Sources say that Vauxhall wants to make up the ground lost to the Focus RS by making a hot 300 horsepower Astra VXR.
“The VXR brand is about extreme performance. It’s safe to say that the next Astra will build on where the current car is and react to market trends. It’ll be quite a power hike over the current car,” said an insider to Autocar.
Vauxhall engineers believe that they can achieve this 63 horsepower upgrade by tuning the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder motor, rather than using a V6.
Like the Focus RS, the Astra VXR will get front-wheel drive; so expect it to have some sort of electronic differential to help cope with the power and torque.
Yet, despite this big gain, Ford is one step ahead once again. The next RS is said to be a hybrid, which will combine a 250 horsepower motor with an electric motor. Compared to that, the Astra’s power plant seems a bit dull.
The Astra VXR won’t go on sale until next year. The exterior design will likely be close to the Astra Sport Coupe that will be shown in Paris in September, but with bigger wheel arches and a larger rear spoiler.
The Vauxhall VXR brand has been a big hit in Europe, with over 3,000 models sold in 2009.
An overzealous man took his Vauxhall Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition to the track that bears its name and ended up crashing it into a twisted heap. Coming off a turn at one of the corners of the notorious Green Hell, the driver of the Astra lost control of his car, sent it careening into the barricade and smashed into it with so much force the car ended up turning over landing right back to its upright position.
The driver looked to be in OK shape after the crash, but the same, unfortunately, cannot be said for his special-edition ride, which pretty much lived up to its Nurburgring name a little too hard.
Check out the video to see how the crash occurred.
Vauxahall Astra has a very long history as a police car ever since its first introduction in 1979. And the new generation Astra continues this long tradition as a Special Vehicle Operations (SVO).
The new Astra Police car will be available with an instrument console incorporating integrated switch panels configured for Police radio header units such as the Cleartone, Motorola, Sepura and Icom. It will also get mobile data terminals, video capture and multiple transceivers, seamlessly into the vehicle’s interior without the need for custom trim installations, a range of LED lightbars, headlamp flash, grille lights, bumper interceptor lights and rear reds.
Today, Vauxhall unveiled the special edition Astra VXR Arctic Edition limited to only 500 units. This special edition is priced at £23, 595 and is distinguished by an Olympic White exterior color with a contrasting black painted roof, mirror covers, front V-grille, and tailgate trim.
It will also get heated leather Recaro front seats, tinted glass, and black 19-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. The Astra VXR Arctic Edition will deliver a total of 240 HP and will make the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds; top speed will go up to 152 mph.
What better way to check out the special edition than by testing it in Vauxhall’s VXR Power Events including the VXR Power Festival at Silverstone in August. Yep, that’s right, drivers and enthusiasts will be able to take this puppy for a spin to see what it can do.
We rarely hear about Vauxhall at this time but when we do hear about them, they sure know how to get noticed.
Opel’s sister manufacturer will be hosting the Vauxhall Ice Skate event in London on January 28 and they’re bringing with them a gigantic snow globe that comes with at least 50 bags of artificial snow and a real Vauxhall Astra inside.
The snow globe, which is enormous by any stretch of the imagination, measures around 16 feet in diameter and is just one of the many attractions Vauxhall is bringing to their annual ice skating disco event.
Apart from the giant snow glove, the British carmakers are also scheduled to display their very own Gingerbread car and Corsa-inspired karaoke machine, which they appropriately dubbed as the ‘Car-aoke Corsa’.
There’s no telling what other kooky creations Vauxhall has in store for the ice skating event but judging from what they’ve already shown with the giant snow globe, we’re thinking that they may have a few more surprises under their sleeves.
