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Vauxhall at the London motor show 2008

By Tim Pollard and CAR reader reporter Carcare

Video

22 July 2008 11:46

Vauxhall today showed its sleek new Insignia for the first time in public - and announced that the Vectra replacement would cost from £15,935. But it also reinforced its reputation for environmental research with the hugely significant Flextreme concept car, which will arrive wearing a Vauxhall badge early in the next decade, according to senior officials on the stand.

Elsewhere on the Vauxhall stand

Based at the far end of the main hall - and facing arch rival Ford - the GM area was dominated by the Vauxhall stand. There's also the latest VXR8 LS3 for lovers of big 6.2-litre V8s and big outputs. Check out also the Astra VXR Nurburgring, a loony edition of the Astra hot hatch we recently drove and loved.

The Insignia has gone down well and serves up a dose more style than the unloved Vectra it replaces. It's a smooth shape with a drag figure of just 0.27 and points to a generation of new Vauxhall/Opel models; we hear the 2009 Astra will repeat the styling 'blade' but ahead of the front wheelarch next time. The Insignia went down well, but we some show-goers reckoned it wasn't the silver bullet GM needs.

A VXR version of the Insignia has now been confirmed, with four-wheel drive and hefty power output nudging 300bhp. But before we see that, expect the estate version at the Paris motor show in October 2008.

Of more interest to us is the Flextreme concept on the London motor show stand. It's an indication of the plug-in hybrids under development at Opel and Vauxhall and Vauxhall chairman and managing director Bill Parfitt is confident the production bound technology will give the brand a head start in the eco battle.

The Flextreme, which will make its debut on an Astra-sized car some time after 2010, can travel around 40 miles with zero emissions, thanks to a 1.3-litre turbodiesel driving the generator to charge a battery. It never drives on diesel power - the combustion engine only ever charges the battery, allowing 50mpg potential.

What were they thinking?

The new Corsa VXR Arctic Edition, a souped-up version of the baby hot hatch with Glacier White paintwork and contrasting black details, shows that the special edition is indeed alive and well. Still, Vauxhall flogs 5000 VXR models a year and is confident its performance brand is alive and well in this CO2-obsessed age.  

In a nutshell

Bravo Vauxhall for bringing a crucial world debut to London - we just hope the new Insignia drives as well as it looks...

Click here to go to CAR's London motor show A-Z homepage

To read CAR's reader reporter's verdict on the Vauxhall stand, click 'Next'