VAUXHALL

MORE THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER The Monaro is dead but there’s no need to get all maudlin. Vauxhall have followed up with the VXR8, a car that offers all the rawness of the Monaro with a little added practicality. Andy Enright reports

Remember all the best bits of the old Vauxhall Monaro performance coupe? You know, the power, the pace, the keen value and the no-nonsense rear wheel drive chassis. Then add a more civilised body and the option of an automatic gearbox. The result is its successor, the VXR8. Sophisticated it most certainly isn’t. Fun? Oh yes.

The formula for this sort of car isn’t new. In fact the muscle car blueprint can be traced right back to the first half of the last century. Putting a big V8 engine in a relatively simple rear wheel drive chassis and slapping a modest sticker price on it isn’t exactly rocket science and more’s the shame that this car hails from Australia rather than the UK. Nevertheless, the VXR8 wears a Vauxhall badge and will doubtless appeal to the sort of buyers who made the old Monaro such an underground hit. That car offered an unparalleled slug of power per pound, the last of the imports being sold at massive knockdowns. It was a car that could make a BMW M3 feel clinically boring and a Mitsubishi Evo seem built for idiots. With the Monaro, you weren’t protected by a vast safety net of driver aids, trick differentials and such forth. It was a performance car from the old school and all the better for it. The worry was that its successor would try to get a little smart and lose the Monaro’s charmingly brutish appeal. One look under the bonnet of the VXR8 is enough to pacify those who thought this car might have gone soft. Pop the hood and you’ll find that the old 6.0-litre V8 used by the Monaro VXR is now a 6.2-litre unit developing 431PS. Features like high-flow cylinder heads, new pistons and an enhanced valvetrain mean that power is up by 14PS over the first 6.0-litre VXR8 models that initially hit our shores late in 2007. This translates to a reduced 0-60mph time for cars with automatic transmissions (down from 5.0 seconds to 4.9) and improved in-gear acceleration for manual models (50-70mph in 3rd gear drops from 2.8 to 2.6 seconds; 30-50mph in 2nd gear drops from 2.0 to 1.9 seconds).  And if you fancy smoking your VXR8 at a track day, you’ll see 80-100mph times fall from 4.3 to just 4.0 seconds in 4th gear. Despite the VXR8’s enhanced performance credentials, this ‘LS3’ version produces the same emissions and fuel consumption as the first VXR8’s ‘LS2’ unit. In addition, the VXR8 automatic receives a transmission oil cooler as standard.

"No way has the Monaro’s successor gone soft…."

Those in the know will recognise this as the same basic engine as used by the Chevrolet Corvette and although it’s hardly the last word in high technology, it more than gets the job done. The VXR8 is fitted with traction control and stability control that those who enjoy a bit of sideways action will be relieved to hear can be fully disengaged. Do make sure you’ve got lots of run-off if you try this for the first time. An airfield would be preferable. Massive 365mm front disc brakes help to bring the VXR8 down from 60mph quicker than a BMW M5 or a Lamborghini Murcielago. There’s even the option of an automatic gearbox with a manual override and sports setting. This will add around half a second to the VXR8’s sprint to 60mph. The biggest difference between the VXR8 and its predecessor, the Monaro VXR, is an extra pair of doors. Whereas the Monaro was a big coupe, the VXR8 offers the added bonus of a pair of rear doors. True, there are many who are in the market for a coupe and may see this as a negative but the sleek roofline of the VXR8 isn’t actually that different in silhouette to the Monaro so it in no way looks upright and frumpy like so many four door cars do. Racy detailing festoons the exterior, from the sharky gills on the flanks to the huge air intakes in the front spoiler. A rear spoiler, a rear diffuser and quad exhaust pipes will leave other unfortunates under no illusion about the potency of what’s just blown them into the weeds. The cabin is relatively airy with a decent amount of space in the back, a no-nonsense fascia with minor dials canted towards the driver and a beautiful set of front sports seats. Even the boot is decently sized. Build quality probably isn’t going to give Audi any sleepless nights but the budget has been blown on the bits that matter. Vauxhall will make much of the fact that this vehicle has the sort of performance to keep a BMW M3 or an Audi RS4, both far more expensive cars, honest but the simple truth is that it’s not really in the same ballpark as far as desirability is concerned. Where the VXR8 will score serious sales is in offering an alternative to drivers who have grown out of Mitsubishi Evos and Subaru Imprezas. These buyers often recognise that they’re probably not going to buy a faster car for comparable money than their Japanese rally-rep rocket ships and look to something that offers similar four-door practicality with an altogether different driving characteristic. Couched in those terms, the £35,695 that Vauxhall is asking for the VXR8 doesn’t seem too bad at all. It’s about what an upspec Evo will run you and boasts a similar ‘elbow to the eye socket’ image. Standard equipment includes climate controlled air conditioning and leather trim and if you want to throw a bit more money at the VXR8, Vauxhall offer 20-inch rims and satellite navigation. In terms of bhp per pound, it’s still a superb deal. It’s still a little galling though, that this car’s US equivalent, the Pontiac G8 GT, sells for around $33,000. The sting with the VXR8 comes in terms of ongoing running costs - but that’s hardly a big surprise. Any heftily sized car with a 6.2-litre V8 engine is going to cost a pretty penny to keep fuelled up and the performance on offer is so addictive that the VXR8 is one of those cars that will be difficult to drive sensibly. Likewise, depreciation isn’t going to be negligible. Without overall control of Monaro development, Vauxhall were subject to the product planning decisions of Holden and the same will be true with this VXR8. If past form is anything to go by this may well mean rapid and rather unpredictable changes in the car’s specification and styling, all of which do nothing for longer term residuals. These high running costs must always be balanced against the consideration that this is a four-door saloon with the space and performance not dissimilar to a BMW M5, a £60,000 car that is in its own right viewed as something of a performance bargain. It’s hard to see how Vauxhall can trip up with the VXR8. Nobody expects it to be anything other than a slightly crude but enormously appealing bruiser and the asking price seems reasonable. The styling looks a good deal more up to date than the Monaro ever did, that car putting off more than a few buyers with its ‘Calibra on nandrolone’ styling. There’s also the considerable slew of customers who need rear doors and the Vauxhall can easily double up as a second car that can still do the family thing at a pinch. The VXR8 still represents a hefty investment in a Vauxhall and the badge could well dissuade some who would probably be advised to look for a used BMW or Audi. If you’re more interested in what the car can do rather than what your neighbours think of you, the VXR8 could well prove a very tempting investment.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Vauxhall VXR8 PRICE: £35,695 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 20 CO2 EMISSIONS: 365g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 4.9s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 12.4mpg, (extra urban) 25.9mpg, (combined)18.5mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin front airbags, ABS , ESP WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4895/1900/1476mm