Wednesday 5th March 2014

Vauxhall: Geneva 2014

Adam hots up, Astra VXR gets Extreme

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The  Astra VXR Extreme Concept is a right pain in the ass. If it's not the hard shell of the seat that gets you somewhere uncomfortable, it's the buckle for the racing harness. Getting in requires delicacy.

Subtle the VXR is not, Extreme it is

So too, you imagine, does pressing the throttle.After all, it has at least 300hp going through the front wheels. Even regular Astra VXRs are not known for their subtlety of approach, so surely adding more explosives requires a health warning?

Well, the fact it's got racing harnesses, and the hard-shell seats, is probably a good sign here. It suggests a proper job; junking the rear seats for a roll cage, and liberally washing it in carbon fibre, reinforces this. Goodness, it's got a carbon fibre roof - and carbon figure bonnet, front spoiler, engine cover, suspension cross brace, rear wing and diffuser ... even the rear wheelarch vents AND the wheels are made from it.

In all, the saving is around 100kg while lightening the roof from 9.3kg to 2.6kg prompts usual claim of lowering the centre of gravity. With the extra power, this ought to mean exceptional acceleration stats: the reality may well be a struggle to get the power down (despite the high-end HiPerStrut front suspension), but we'd still wager those front Hankooks will bite in and give 5.5 seconds from 0-62mph.

Would you Adam and Eve it; an Adam with attitude

A limited-slip differential will help it round corners and six-pot Brembos will stop it sharply - again, the 19-inch Hankooks will help here, as they apparently give almost as much grip as the Nurburgring Endurance Championship race cars. All they need to do now is confirm it for limited series production and you've got a suitably outrageous way to mark a decade of VXR.

Who are we kidding with the doubt: it's bound to be built (with a £35k price tag - possibly more), and may well even join the Civic Type-R in sniffing out the SEAT Leon Cupra's Ring record (given how it was effectively conceived there and all that). A pain in the ass? Possibly only if you're Honda.

Also on show was the Adam S. 150hp from a 1.4-litre turbo, in a city-sized three-door, has appeal: remember the Renaultsport Twingo? The Ford SportKa? The proof will be in the driving and the Adam hasn't the best of reputations here. But the perfectly slammed suspension, the 18-inch wheels, the choice-spec Continentals and the fact it sports the same gorgeous Recaros as the Corsa VXR (and old Renaultsport Clio) means we live in hope...

[Antj]

Looks like Vauxhall did not have room on the plate for the astra's full name. appear to have missed off "ly ste"

honestly, what plum thought that was good enough, are they on acid at that place. if it wasn't for the sale of stebox 1.2 corsa's and rental spec astras Vauxhall would have and should have been closed down years ago.

[007 VXR]

Nice Job VX

Can you fit a V8 in one Dougie ?

Edited by 007 VXR on Wednesday 5th March 15:05

[Steve vRS]

Antj said:

Looks like Vauxhall did not have room on the plate for the astra's full name. appear to have missed off "ly ste"

honestly, what plum thought that was good enough, are they on acid at that place. if it wasn't for the sale of stebox 1.2 corsa's and rental spec astras Vauxhall would have and should have been closed down years ago.

A well thought out response there.

I don't own a VX but applaud them trying to do something special with minimal payback.

Steve

[ZX10Ben]

So they've removed what is effectively a "fat passenger" from the car, but after all these weight reduction measures it is still only down to 1,375kg which is still too heavy for the type of car it's "trying" to be. I mean fair play to them for giving it a shot, but this shows just how badly they're built in the first place carrying round all that extra dead weight...

[DKS]

ZX10Ben said:

So they've removed what is effectively a "fat passenger" from the car, but after all these weight reduction measures it is still only down to 1,375kg which is still too heavy for the type of car it's "trying" to be. I mean fair play to them for giving it a shot, but this shows just how badly they're built in the first place carrying round all that extra dead weight...

Is it due to not wanting to, or unable to, reduce NCAP ratings? Does it lose type approval or something? I agree 100Kgs loss and 1.4t is not much to get excited about.

[Baryonyx]

Antj said:

Looks like Vauxhall did not have room on the plate for the astra's full name. appear to have missed off "ly ste"

honestly, what plum thought that was good enough, are they on acid at that place. if it wasn't for the sale of stebox 1.2 corsa's and rental spec astras Vauxhall would have and should have been closed down years ago.

