actually sounds, but
I have a feeling that the soundbyte engineers over at Gran Turismo goofed, somehow. The engine comes loaded with a lot of
power and torque; in fact, the power band looks like a mountain peak when you see the engine graph, and I find that this engine
loses speed near and past the redline. So even though it doesn't sound like a V8, it sure behaves like one.
The gearing is evenly spaced...not too tall or too short, which is a trademark of real sports cars. You
can buy the racing box if you like, but it's not necessary. It might be a good idea to run your Griffith without the carbon
driveshaft at times--this will cut your acceleration a tenth of a second, but it will place more weight towards the rear of
the car, increasing traction. All other racing parts (except tires) will be optional buys for you unless you're hitting the
most challenging of challenges.
---------------CHASSIS / HANDLING-------------
No matter how much you try and arrange these settings, you'll have to deal with this car's love of spinning
spinning spinning. The car's stock tires aren't sticky at all, making the Griffith 4.0 difficult to maneuver in
the Normal Series, though in the right hands it can win.
As you buy better tires, you'll experience the typical problems with too much front-end grip and the oversteer
that follows, but mostly you'll (at some point) get totally frustrated with this car, and maybe your TV as well.
And then you might just turn your Playstation off and sit there, sending mental Satanic death curses to Jay Leno as he interviews
yet another celebrity whose life is so fascinating...he never needs videogames to enrich it.
You'll really have to pay attention to the Griffith's back-end when exiting corners. It is crucial to learn
NOT to apply too much gas too early, and choose the right gear wisely. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find that the Griffith
is classicly fun to drive, the way all sports cars should be.
