RE: Vauxhall Calibra: Time for Tea?

[callyman]

y2blade said:

callyman said:

I love my 4x4 Turbo.
It's not just a good looking car, it goes very well.

Nice to see you today..I did flash and wave but you were in your own little word.

Really? where was that?

[y2blade]

callyman said:

y2blade said:

callyman said:

I love my 4x4 Turbo.
It's not just a good looking car, it goes very well.

Nice to see you today..I did flash and wave but you were in your own little word.

Really? where was that?

Yep, Newbury.
You had A Black Corsa up your arse.

[callyman]

y2blade said:

callyman said:

y2blade said:

callyman said:

I love my 4x4 Turbo.
It's not just a good looking car, it goes very well.

Nice to see you today..I did flash and wave but you were in your own little word.

Really? where was that?

Newbury.
You had A Black Corsa up your arse.

Yep, just picked it up from Eden Vaux, they sorted the swirls and scratches finally.
I was driving miss daisy so she'd see where I was going.

[y2blade]

callyman said:

y2blade said:

callyman said:

y2blade said:

callyman said:

I love my 4x4 Turbo.
It's not just a good looking car, it goes very well.

Nice to see you today..I did flash and wave but you were in your own little word.

Really? where was that?

Newbury.
You had A Black Corsa up your arse.

Yep, just picked it up from Eden Vaux, they sorted the swirls and scratches finally.
I was driving miss daisy so she'd see where I was going.

Oh excellent, glad to hear they have sorted it out

Have a good weekend chap.

[Morningside]

Nice looking cars. There is one parked about five doors up from me and I still have to glance as I drive past.

[cerb4.5lee]

slippery said:

Lovely looking cars in their day. The 2.5 V6 was probably the engine that suited the character of the car best, but the turbo could certainly cover ground pretty quickly. Full leather lifted an otherwise very dull interior.

Agree, I really liked them one mate had a 16v & another had the V6 & I really liked his V6 version, love the memories.

[Le Mans Visitor]

Here is my old Calibra, was 1 of 22 made and was a 2.0 Turbo 4x4 DTM. She was totally standard when I sold her but now she has been modified



She had to go as the fear of the toffee 4x4 system eating itself was too much.

[zabba]

I remember learning to drive in a Cavalier and was always very jealous when I saw a Calibra, great looking car at the time.

The price is interesting, £17,250. It's funny the amount of moaning that goes on about how car prices have gone up, when you compare this to new Scirocco 1.4 160bhp at around £22k. That's just a 5k increase in 20 years!

[s m]

Le Mans Visitor said:

Here is my old Calibra, was 1 of 22 made and was a 2.0 Turbo 4x4 DTM. She was totally standard when I sold her but now she has been modified



She had to go as the fear of the toffee 4x4 system eating itself was too much.

Looks very smart - still got your Astra?

[briancorish]

I have some fond memories of my old 4x4 turbo (when it wasn't being stolen, which was a lot) took all the badges off it, uprated the intercooler and turbo, and despite the fact that it constantly tried to understeer me into a tree, had great fun surprising drivers of much more exotic stuff who mistook it for a bog standard 8v.

[MartG]

slippery said:

Lovely looking cars in their day. The 2.5 V6 was probably the engine that suited the character of the car best, but the turbo could certainly cover ground pretty quickly. Full leather lifted an otherwise very dull interior.

Allegedly the V6 4X4 very nearly made production - so nearly that some bespoke parts for it were available from Vauxhall's parts department ( according to a guy who built one ) though that could have been down to the DTM racecars being 4x4 V6s.

callyman said:

Was that the turbo 4x4 or the non turbo 4x4?

