Vauxhall cars

2013 Vauxhall VXR8 Tourer

Over in the UK market, British automaker Vauxhall has pulled the covers off of the new VRX8 Tourer, a full-sized tourer that carries quite a punch under its hood.

There weren’t a whole lot of sweeping changes done to the tourer compared to its previous iterations, but the VRX8 Tourer nevertheless carries a character that exudes quiet confidence mixed in with class-leading cargo space and impressive performance credentials.

Since it’s classified as a tourer/wagon, the initial reaction surrounding the VRX8 Tourer might be that it belongs in market that puts less importance on its looks and its power. However, this model has the looks and the power that can make it a worthy candidate to be somebody’s next full-sized wagon.

It may not have the brand recognition of a Mercedes or a BMW, but Vauxhall is serious about bringing the fight to the German brands. And it has the VRX8 Tourer as a worthy soldier to do the battling for it.

Find out more about the Vauxhall VRX8 Tourer after the jump

2013 Vauxhall Insignia VXR SuperSport

Most of you are familiar with the awesome Opel Insignia OPC, or the Vauxhall Insignia VXR if you are from the British market. With an impressive output of 325 horsepower, this model can hit a top speed of 155 mph. Today, however, the company has improved this model even further with the addition of a new VXR SuperSport edition that can hit an astounding top speed of 170 mph.

The new VXR SuperSport is powered by a turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6 Ecotec engine. This engine features a micro-alloy forged steel crank, classic 60-degree cylinder angle and a die-cast alloy sump. It delivers a total of 325 horsepower, which launches the car to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds.

In order to deliver the best possible handling at high speeds, the new SuperSport has been equipped with a HiPer Strut front suspension, which maintains negative camber and improves grip levels in wet and dry. Also included on the SuperSport is the FlexRide adaptive damping system.

Vauxhall has also placed blue "Brembo" lettering on the front brake calipers plus additional increments on the speedometer in order to help customers identify the model.

2012 Vauxhall Red Victor 3

The history of the Vauxhall Victor began back in 1957 when General Motors first unveiled it to the British market. It was a large family car with 55 HP that was built to take families from point A to point B. You don’t need to be a genius to understood that this car had nothing to do with impressive performance level. That being said, we are 100% sure that when Vauxhall brought the Victor onto the market, they never believed that it would become the world’s fastest road-legal drag racing car. With some "minor" modifications to its power source, of course.

In fact, here at TopSpeed, we first reported about the Red Victor 3 back in 2010, when this project was in its early development stages. Now, since it turned out not to be just some guy’s trifle, we decided it was time to offer up a little more information on it.

The Red Victor 3 is based on a 1967 Victor FD - the fourth generation Victor - and is the result of a collaboration between VXR and the Red Victor team. You can only image the hard work the team put in to take the car from the standard 88 HP (the amount of power developed by the FD) to the impressive 3000 HP it currently pushes out. Yeah, you read that right; a whopping 3,000 HP!

Hit the jump to read all about the Vauxhall Red Victor 3, including its stats achieved at the 2012 FIA Main Event at Santa Pod. At this event, the Red Victor 3 became the world’s fastest street legal car, achieving an astounding 6.59 seconds at 220 mph.

2011 Vauxhall Corsa VXR Blue

Have you noticed that the British customers are getting lots of cool special editions lately? And if you needed some more proof, Vauxhall has just revealed the Corsa VXR Blue Edition. Featuring new styling details, an additional kit as standard, and a head-turning paint job, the new edition is priced at £19,425.

The new VRX Blue Edition is distinguished by Arden Blue metallic paint, 18-inch alloys, dark-tinted glass, bespoke interior air vents and Recaro seats. It also gets new ‘Eagle-Eye’ headlamps, and a signature bar across the grille, colored in blue. There are deep in-set fog lamps, a wider and more prominent grille and a low, sculpted front spoiler to boost its sporting appeal.

The same blue theme is also continued on the interior. There is stitching on the leather steering-wheel, the interior air-vent color, and the trim on the Recaro seats.

Under the hood there is a 1.6 liter Turbo engine that delivers 192 HP and sprints the car from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140 mph.

2011 Vauxhall VXR8

If a car was able to have chest hair sticking out of their front bumper to illustrate the testosterone hidden in the panels, then this Vauxhall VXR8 would definitely be needing a trimmer. Coming into the 2011 model year, the VXR8 will be one hot little performance sedan with some styling modifications and some new technology. But we can’t get too excited because this Vauxhall is obviously only available in the UK. Stupid Atlantic Ocean.

The 2011 VXR8 is powered by the fourth generation 6.2-liter LS3 unit that delivers an impressive 431 HP and 550Nm of torque. This is just enough to sprint the VXR8 from 0 to 60mph in 4.9 seconds and to hit a top speed limited to 155mph.

