What's outside today 44 - Vauxhall VXR8

Tear-stained hankies today when the man from Vauxhall came to take this one away - it's brilliant.


The VXR8 is the successor to the much-loved Vauxhall Monaro, and like the Monaro, it's really an Australian Holden, in this case the sportiest version of the latest Commodore.


This car is aimed at BMW's M cars, Mercedes AMG models, the RS Audis and the 'R' Jaguars but it's a lot cheaper and a lot less intimidating - you can just get in and drive the thing.


Much of the VXR8's appeal derives from this, its 6.0 litre Corvette-derived V8 engine; you might expect this to be a slow-revving, lazy affair, but it's actually quite zingy. The same goes for the automatic transmission fitted to our test car which was a quick-shifting six speeder, rather than a slushy, slurry four-speeder of the sort usually associated with US cars.


I haven't driven any of the less powerful Australian Commodores, but the VXR8 is so good, I wonder whether Vauxhall has considered bringing these cars over as a delayed replacement for the Senators and Omegas that were so popular with users such as the police.

Definitions 2 - stonking

Looks like a verb ('to stonk'?) but in practice it seems to be an adjective.

Invented a few years ago by motoring journalists because no existing word adequately captured the testosterone-charged character of the Vauxhall (Holden) Monaro.

Actually, I just made that up, although I think you'll agree that it does sound fairly plausible...

What's outside today 4 - Vauxhall Corsa VXR and Vectra VXR

Today, a nice pair of Vauxhalls. Of course, it might have been more interesting to show a picture of, say, a pair of Bristols, but given that Bristol is a small manufacturer, I think it's quite difficult to get even a single test car out of them, let alone two at the same time.

Anyway, these aren't just any old Vauxhalls - they are the top-of-the range sporty VXR versions of the Corsa and the Vectra. Which reminds me that the last VXR-badged Vauxhall we had on the Verdict was the much-missed muscley Monaro, although that was really a Holden. Hoping for an opportunity to try its successor, the four-door VXR8, soon. I notice this had a rave review in Autocar this week, which has only whetted my appetite further.

A busy weekend ahead - off to Berkshire on Saturday with the Corsa and then the northwest with the Vectra on Sunday.