The Chimaera was first produced in 1993. The name was derived from Chimera, a monstrous creature from Greek mythology which was made from the parts of multiple animals. It was designed by Peter Wheeler, John Ravenscroft and Peter's dog Ned, who rumour has it designed the front indicator recess! The car was based on the Griffith 4 running gear and chassis and was fitted with a slightly softer suspension set up, with Bilstein dampers and a rear anti-roll bar.

The car was offered with either a 4.0ltr or 4.3ltr version of the Rover V8, as fitted to the Griffith, but with catalytic converters to meet 1993 regulations. The initial reviews of the car were very favourable. The first modification took place in 1994, when the Rover SD1 gearbox was replaced with a Borg-Warner T5 gearbox. This was followed by the introduction of the 5 litre engine as fitted to the Griffith 500. The first major overhaul of the Chimaera came in 1996, and it was at about this time that the Chimaera and the Griffith began to share the same chassis and brakes, although the dampers remained different. The Griffith also received the Chimaera's rear anti-roll bar.

These changes were all under the surface and went unnoticed by most people, but the biggest changes were cosmetic. The wire front grill was replaced by the split intake design from the Cerbera, the door locks were replaced with an under wing-mirror design, the rear bumper strip and boot lid were re-designed, and the boot hinges replaced along with the rear light clusters. The interior also got a refresh with many of the switches being re-designed. However, throughout these changes the car was unmistakably still a Chimaera.

Being TVR's, the '96 editions can have some or all of the modifications described installed, which can make buying spares a challenge! 2001 was the next time the exterior of the car was changed with the addition of faired in headlights. In 1993 the Chimaera became TVR's biggest selling car and remained in that position until 1998. Approx. 6000 were produced, and more Chimaeras are on the road than the total of all TVR's produced over the past 25 years.