2013 VAUXHALL VXR8 GTS 6.2L LSA V8 6MT (585 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 GTS had a story based on an Australian car.

Holden was the GM arm in Australia and it had some freedom to build cars suited for their home market. One of those cars was the Holden Monaro. A car that was so good that the Americans took its coupe version and re-badged it as a Pontiac GTO. The four-door Monaro was imported in the U.K. and re-badged as a Vauxhall VXR8. In 2013, the model received a special version, named VXR8 GTS.

The last year when the car was imported in the U.K. was in 2017 due to the closure of Holden Australian’s factories. 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 with black tips 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 6.2 liter V8 from the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It offered 577 hp. 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.