Table of contents for Feb-Mar 2017 in Performance Vauxhall

SUBSCRIBE TO PERFORMANCE VAUXHALL SEE PAGE 46 FOR DETAILS If you’re thinking about buying a V8-powered Vauxhall, then now isn’t a bad time to jump on the bandwagon. At the time of writing, E1 VXR8s can be bought for the same price as a used Insignia VXR. Furthermore, with the last-ever HSVs due to land in the next few months, interest in these gaga Griffins is likely to spike, potentially pushing the price of good used examples skyward as those keen not to miss out on the experience of owning an eightcylinder Vauxhall-badged beast snap up whatever VXR8, Monaro or Maloo they can lay their hands on. The very latest in V8 Vauxhall joy can be bought in the form of the VXR8 GTS. It’s an absolute weapon, powered by…

In incredibly exciting news, Automotive Brands – the owner of Power Maxed Racing – has announced a commercial partnership with Vauxhall Motors that will see twin Mk7 Astras star in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship from 2017 onwards, almost three decades after John Cleland won his first BTCC title as a works driver piloting a Mk2 Astra GTE. “I’m incredibly pleased and proud to be working with Vauxhall, and to be in charge of the team that brings this iconic and highly successful brand back to the BTCC,” said Power Maxed top dog, Adam Weaver. “The Astra is fantastic, and it’s no surprise that it was voted 2016 European Car of the Year. It will make for a show-stopping BTCC challenger,” he added. We asked Adam about the…

Have you ever thought about the performance Vauxhalls that could have been built by our favourite manufacturer if parts out of one model had been shoved inside another? Maybe you’ve always liked the idea of factory Mk3 Astra GSi powered by a C20LET? Hows about an Omega running a V8? In fairness, Opel did have a bash at that one, but overheating issues resulted in a lack of TÜV certification, so the project was shelved. Bah! Truth be told, GM bosses have looked at many such models over the years, but anticipated retail costs usually put paid to progress. Evidence of this creative thinking can be seen in 1990s Vauxhall parts books that list Mk3 Cavalier and Calibra V6 downpipes designed to weave their way around the four-wheel drive system…

How are you, Chris? Good! I’m enjoying a bit of downtime after another exciting season of the European Junior Rally Championship. What is it that triggered your interest in rallying? My dad, Jon Ingram, was a successful tarmac rally driver back in the 1980s. He used to compete in a modified Talbot Sunbeam and a Nissan 240RS, but he hung up his driving gloves when my sister and I came along, preferring to concentrate on building his business instead of playing with cars. By the time I was eleven years old, he’d got back behind the wheel. I used to watch him on rally stages, and the sight, sound and smell of the wide variety of competition cars I was exposed to gave rise to an obsession that continues to…

It’s fair to argue that while many of us love to spend time tinkering with performance Vauxhalls, there’s nothing quite like the sense of euphoria that comes as a consequence of hitting the road in a great Griffin for no other reason than to enjoy the car as a plaything. We acknowledge that this sense of happiness is often amplified when you’re joined by mates keen to blow the dust off their own motors, and it is with that in mind that we’ve decided to present you with a series of Dream Drives, where we pair some of the UK’s best driving roads with top drawer Vauxhalls. Whether you’re hanging with mates, organising an owners club meet or just fancy time out for the sheer hell of it, our aim…

FAST FACTS 680.4bhp 6-litre LS2 V8 engine Magnuson TV2300 supercharger Pedders coilovers Wortec switchable exhaust system AP Racing E3 VXR8 GTS brake kit Saturday afternoon at Vauxhall’s Thunder Road gathering at Kendrew Barracks, just a few miles outside the City of Peterborough. Colin Jebson, head honcho at event organiser, Javelin Trackdays, is presenting a driver briefing to the 150-strong throng of VXR, GSi and Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) owners that have arrived at what was once home to the RAF’s operational Harrier GR9 squadrons. Looking forward to the opportunity to walk away with commemorative silverware after engaging in a number of timed power runs along the mile-long stretch of runway that has been handed over to them for the day, each of the octaneobsessed chaps and chapettes in attendance hangs…

We’re over the moon to be able to announce the launch of our all-new Performance Vauxhall Show at Europe’s fastest racing circuit, Rockingham Speedway. The event will take place Sunday October 15th 2017, and it will run in addition to June’s alreadyannounced PVS sprintfest at Santa Pod Raceway. Offering Vauxhall, Opel and HSV owners the opportunity to see what their cars are capable of in and out of corners – not forgetting high-speed straights that have proved popular with professional motorsport competitors – our new show will also play host the final round of the UK’s Time Attack Championship, a series that’s seeing a steadily increasing number of Vauxhalls join its ranks. Access to the track will be available all day (apart from when the Time Attack boys are wowing…

