Some two decades ago when the Lotus Carlton was under development, then GM Europe boss, Bob Eaton, told me that its two European brands of Vauxhall and Opel were ‘blue collar’ marques: worthy, working class products that didn’t really catch the imagination but provided generations with honest products.
The Lotus Carlton/Omega was created to change that image and add a bit of fairy dust, but as its launch coincided with an economical downturn and it never really succeeded.
With its VXR range, Vauxhall has tried with varying degrees of success to add that extra pizzazz to the marque – its latest attempt here in the UK is this, the VXR8.
If it looks familiar, it should as it’s a rebadged version of the Australian developed and built Holden Special Vehicles E3 GTS and, yep, that engine is the Camaro’s LS3 V-8 with 425 bhp and 405 lb.-ft. of torque on the other end of the throttle. That’s sufficient to thump the four-door to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, with a restricted V-max of 155 mph.
It also comes with the same MagnaRide suspension used on the ZR1 ‘Vette as well as launch control for those quick getaways.
A few laps of a high speed testing bowl was enough to convince me that the old soubriquet of ‘there ain’t no substitute for cubic inches’ still rings true, with plenty of mid range torque available from an engine that sounds intoxicating as the tacho’s red line approaches.
At the equivalent of $81,000 it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but it will be interesting to see if it can attract sales from the hot Mitsubishi’s and Subaru’s of this world, but I fear that Vauxhall, or Opel, will need more than this to shed their still somewhat underserved dowdy image.
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