Car And GPS (1858)

Vauxhall unveils two new additions to its swelling VXR stable

Fast becoming known for fashioning bonkers cars

11 September 2006 11:50 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Fast becoming known for fashioning bonkers cars, Vauxhall has unveiled the two latest additions to its swelling VXR stable.

VXR is the sports division of Vauxhall, and does strange things to normally mundane vehicles such as the Astra and Vectra and jacks up the power to near suicidal levels. The Vectra VXR, already a handful, has been given a power and suspension upgrade and is now almost 280bhp thanks to a redesigned induction system, modified engine components ands some new engine management software.

It’s still got the same 2.8-litre V6 turbo engine but is 0-60mph time has dropped four-tenths to 6.1 seconds for the hatchback and 6.3 seconds for the estate.

The chassis has been tweaked to give more dynamic handling, with modified spring and shock absorbers aiding pitch, roll and turn-in characteristics, Let’s hope it makes the power easier to handle than on the existing version.

The limited-edition VXR500, meanwhile, is based on the standard 6.0-litre Monaro VXR, but uses a new supercharger to crank up the power from around 400bhp to almost 500bhp, with torque up from 530Nm to a quite pant-wetting 677Nm. There’s also an upgraded fuel system, clutch revision and bespoke engine tune, all meaning the Monaro VXR500 can hit 60mph in less than 5 seconds and will do something like 190mph.

The Monaro is one on the greatest cars on British roads – and with a £35,995 price tag it’s phenomenal value, seeing as it’s half the price of the next cheapest 500bhp+ car. Damned practical and great to drive, too.