Anyone would be just about insane not to want a piece of this action so some must-have information is where one can find the 2011 Vauxhall VXR8. It will be available through just six specialist VXR dealers in the UK, though a total of 34 VXR outlets will be authorized to maintain the model.

Hit the jump to get the details on the new 2011 Vauxhall VXR8.

Vauxhall Red Victor 3 sports 3000hp

Okay, does anyone else think this whole crazy horsepower thing is getting completely out of control? Yeah, we don’t either, but we thought it would be interesting to ask anyway. The reason we asked is because Vauxhall will be unveiling their most powerful and fastest model ever at the VXR Power Festival in Northamptonshire on August 28th-29th. It’s called the "Red Victor 3" and it will be powered by an 8.8 liter twin-turbocharged GM V8 engine that delivers a total of 3000 HP. Take a minute to let that soak in....

The car was inspired by Vauxhall’s original 1967 Victor FD and is a collaboration between VXR and the Red Victor team who will be partners for the 2011 MSA Pro-Modified Drag Racing season. The team is predicting a top speed, to begin with, of 240mph in the quarter-mile. This should be achieved in 6.5 seconds. For those of you who do not know, their last project (Red Victor 2), was capable of nearly 200mph in the quarter-mile and was able to make it from 0-153mph in 4.8 seconds.

"We’re sure visitors to the Power Festival will make a B-line for the Victor,” said Stuart Harris, Vauxhall’s Group Product Manager. "We’re really looking forward to working with Andy Frost, Red Victor’s creator, and his team next year and see this as a great match for the VXR brand." Yes sir, and we are looking forward to seeing the Red Victor 3 in action. It’s going to be killer.

Press release after the jump.

Vauxhall Creates "Lifetime Warranty"

Sometimes people just need to have a little confidence in the products they make. Whether it’s a pen or a car, if you think it’s going to break, it mostly likely will. That has not rung more true than right now. General Motors’ British subsidiary Vauxhall has created a lifetime warranty for their cars, but it’s not as good as it sounds and, apparently, neither are their cars.

Vauxhall has such little faith in their vehicles that the warranty is only for 100,000 miles, which, coincidentally, is the end of the car’s life, according to Vauxhall. Really? 100,000 miles? They should go longer than that, don;t you think?

The warranty covers the powertrain, steering, brakes, and electric components and to get it, owners must go to a Vauxhall authorized service facility for a free inspection. As of now, the warranty isn’t transferable, but second owners will soon be able to buy the coverage, according to Vauxhall.

This is an unusual move for the company, seeing as how most European cars have just one or two years of warranty, far shorter than what we get here in the U.S. Yet, Hyundai and Toyota are now offering five years, with Kia giving out seven.

Vauxhall Insignia gets new diesel engines

Vauxhall is offering a new range of diesel engines for both the sedan and Sports Tourer models of the Insignia. The first engine is a 2.0-liter Turbo that delivers 160 HP and a peak torque of 350Nm from 1750-2500rpm. This is all accomplished with a fuel consumption of 57.6mpg for the sedan and 55.4mpg for the Sports Tourer model.

The second engine is an improved 2.0 CDTi 160 HP engine that now has a fuel consumption that has been improved by 6.5%. There is also a new 2.0 CCDTi engine that delivers 130 HP and, finally, a 2.0 CDTi engine offered in both 130 and 160 HP versions.

Engineers have designed a stiffer fixing between the injection pump and engine, while also reducing piston noise at all engine speeds. The addition of scissor gears to the cam-drive enhances engine refinement still further, while supplementary noise-absorbing foam shields complete the NVH package.

The greatest part about these new engine additions, other than the obvious environmental factor, is that the Insignia’s pricing will remain the same and the new engines are available starting today!

Press release after the jump.

Opel to withdraw loan requests

Vauxhall and Opel have withdrawn their offers for aid from the European government. They claim the reason for the dropped request is down to long delays.

In a statement, the GM brands said that their request for £1.5 billion in aid has been withdrawn, but money is still needed. Instead of asking for help, GM said it would fund the restructuring itself.

"GM’s recently improved financial strength has been a catalyst for making this decision," the carmaker said in a statement, adding that it expected to return to profitability "shortly".

GM Europe president Nick Reilly said: “"We cannot afford to have uncertain funding plans and new time-consuming complex negotiations at this time when we need to keep investing in new products and technologies."

Just weeks ago, Germany rejected a loan request to Opel, while the UK government is still looking into £275 of loans.

Next Vauxhall Astra VXR to have 300hp

Autocar is reporting that the new Vauxhall Astra VXR three-door hatch will be going up against the Ford Focus RS and the Renaultsport Megane.

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.