Most car companies would be bankrupt if they weren't propped up by the sales of their less, volume cars. The 'halo cars' do give the brand some punch though and I'm glad to see Vauxhall getting back on form after a decade out in the wilderness.

[windy1]

Another Vauxhall that looks like it's been to Halfords for a makeover. Why do they do it?
I reckon I could get 500 kg out of that car using a hacksaw.

[007 VXR]

windy1 said:

Another Vauxhall that looks like it's been to Halfords for a makeover. Why do they do it?
I reckon I could get 500 kg out of that car using a hacksaw.

[Crafty_]

ZX10Ben said:

So they've removed what is effectively a "fat passenger" from the car, but after all these weight reduction measures it is still only down to 1,375kg which is still too heavy for the type of car it's "trying" to be. I mean fair play to them for giving it a shot, but this shows just how badly they're built in the first place carrying round all that extra dead weight...

Once upon a time we were told weight was good when VW were making lardy Golfs, now its a sign that a car is badly built ?

What a load of rubbish. The astra is a big car and I think much of the weight is in the chassis itself.

Besides:
Mk7 Golf R 1476kg (manual box) ( http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/gol...)
BMW M135i 1500kg ( http://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/new-vehicles/1/3-door/2...)
Audi S3 1415kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
Renaultsport Megane 1379kg ( http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/megane265/t...)
Mercedes A45 AMG 1555kg ( http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...)
Mk2 Focus RS, 1467kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
2014 Focus ST 1437kg ( http://www.ford.co.uk/cs/BlobServer?blobtable=Mung...)
Are all these cars "trying" to be something they aren't as well ?
Even the regular Astra isn't heavy compared to the rest.

The only hot hatches I can find that are lighter is the Leon Cupra 280 at 1327kg, but it is a whopping 20cm shorter, has a 5cm lower roofline and is 3cm narrower.

The Golf Gti is lighter too, but again its smaller than the astra in every dimension by quite a bit and imho doesn't live in the hot hatch class with the above cars at just 217bhp.

[Escort Si-130]

Not NCAP fault, but the consumer. Who demands more space than outgoing mmodel, all the toys possible (sat nav, abs, climate control, ac, Bluetooth, power steering, electric windows, heated seats, large alloy wheels, bigger brakes, larger exhaust)

DKS said:

Is it due to not wanting to, or unable to, reduce NCAP ratings? Does it lose type approval or something? I agree 100Kgs loss and 1.4t is not much to get excited about.

[Escort Si-130]

Dry cereal box joke, Halfords do not do items like that no more.

windy1 said:

Another Vauxhall that looks like it's been to Halfords for a makeover. Why do they do it?
I reckon I could get 500 kg out of that car using a hacksaw.

[y2blade]

Escort Si-130 said:

Dry cereal box joke, Halfords do not do items like that no more.

windy1 said:

Another Vauxhall that looks like it's been to Halfords for a makeover. Why do they do it?
I reckon I could get 500 kg out of that car using a hacksaw.

Maybe so but the sentiment is correct.

Look at what Vauxhall enthusiasts have been doing to their cars for years, Vauxhall have tapped into that & now do it for them.
VX cars are very marmite, either you like them or you don't............

[Crafty_]

I suspect it may be available without the graphics and the wing, which would completely transform the looks I think.

[stu harris]

The graphics will not make it to production. The wing will.

[007 VXR]

stu harris said:

The graphics will not make it to production. The wing will.

option ?

[LaurasOtherHalf]

If it's £35k, I'm having one

[SaqibCTR]

Why so much hate towards the Astra Extreme? I love it. Hardcore hot-hatches are definitely my sort of thing.

[007 VXR]

SaqibCTR said:

Why so much hate towards the Astra Extreme? I love it. Hardcore hot-hatches are definitely my sort of thing.

Its aimed at a small group of buyers, and it would seam that alot of others cant except that some people have diffrent tastes

[ZX10Ben]

Crafty_ said:

ZX10Ben said:

So they've removed what is effectively a "fat passenger" from the car, but after all these weight reduction measures it is still only down to 1,375kg which is still too heavy for the type of car it's "trying" to be. I mean fair play to them for giving it a shot, but this shows just how badly they're built in the first place carrying round all that extra dead weight...