Unlike the Cavalier, there was no non-turbo 4x4 Calibra

[s m]

MartG said:

Unlike the Cavalier, there was no non-turbo 4x4 Calibra

Incorrect Mart G

You are wrong, there was a non turbo 16v Calibra 4x4

[callyman]

MartG said:

Unlike the Cavalier, there was no non-turbo 4x4 Calibra

Yes there was.
The transfer box was a smaller less 'beefy' version of the turbo Transfer box.
And it came with the C20XE 'redtop' engine & F20 Gearbox

[MartG]

callyman said:

Yes there was.
The transfer box was a smaller less 'beefy' version of the turbo Transfer box.
And it came with the C20XE 'redtop' engine & F20 Gearbox

Yes, you're right - my ageing memory has let me down ( checked the 1990 Calibra brochure in my collection )

[Oddball RS]

Does anyone on here know what a Walker Hunter is?????

[Twincam16]

It's a pity we never got the planned Lotus version. Mike Kimberley's mentioned it before - it would have sort-of replaced the Excel, and would have featured the Lotus Carlton engine longitudinally mounted with a 4x4 drivetrain. With that kind of power coupled to those kinds of low-drag aerodynamics, plus Lotus ride and handling, I suspect it would have been capable of worrying some seriously expensive opposition.

I can just-about remember that review, and can certainly remember the impact of the Calibra's release. People scoff at them now, but back in the early '90s they attracted a similar kind of buyer to the sort of people who bought Mk1 Audi TTs.

I also remember being picked up from school in one by a mate's Dad who worked for Vauxhall at the time. It was bright red with a tan leather interior and looked at first glance like an Aston Martin Virage.

[Chicane-UK]

TobesH said:

GSI Turbo 4x4 for me please. Like the Cavalier version too. Got pulled over by one of the Sussex Police's finest back in the day :-)

I ran into a Cavalier Turbo 4x4 a fair few years ago. Was out for a drive in the Corrado G60 I owned at the time which was tuned up to nearly 210BHP so was no slouch. Saw it approaching in my rear view as we joined a dual carriageway so I changed down and booted it - and he sailed past me like I was stood still. I can only assume it wasn't standard but... jesus I had to re-evaluate my opinions on what quick cars were there and then! I bet he'd caught a few folks out over the years!

[anonymous-user]

Perversely the new Top Gear with it's explosions and caravan smashing is now so tired, repetitive and unimaginative that it manages to be even more boring than old top gear with it's dry reviews of hatchbacks. You can read a summary of what's in an episode of new top gear and predict almost down to the individual jokes what is going to happen, at least you never knew if you could fit 3 suitcases or just 2 into the boot of the new Nissan Primera.

[loudlashadjuster]

Let's turn the popular PH "How much?!" meme on its head and consider the £17,250 list price of the Calibra 16V in 1989. I'm going to link to this every time a new car price is announced and people grumble on like they've never heard of inflation.

According to the This Is Money inflation calculator, £17,250 is equivalent to about £36,350 today.

Let's have a look to see what we could buy for our imaginary Calibra budget:

M135i + smattering of options (natch)
435i + smattering of options (Hmmm, both sleek 4-seat coupes but BMW or Vauxhall? 2.0 four or 3.0 six? 150hp or 300hp?)
Audi TTS (just as hairdressery, but with 4WD and nearly double the power)
Toyabaru + £10k change (gulp!)
Megane RS265 + £10k change (as above)
370Z + £8k change

I could go on...

So, someone in the market for a stodgy 150hp Cavalier in drag in 1989 could buy any one of a number of revered, high performance cars in 2013.

You've never had it so good etc.

Edit: Just checked and a Boxster or Cayman isn't a kick in the arse away from being the same price in today's money.

Edited by loudlashadjuster on Monday 22 July 12:04

[Agent Orange]

PH said:

it makes the Calibra look quite cool (it's not just us, right?)

No it's just you. Hideous gearbox too. Feels like you are changing gear with a gearbox made from rubber bands.

2.0 16v Calibra's were achingly slow and a complete non-event. The V6 didn't seem much better. Turbo one's I'd been in felt pretty rapid I'll happily admit and much more like it but not for me. With the Irmscher kit they looked okay in that 90's way that it was ok to fix skirts and spoilers but never classically good looking.