FAST FACTS Blydenstein works Slant Four engine ZF ‘direct top’ racing gearbox Koni adjustable dampers AP Racing Formula 3000 brakes Revolution split rims The 1970s spawned awesome rally cars. RS-badged Mk2 Ford Escorts, Fiat 131 Abarths and speciallydecorated Lancia Stratos HFs rank high among the best of the decade’s dirtmunching machines. Seeing the exploits of these formidable fourwheelers effortlessly raise the profile of their respective manufacturers encouraged former Vauxhall chairman, Bob Price, to order the development of a rally version of the Chevette. It was a shrewd move, and one that gave Dealer Team Vauxhall (DTV) boss, Bill Blydenstein, permission to develop what would become known as the Chevette HS. Making use of the powerful 2.3-litre Slant Four engine, the HS was a great success in Group 4 rallying. The…

If you frequented any of the multi-marque or Vauxhallthemed car shows that took place during 2016’s sunny season (a time far-removed from the drab, wet winter months we’re currently experiencing!), then there’s every chance that you will have eyeballed a little blue Nova packing a mighty big punch. Despite being ceremoniously carried in and out of each event venue on the back of a trailer being towed by a Vectra C SRi, the diminutive hatchback is anything but a show queen, as we discovered when we chatted to its owner, Bruce Childs. “I’m simply not interested in making my Nova road legal,” explains the mechanic from Powys, Mid Wales. “Contrary to popular belief, the build has been drawn out over many years on a limited budget. I can ill afford…

THE PV FLEET/THIS ISSUE DaN fUrr IRMSCHER MV6 BOUGHT 2010 STATUS Ready to keep cool with new air-conditioning system gear DAN FURR VECTRA VXR BOUGHT 2015 STATUS All-new exhaust pipework following a session on the ramps at MWP DAN FURR CAVALIER TURBO BOUGHT 2012 STATUS Astra GTC VXR fourpiston Brembo brakes arrive from our pals at Autovaux JULIAN ZAFIRA 1.9CDTi 150 BOUGHT 2016 STATUS The Zaf gets a tricky oil and filter change and now has cruise control DAN FURR VECTRA VXR EXHAUSTING WORK When the guys at Vauxhall service, tuning and sales centre, MW Performance, said that they needed a Vectra VXR to use as a test vehicle for prototype decat exhaust pipework, I was only too happy to volunteer my car for the job. The Chester-based firm has…

HSV LIMITED EDITIONS On 12th December 2013, Holden announced that it would stop manufacturing cars by the end of 2017. Vauxhall fans will know the output of Holden’s Special Vehicle (HSV) division as the VXR8, Maloo and Monaro – eight cylinder muscle monsters rebadged as Griffins and sold to enthusiastic British car buyers, many of whom have gone onto modify their four-wheeled Antipodean brutes in a bid to extract as much power as possible from the V8 powerplants that propel them. Fair dinkum! The news that Holden will close its plant in Elizabeth, South Australia, and will change its status from a manufacturer to an importer (and finisher) of cars comes as a consequence of GM’s decision to restructure parts of its business following the introduction of strict ‘Euro 5’…

Modifying Vauxhalls can be great fun, and it’s a pursuit that often delivers huge personal reward, but the spirit of the enthusiastic spanner wielder can be easily broken by self-willed screws, a failed gasket or a furtive fluid leak. As frustrating as these stumbling blocks can be, however, imagine seeing the development of your tuned Griffin through to completion and then watching as violent flames do their best to destroy the car in a frenzy of fire. Kinda puts getting annoyed about a stuck bolt or a wonky number plate into perspective, eh?! Unfortunately, this was the scene presented to Mk4 Astra owner, Ell Howard, as he waited patiently in the workshop of tuning and fabrication outfit, Flow Dynamics, for his freshly built GSi to be mapped by SM Tuning…

DAN FURR CAVALIER TURBO 4X4 Big brake kits can be very expensive. That’s a fact made apparent if you’re after calipers, discs and pads from the likes of Brembo, AP Racing or Alcon. There’s money to be saved by thinking out of the box, though, as I found out when piecing together a custom brake kit for my MV6 a few months ago. The premise was simple: identify a luxury European sports car wearing four or six-piston front calipers from factory, find a used set of the model’s stoppers, strip ‘em, powdercoat ‘em, rebuild ‘em and pair ‘em with custom carriers, discs and pads. I ended up with eBay-bought Porsche Cayenne Turbo six-pot Brembos and a selection of ‘mix and match’ braking components from the likes of Audi and EBC.…