Once upon a time we were told weight was good when VW were making lardy Golfs, now its a sign that a car is badly built ?

What a load of rubbish. The astra is a big car and I think much of the weight is in the chassis itself.

Besides:
Mk7 Golf R 1476kg (manual box) ( http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/gol...)
BMW M135i 1500kg ( http://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/new-vehicles/1/3-door/2...)
Audi S3 1415kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
Renaultsport Megane 1379kg ( http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/megane265/t...)
Mercedes A45 AMG 1555kg ( http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...)
Mk2 Focus RS, 1467kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
2014 Focus ST 1437kg ( http://www.ford.co.uk/cs/BlobServer?blobtable=Mung...)
Are all these cars "trying" to be something they aren't as well ?
Even the regular Astra isn't heavy compared to the rest.

The only hot hatches I can find that are lighter is the Leon Cupra 280 at 1327kg, but it is a whopping 20cm shorter, has a 5cm lower roofline and is 3cm narrower.

The Golf Gti is lighter too, but again its smaller than the astra in every dimension by quite a bit and imho doesn't live in the hot hatch class with the above cars at just 217bhp.

I don't remember being told too much weight was a good thing for cars, even by VW. But still, you'd don't always believe what they tell you, do you?

Those other cars are not trying to be something they aren't, they're sporty road cars with a few modern comforts. None of them are really track focused like the VXR EE is trying to be, they all have their rear seats for a start, not a roll cage and none of them have carbon fiber roofs. I had no idea that those other models were that heavy either, but as they haven't been through the same diet, that's not really surprising.

I still think the VXR EE is too heavy for what it is trying to be, they could have made it lighter if the base model had been lighter. I'm looking forward to when manufactures move weight saving much higher up on the priority list when designing a car from scratch, but that's a topic for another thread

Edited by ZX10Ben on Thursday 6th March 03:08

[TrivsTom]

ZX10Ben said:

Crafty_ said:

ZX10Ben said:

So they've removed what is effectively a "fat passenger" from the car, but after all these weight reduction measures it is still only down to 1,375kg which is still too heavy for the type of car it's "trying" to be. I mean fair play to them for giving it a shot, but this shows just how badly they're built in the first place carrying round all that extra dead weight...

Once upon a time we were told weight was good when VW were making lardy Golfs, now its a sign that a car is badly built ?

What a load of rubbish. The astra is a big car and I think much of the weight is in the chassis itself.

Besides:
Mk7 Golf R 1476kg (manual box) ( http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/gol...)
BMW M135i 1500kg ( http://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/new-vehicles/1/3-door/2...)
Audi S3 1415kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
Renaultsport Megane 1379kg ( http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/megane265/t...)
Mercedes A45 AMG 1555kg ( http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...)
Mk2 Focus RS, 1467kg ( http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results...)
2014 Focus ST 1437kg ( http://www.ford.co.uk/cs/BlobServer?blobtable=Mung...)
Are all these cars "trying" to be something they aren't as well ?
Even the regular Astra isn't heavy compared to the rest.

The only hot hatches I can find that are lighter is the Leon Cupra 280 at 1327kg, but it is a whopping 20cm shorter, has a 5cm lower roofline and is 3cm narrower.

The Golf Gti is lighter too, but again its smaller than the astra in every dimension by quite a bit and imho doesn't live in the hot hatch class with the above cars at just 217bhp.

I don't remember being told too much weight was a good thing for cars, even by VW. But still, you'd don't always believe what they tell you, do you?

Those other cars are not trying to be something they aren't, they're sporty road cars with a few modern comforts. None of them are really track focused like the VXR EE is trying to be, they all have their rear seats for a start, not a roll cage and none of them have carbon fiber roofs. I had no idea that those other models were that heavy either, but as they haven't been through the same diet, that's not really surprising.

I still think the VXR EE is too heavy for what it is trying to be, they could have made it lighter if the base model had been lighter. I'm looking forward to when manufactures move weight saving much higher up on the priority list when designing a car from scratch, but that's a topic for another thread

Edited by ZX10Ben on Thursday 6th March 03:08

I think people are jumping the gun a bit here. We should wait until performance stats and that inevitable lap around the 'ring. It's VX's version of the Megane R26.R with some more lard but a big power hike, shouldn't be too bad!