With a range that covers pocket rockets, hot hatches as well as quick mid-size and large saloons, Vauxhall can currently offer customers more choices in terms of going fast, than most rival manufacturers.
It all obviously starts with the entry-level model, the Corsa VXR. It features a turbocharged 1.6 liter petrol engine, good for 207 PS as well as 280 Nm (206 lb-ft) of torque. It can hit 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph). It may not sound terribly fast, but it’s quick (obvious distinction) and on paper you won’t outrun it with a Fiesta ST, Polo GTi or Clio RS. The numbers all stay in the same ball park with these cars.
One step further in the VXR range sits the Astra, which currently packs a 2.0 liter turbocharged unit, putting down 280 PS and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. It’s quicker than pretty much any car in the Corsa’s segment to 100 km/h by almost a full second, and since it has considerably more torque, it’ll never have to worry about losing a lead to a lesser model. As for its own battles, that’s a completely different story with cars like the new Focus RS stepping onto the scene, while rivals such as the SEAT Leon Cupra and Megane RS have pretty much identical sprint times.
A 325 PS 2.8 liter V6 Turbo unit powers the lean and mean Insignia VXR, a car that’s more than capable of taking you to 100 km/h in 6 seconds flat, which ironically doesn’t make it any faster than the Astra VXR, but since some people need more room than they get from a C-Segment car, the Insignia makes a lot of sense.
Now let’s talk top of the range stuff, meaning the Vauxhall VXR8 GTS – a real beast powered by a supercharged 6.2 liter V8 unit, with all the muscle going towards the rear wheels.
This massive engine produces 585 PS to go with 740 Nm (545 lb-ft) of torque, which puts this car in a completely different category than the rest of the VXR range. A quick 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) run takes only 4.2 seconds, whereas 80 km/h (50 mph) to 112 km/h (70 mph) takes 2.1 seconds.
Safe to say, most people if not all, would take the VXR8 GTS over any of the other models.