2017 VAUXHALL VXR8 GTS-R 6.2L V8 6MT RWD (595 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Most of the Vauxhall cars are just re-badged and right-hand drive European Opel vehicles. But not all of them. The Vauxhall VXR8 was a big difference. And it was based on an Australian car.

Far away from the U.S. and Europe, Australia has its national brand, named Holden. It is part of General Motors and it has some freedom to make cars suited for Australians. One of those cars was the Holden Monaro. A car that was so good that the Americans took-it and re-badged it as a Pontiac GTO. It was offered as a four-door sedan as well. And that was imported in the U.K. and re-badged as a Vauxhall VXR8.

The last year when the car was imported in the U.K. was in 2017. Only 15 units were made and all of them were sold before they were produced. It was a rare car. In the front, it featured a black grille and a big air-intake in the lower part of the bumper. Two side-vents on the front fenders took care of the air trapped in the wheel-well. In the back, a body-colored wing helped to add more downforce to the car.

Inside, the front sport-bucket seats were upholstered in leather and featured very big side bolsters. The dashboard resembled the one found in the Opel Insignia, along with the steering wheel and few details.

But the most important part of the car was under its skin. The engine was the same LSA V8 from the Chevrolet Camaro. It offered 595 hp and 740 Nm (545 lb-ft) of torque. It was mated with a 6-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual was available as an option. Power went to the rear wheels only.