RE: Spotted: 1981 ex-works Vauxhall Chevette HSR

[rockymount]

silversixx said:

M666 EVO said:

A company used to do an identical body kit for XR2s, Paniche or something like that

I do like the look of it though

Rings a bell, that. Might it have been Pannique?

Must admit just a tad few years before my time when brand new Chevettes were out, with (like some other PH’ers) one of my first cars being an XR2 (althought a Paris blue mk2 variety, with no rear seat belts and fully ‘hand brushed’ hammerited light blue underbody)

Mind you this thread got me searching and looks like M666 EVO is right on the XR2 front and silversixx is dead right on the Pannique body kit front i.e.



...... looks like it might have SOLD for around £1,500 just over a year ago ……. http://www.3ads.co.uk/advert/xr2-with-panique-kit-...

Also found a bldy good site with lot’s of Chevettes at ……… you guessed it ;
http://www.chevettes.com/gallery.php?section=va
and after trawling through 79 showroom galleries found this beauty, posted in June 2000 by Alex (in Showroom 7) ;



to quote Alex;

“The car is an ex-works DTV (Vauxhall Chevette HSR) built car specifically for tarmac sprinting. It is fibreglass with perspex windows, stripped out interior, with a 2.6 litre all-steel dry sumped works engine producing 260bhp and weighing in at 829kgs. This gives it a 0-60 of about 4.5 secs. It runs on sticky Avon slicks 10" wide at the front and 12" wide at the rear. As it was built by DTV you can imagine how amazingly well this car handles.
I race it at Lydden Hill and Brands Hatch and I sprint it all over the country. To put the performance and handling into perspective, I regularly beat cars around Lydden race track and at other sprint venues such as any TVR, Mistubishi Evo 6's, Porsche 911 Turbo's and GT3."

………….you’ve just got to love that last sentence ……..GT3’s no less !!!

[marcosgt]

321lightspeed said:

Great car. When our family firm was the local Vauxhall main dealer, I can remember a DTV Firenza making an appearance, and also the Irmscher Manta as well. Weren't the Firenza's the 'droop snoot' cars? I don't remember the Chevette having the wedge front.....

All Chevettes had a 'wedge' front end (as much as the HSR shown here anyway), but there was a Firenza with a grafted on 'droop snoot' that preceded the Chevette.

Most Firenzas, though, had flat, Viva like noses.

M.

[LuS1fer]

The Chevette was a Vauxhalled Kadett. The Firenza was the 4 headlight version of the Viva using the ohc 1600/2000 engines initially then the 1800/2300. The Firenza was pushed upmarket with the droop-snoot in 1974 but only 204 were made.

The old Firenza flat nose was then amalgamated into the Magnum saloon and coupe range - always wanted one.

The 70s was a great time for rallying with a huge variety of cars you could recognise and I was a keen fan. However, I went down to Cardiff Castle for the finish of this year's rally and with nearly every car being a Fiesta it all got a bit boring. The odd ugly Mini and the DS broke the monotony but not by much. I think I heard the commentator say that something over 50% of the field were prepared by the same rally workshop.

[RRH]

A friend of mine bought Penti Airikkalas HSR in the late 80s. Quick, and *very* sideways. Think I've got some pics somewhere...

Happy days

[Ihavcndygetinvan]

So much love these cars, along with the Sumbeam, just awesome little hatches. Can't even begin to imagine what that DTV car handles like!

[timewatch]

Tony Pond!!!

Now there's a blast from the past!

TW>>>

[marcosgt]

timewatch said:

Tony Pond!!!

Now there's a blast from the past!

TW>>>

Indeed - a brilliant driver - Fast in everything he drove, be it rally car or race car.

Shame he rarely had the best equipment or he might've been a world beater, but from what I read about him, I'm not sure he'd have bothered that much

M.

[jumare]

Memories...

I went to the Rally Sprint at Donington and the Donington stages of the RAC rally in 1979. Think I went to the RAC stages the year before as well.

The Rally Sprint was rally and GP drivers competing in Rally cars, TR7's and fork lift truck race. Got autographs of them all Vatanen, Pond, Eklund, John Taylor, John Watson, Patrick Tambay, Alan Jones, & Jochan Mass.

Pond was driving a Lotus Sunbeam.

Mark

[Gary C]

Cotty said:

kahostheory said:

My first car was standard silver 1.3 Chevette

Cough 1256cc cough

Mine was my first road car. I had a baby blue two door saloon. Although the saloon never had a "hot" version.

Cough 56hp cough

Mine was my first car too

[rutthenut]

Love this, and other rwd rally cars of that era.

Nice to see PH sharing the love.

Reckon that someone from PH should attend the RAC (Roger Albert Clark) Rally in December for some more old-timer rally car love
http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org/

[garycab]

That must of been the year that a documentary was made with Roger Clarke and Chris Searl (was he from Thats Life tv prog ???), remember it made for great watching as it was Chris's first major rally and good old Rog getting a strop on!

[IanMorewood]

It the auction on the 7th December

I quite fancy the BMW CSL that's in the same auction, just don't have the money......

[paulg390]

Ah happy memories... Used to love watching these on the stages back in the 80s. Even bought a 2.6 jerry johnstone tuned black HSR replica with 180bhp to relive the memories when i could afford it. Had been built as a project car by an Aston engineer.... Wonder if its still on the go now.... Was built in 1984 with B reg so fairly distinctive,,,

[YorkshirePudding]

rutthenut said:

Reckon that someone from PH should attend the RAC (Roger Albert Clark) Rally in December for some more old-timer rally car love
http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org/

I'll be out spectating on this, PH'r Greensleeves won the Open class last year btw.

My neighbour has an un rallied HSR in his garage.

[rallycross]

just bringing this page back up today as we also have a spotted Talbot Sunbeam Lotus up today.