Timewarp Vauxhall Astra GTE for sale
Remember when the Astra was built in Britain and uniformly driven like it had been stolen?
There’s no bigger buzzword in the car world at the moment than ‘restoration’. Well, second maybe to ‘mobility’, but that’s an awful term that doesn’t really mean anything. People good with spanners have been restoring vehicles since the dawn of time, but the restomod movement has made bringing anything old and vaguely interesting up to modern spec the coolest thing since sliced white. Nothing is seemingly off limits, either: if you’ve got the time (and deep enough pockets) to bring a bucket of bolts back to its former glory, you’ll have people clasping wads of cash lining up to take it off your hands.
Of course, the restomod craze is a positive for car preservation. Take Tolman’s Peugeot 205 GTI, for instance. Wind the clock back a decade or so and the thought of putting in huge amounts of effort and time into restoring a car worth peanuts at the time would have seemed financially disastrous. But the work Tolman has put in (fixing the wonky bits, more power, plusher interior trim etc) to its GTI restoration has plenty of buyers ready to pay the (upwards of) £55,000 asking price to get hold of the closest thing to the perfect 205.
That being said, less attention is given to cars that have been so well preserved that a no-expense-spared restoration would just seem unnecessary. That’s exactly what we have with this Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V. Talk about a timewarp, this wedge-shaped wonder has been kept in dry storage for the best part of ten years, heading into hibernation in 2015 before making a brief return to the road four years later. It went back into dry storage later in 2019, emerging only recently to get it in ship shape for its next owner.
Even then, it’s not like the car’s been put through a comprehensive detailing session, with the seller claiming it’s only had a ‘basic wash’ to smarten it up for the photos. And judging by said snaps, it’s in impressive condition for its age and originality. The paintwork looks in decent nick, the wheels good as new in all their '80s dinner plate glory and the stickers still firmly glued to the bodywork. True, some of the plastic trim has faded a bit, but that’s nothing a bit of wax won’t bring back to life. Look at the interior, too. No signs of tearing or sagging in the seats, while the futuristic (by '80s standards) digital dash all seems to be in working order. Everything is as it would have been when new 35 years ago.
The same goes for the engine. Most cars of this vintage usually have pretty manky bays - even with regular maintenance - and although there are some signs of peeling around the cam cover, the rest looks spotless. And what an engine it is. The red-top 2.0-litre outputted an impressive 158hp at 6,000rpm, which must have felt properly rapid in the late '80s. All that grunt was paired up with a nicely sorted chassis, too, with bespoke dampers, beefier anti-roll bars and a wider track at the rear, ensuring it went as quick as it looked.
Vauxhall sold thousands of them, but over the years more and more have inevitably been lost to ditches, trees and neglect. From a peak of over 7,600 in the early 1990s, just 88 are on the road today according to HowManyLeft. This isn’t one of them, but the seller claims it flew through its last MOT in 2019 and will come supplied with a fresh one for its new owner, who’ll need to fork up £24,995 to get their hands on it. Not cheap, but so few cars remaining - and even fewer in the condition of this 49,000-mile car - rarity obviously plays its part in that valuation. Rose-tinted sentiment, too. Question is: if you were to become its next custodian, what would do you do with it? Leave it in its time capsule state or use it as the basis of your own resto? The floor is yours.
The problem was, and is, that it wasn't / isn't a Golf. Before long the thread will be full of people claiming it'll kill you in an accident, bits will drop off on an ad-hoc basis and it'll throw you arse-first into the nearest hedge. It was never quite "safe enough" in period.
Some of the above may be true. But these were robust old things: one was entered into the Willhire 24hrs at Snetterton. With several hours still to go its gearbox gave out, doubtless due to the Redtop's boundless torque. It became stuck in its one remaining gear, which happened to be fifth. While tricky to leave the pits and navigate Russell, it soldiered on and finished, earning my eternal respect. I'm not sure a Golf, or many other cars come to that, would have made the finish.
t but he will still have fond memories of it.
t but he will still have fond memories of it.Its pointless judging them now, they are knocking on 40 years old but in period it was fairly high in the Hot Hatch pecking order, and there was a lot of choice back then.
The 16 valve was super desirable as nothing else in the marketplace had anywhere near 160 ish bhp back then, it was a the hyper hatch of its day.
t but he will still have fond memories of it.
My BIL had a couple of 1992 redtop Astra GSi's as well. He actually got banned in one of them when I was sat next to him as a passenger. He was racing his mate in his Astra GTE 16v, and we got radared at 84mph in a 30mph! Not very big or clever granted, but we were a hell of a lot younger then in fairness. However it was still completely daft to behave like that in a built up area regardless though I think.
I have driven several 8v versions (as well as this engine in the larger Cavalier) and they were always perfectly reliable, reasonably well put together cars that didn't cost a fortune to run and were affordable for many.
The 16v had much improved handling over the 8v version and the performance figures were at the top of the tree for the time.
So not crap then. Now, as long as it is good condition I am sure it will still be fun to drive if feel a little dated.
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