Tuesday 15th September 2020

Vauxhall VXR8 GTS | Spotted

This VXR8 matches a Panamera Turbo S for power and is a third of the price - also it has the 6.2-litre LSA

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There's a first drive of the new Porsche Panamera Turbo S coming to PH very soon. We're sworn to secrecy on the specifics of the drive, though it is worth drawing attention to one detail: 630hp, the peak power figure for the new Turbo S. Which, given how fast the old Turbo was with just the 550hp, should indicate just how madly quick this new Panamera is.

Same goes for the 639hp AMG GT 63 S 4-door, the 625hp BMW M5 Competition and the 600hp Audi RS7. Any four-door saloon, even one that weighs as much as a small island, is seriously potent with 600hp or more. So what about the Vauxhall-badged one?

Hang on, you're thinking; there's no such thing as a 600hp four-door Vauxhall, Matthew. And that's correct: the VXR8 bowed out with a mere 585hp, the GTS-R doing a superb job of reminding the world just what would be lost (namely, a lot of fun) with the demise of Australian imports. This GTS, however, isn't quite standard, even if the paint somehow is.

Thanks to the work of Walkinshaw Performance (who else?), this particular VXR8 is now producing more than 630hp. That's achieved through nothing more than an air intake and a remap, showing how much headroom there is in the famed 6.2 LSA. There are internet tales of more than 700hp with nothing more than bolt on mods, so the power hungry should be well sated by the VXR8.

Moreover, if the old GTS-R was anything to go by, the car is more than capable of handling the performance. During a day's testing the VXR8 held its own on any kind of road (and Donington Park); capable, enjoyable and richly rewarding whatever the situation. The latest crop of super saloons would leave the Vauxhall behind even with the extra power, of course, but as a driving experience it's hard to pick much fault with, assuming you like the thought of managing that sort of power through a single driven axle and a six-speed manual gear box. It's a good car as well as being good fun, the VXR8, and you'd be amazed how seldom those two attributes combine.

If ever an advert spoke of enthusiast ownership, it's the one for this Vauxhall. Despite having only covered 12,000 miles since 2014, it's been serviced five times at Walkinshaw's. That's in addition to the seemingly flawless condition inside and out, the big comfy chairs apparently unsat in and the red crackle cover atop the V8 without a mark on it. The GTS could almost pass for brand new, were it not for that fact that orange, V8 saloons seem so silly nowadays that it could never ever have a 70-plate on.

The Vauxhall-badged Holdens were always good value in the UK, and that remained true for the GTS. Granted, the run-out GTS-R stretched that notion a bit with its £74k asking price (the standard GTS cost just £54,999 when it was launched) which means a price today of £42,500 is maybe not necessarily the drop you would expect, perhaps reflective of the car's rarity and status.

But let's not swerve round the point: this much power, used so little, for the price of a 340i is why a nation grew to love the power-mad Holdens over the course of a decade or so. As the world moves further from that slightly silly approach to the scalpel-sharp supersaloon, expect a dedicated band of followers to cling onto the thunder from down under. And if you haven't had the pleasure - trust us on this one - after about 10 minutes, it all makes sense. Probably more so in this GTS than any other.

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SPECIFICATION | VAUXHALL VXR8 GTS

Engine: 6,162cc, supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 595@6,150rpm
Torque (lb ft): 546@3,850rpm
MPG: 18
CO2: 363g/km
Year registered: 2014
Recorded mileage: 12,550
Price new: £54,999
Yours for: £42,500

See the original advert here

[dvinell]

It's a fun and desirable car that sounds amazing and goes well once up to speed off the line, but at the time I was doing high mileages, and the fuel consumption would have bankrupted me.
The other issue is around rustproofing - I'm not sure how many salty winters these will survive compared to a C63 or E63.