Long established as the face of the marque, Vauxhall’s Griffin will be given a new look for 2008. The new incarnation follows the rapid progress Vauxhall has made in vehicle design and overall brand perception in recent years, underpinned by the success of both Astra and Corsa models.
(more…)
The Opel/Vauxhall Meriva Concept, due to be unveiled next week at the 78th International Motor Show in Geneva (March 6 – 16, 2008), illustrates how the new Opel/Vauxhall design language can be adapted to create bold, fresh design solutions for this segment.
Low emissions and an affordable price tag mean Vauxhall’s New Agila is set to be hot in the city when it arrives in showrooms in April.
Available to order from early next year, the compact but flexible newcomer benefits from tax-busting CO2 figures of just 120g/km on both the entry-level petrol and diesel engines, meaning it will fall into VED Band B – the cost of a tax disc being just £35 a year!
Adding to its affordability, Agila will cost from only £7,595 when it arrives. Three trim levels will be on offer, all with impressive levels of standard equipment, plus the added advantage of the car’s incredibly versatile interior layout.
Small enough to be manoeuvrable into tight parking spaces, but with five doors and five full-size seats with three-point belts as standard, Agila benefits from enough luggage space to rival cars in the class above, providing plenty of room for the busiest of lifestyles.
The clever design allows for plenty of storage space inside and the tall roofline provides an airy, spacious feel. It also allows a high seating position, making it easy to get in and out of the Agila and ensure good visibility even in heavy urban traffic.
For those occasions when owners need to carry furniture rather than friends, the rear seat backs can be folded down to create a completely flat load floor on all but the entry-level model. In total the new Agila has a luggage capacity of 1050 litres – among the best in this sector.
To complement the dynamic looks and all-new chassis, the Agila will offer three new engines and an automatic gearbox will be available for the first time. Petrol units include a 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit developing 65PS and an 85PS 1.2, the latter of which will be available with optional automatic transmission. Vauxhall’s award-winning 1.3CDTi diesel will also be on offer, delivering excellent performance from its 75PS while sipping fuel.
There are plenty of hot hatches on the market, but it’s the Astra VXR that’s the undisputed Ring leader…
And to prove it, Vauxhall has pulled the wraps off the Nürburgring edition, named after the car’s spiritual home, where much of its pre-production development was carried out.
Based on the standard Astra VXR and priced at £20,995, each individually numbered Nürburgring edition will come with an exclusive all-white paint finish and lightweight white 18-inch alloy wheels, equipped with bespoke Dunlop tyres, are also specified. Other exterior features include dark tinted windows, carbon fibre effect mirrors and B-pillars and distinctive chequered flag body graphics, to further emphasise the car’s incredible performance.
Mechanically similar to the standard VXR, the Nürburgring Edition produces 240PS in factory tune, giving it the ability to accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph. Each UK-specification car will also come provided with a Remus Sports Exhaust, developed with Vauxhall’s BTCC race team, Triple-Eight Race Engineering.
Like the standard car, the Nürburgring Edition benefits from a six-speed manual gearbox and lowered, uprated VXR suspension with ESP as standard. Ventilated 321mm diameter disc brakes at the front and 278mm diameter discs at the back help slow things down, while blue-painted callipers remain a VXR trademark.
The Nürburgring Edition theme continues inside, with carbon fibre detailing on the door trims and fascia, leather trim with the Nürburgring circuit graphic embossed into the unique Recaro front seat backrests and an individually numbered plaque showing each car’s build number.
In fact, the only thing it doesn’t come with is one of those Nürburgring bootlid stickers you can buy when you do a lap of the circuit. Such a shame, as it means you’ll have to drive it there and buy one yourself.
It’s a new name for a bold new model, as Vauxhall announces plans to launch its next mid-size contender at the British International Motor Show in London in July 2008. Insignia marks the dawn of a fresh era for the Griffin-badged marque.
With its dynamic design and class leading technology, the new Insignia will shift the perception of the Vauxhall marque to a more aspirational level. It adds both dynamic zest and visual desire to Insignia’s core market, while also displaying the same kind of upmarket feel as some of its more expensive rivals.
“Dynamic performance is one of the Vauxhall brand’s core values. In the new Insignia, this defining characteristic is realised by sophisticated powertrain technology, active safety and the interface between driver and car. The Insignia’s level of comfort and environmental friendliness is unrivalled even among considerably more expensive competitors,” says Alain Visser, Chief Marketing Officer, General Motors Europe. With the Insignia, Vauxhall continues pursuing its strategy of making advanced technology affordable for more customers.
When it comes to the new car’s design, Visser says, “A closer look at our groundbreaking GTC concept car gives a good idea of how exciting Vauxhall’s new design language will be.”
Insignia is the most innovative, ambitious model ever to come from Vauxhall, combining the best environmental technologies with those designed to deliver optimum driver pleasure and active safety. It is the latest evolution in GM’s quest to lead the market, not just in volume but in quality, style and overall appeal.
Vauxhall’s mid-size heritage dates back to 1957, with the launch of the Victor. In total, over a million Victors were sold over five generations. It was succeeded by the Cavalier in 1975, which recorded over 1.8 million sales in three generations until 1995. Two generations of Vectra were then produced, and over a million models have been sold in the UK to date.
