Over the past few years, Vauxhall, the British arm of GM mostly known for Corsas and Astras, is selling one of the most bonkers-vehicles on the market; the mighty Holden-sourced VXR8 GTS.
The other day, I was discussing how great it is for the enthusiast community that Ford is finally going to bring a right-hand drive Mustang over here to the UK, when the discussion evidently lead to Vauxhall and its Australian muscle cars.
Whoever took that first, very brave decision to bring over here the Holden Monaro and rebadge it as a Vauxhall, deserves a huge hug. Since then, the British brand never stopped having at least one crazy muscle car in its range which leads us to the latest VXR8 GTS.
A near-600hp, five-meter-long super saloon with a supercharged 6.2-litre LS3 V8 under the bonnet and a manual gearbox to stir. You can’t even say it without a grin on your face.
How do you position a car like this in the market? Inevitably and on paper only, the VXR8 GTS sits against the big German boys like the BMW M5 and the Mercedes E63 AMG but with a price around £20k cheaper, the brutal Vauxhall is definitely one of the most unique propositions for the brave who can spare £54,509 for the cheapest 576hp saloon out there.
I think we have finally reached a turning point, one that will deprive us of cars with that special mechanical feel. Today’s world is a hostile place for a new car like this, especially in Europe, with its colossal emissions and its tendency to drink a bit too much but this is exactly the reason why we need to cherish cars like the Vauxhall VXR8 GTS as they are the last of their kind and we’ll never be given the chance again to enjoy such honest brutality.
Buy more of them people, buy them so we can all one day have a better chance at finding a used example and of course enjoy the simple pleasures of a V8, even if it whines all the time.
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