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3.5
By Tim Pollard
First Drives
07 May 2009 16:06
If any car has a claim to be the spiritual successor to the knockout Lotus Carlton, it’s the new Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S special edition. GM’s back might be firmly up against the wall as it struggles to reinvent itself in a global recession, but the Bathurst S shows its Australian and European divisions still know how to serve up a hot-rod performance saloon to scare a BMW M5 or Audi RS6.
It’s basically a special edition of the VXR8, designed to add a few more bells and whistles. Especially since it has the noisiest supercharger this side of an original Bentley Blower. You can actually order the VXR8 Bathurst edition in naturally aspirated or compressor form, but Vauxhall has just the supercharged model on its test fleet. And that’s the car we’ve been deafened by all week. I’ve never driven a Lotus Carlton, but on paper – and in the metal – the 2009 iteration stands worthy of comparison.
The sillplate bearing the Walkinshaw logo tells you plenty about this car’s pedigree. Vauxhall’s big Aussie bruiser has been to tuning school, with a beefy supercharger huffing and puffing power from 431bhp on the regular VXR8 to a rather startling 564bhp. That’s the headline change, but there’s a series of other mechanical upgrades to keep the ponies in check and justify the price increase, says Vauxhall.
Spring and damper settings are fettled, 20in alloys fitted and beefy six-pot front, four-pot rear brakes added. Not to mention a bodykit and interior makeover. End result: half a second lopped off the 0-60mph time (now estimated at a nausea-inducing 4.2sec) while top whack would extend to nearer 190mph without the electronic limiter spoiling the fun at 155mph.
Errr, yes. That Bathurst badge betrays the car’s Aussie roots as a Holden and you feel that big-lung 6.2-litre V8 would be very at home pounding the famous racetrack Down Under.
Not that you’d know at start-up. Twist the key, and the V8 starts with a surprisingly muted warble. You’ve already clocked the big Howitzer exhausts at the back, and you worry the EU laws have strangled it. But then you hit the road and within the first mile, you realise things couldn’t be more different. You’ll in fact be reaching for your earplugs albeit with a large grin etched on your visage.
>> Click ‘Next’ to read about the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S on the road driving impressions
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Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S (2009) CAR review
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mikepowell says
RE: Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S (2009) CAR review
Stevieboy1's suggestion that "GM should bite the bullet and call these cars Holdens" is even more dim than those who think all Vauxhalls should be called Opels. Market research has shown time-after-time-after-time that the Vauxhall badge is an asset to GM in the UK, not a liability. Vauxhall has made massive strides in recent years: As well as the VXR brand, the VX220, Astra and new Insignia have been important milestones in the brand's resurgence. Ditching the brand just to please a few souls who are living in the past would be a ludicrous waste of all that marketing and product effort. Anyone who drives a badge for the sake of it, obviously has some self-esteem issues ;-)
11 May 2009 21:42
morepowerigor says
I want, no need, two.
09 May 2009 07:57
meanpants555 says
I thought it said Vauxhall VXR8 'Bratwurst' S. Somehow it it's a fitting name, too.
08 May 2009 10:24
Stevieboy1 says
Fantastic car for the money - God bless the Aussies! Only one thing wrong with it, in fact - the Vauxhall name. The first thing said to me by a colleague was "It's a lot of money for a Vauxhall" even after I pointed out that it was faster than an M5 which costs 70K. GM should bite the bullet and call these cars Holdens.
08 May 2009 09:30
Batty says
@jonesg- No not yet! And no, I don't believe you can, although we do get the W427 that the UK do not- so not all is lost. @Georgebenedek- Nice choice of car. You are quite correct, the Commodore is shaped by its environment and its family origins. That is why I find them so honest and appealing, they have their place and I am under no illusion as to where that is in the world scheme of things. To you both: would you care to post your views in the forum, in the Australian and NZ room? I believe that they would be of interest to many there.
@jonesg- No not yet! And no, I don't believe you can, although we do get the W427 that the UK do not- so not all is lost.
@Georgebenedek- Nice choice of car. You are quite correct, the Commodore is shaped by its environment and its family origins. That is why I find them so honest and appealing, they have their place and I am under no illusion as to where that is in the world scheme of things.
To you both: would you care to post your views in the forum, in the Australian and NZ room? I believe that they would be of interest to many there.
08 May 2009 05:52
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