The 924 replaced the 914 as Porsche’s entry-level model in 1974. It was the first Porsche with a water-cooled engine, more than two decades before the controversial 996-generation 911 followed suit. The 924 also introduced the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout to Porsche’s model range, along with the option of a conventional automatic gearbox.
The sleek, retro styling of the 924 conceals a practical 2+2 seating layout. This car’s original metallic gold paint is in excellent condition, its nostalgic charm enhanced by pop-up headlights and the ‘teledial’ alloy wheels popular on performance cars of this period.
There is very little corrosion on the exterior and the professionally cleaned interior is in great condition – ready to be enjoyed with its optional sunroof.
Gold against the soul
First registered in Scotland, this four-owner automatic 924S has covered a mere 28,575 miles since new in 1986. As such, the 2.5-litre M44/40 inline-four engine is in excellent condition, and benefits from a recent service that included reconditioning of the fuel tank. This is documented alongside the service and MOT history, with the most recent certificate lasting until April 2024.
The Porsche Boxster of its day, what the 924 lacks in power and straight-line speed, it makes up for in agility, poise and driver feedback.
Weight distribution close to 50:50, strong brakes and precise steering earned it acclaim from critics and customers alike. As a rare ‘S’ model, this 924 also develops 150hp – up from the 123hp of the standard car.
Automatic for the people
A project 924S recently sold online for just £1,300. However, low-mileage examples such as this 1986 car are rare and will generally fetch between £7,000 and £10,000.
This vehicle is part of Car & Classic’s inaugural No Reserve Night, where 23 ‘no reserve’ auctions will culminate on 6 December, meaning this classic Porsche is guaranteed to sell to the highest bidder.
Car & Classic’s auction for the 1986 Porsche 924S, in association with Retro Motor, is now live and runs until No Reserve Night on 6 December 2023. Expect to pay between £8,000 and £11,000 to secure the winning bid.
Introduced in 1983, the S12 was the fourth iteration of Nissan’s small sports car. Except for a pause in the early 1970s, the Silvia was made in various guises from 1965 until 2002. The S12 is regarded as one of the best of the breed.
Taking on – and very much resembling – the Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86, the S12 has styling typical of its era. Pop-up headlights, boxy angles and compact dimensions make it a case study in 1980s car design.
The particular car’s orange paintwork and black plastic trim enhance its throwback quality. Read on to discover why it’s our Auction Car of the Week.
The past is orange
The Silvia’s cabin echoes its bright exterior. Its retro dashboard features a two-spoke steering wheel and orange dials, with more tangerine on the fabric seats. These is no more wear than you’d expect for a modest 55,986 miles, while even the original cassette player remains present and correct.
To drive, the S12 offers a traditional sports car experience. Its 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine is mounted at the front and sends power to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
With a kerb weight of just 1,170 kg, you can expect brisk performance and lively handling. No doubt you will turn plenty of heads, too.
Now up for auction
The Silvia’s paperwork is equally well presented. With just one former owner, the service history – always important when considering a classic car – is very complete. Also included are the 1986 sales book and brochure, plus plenty of invoices in the original Nissan document wallet – and an advisory-free MOT that runs until June 2024.
An S12 with higher mileage recently sold on Car & Classic for £8,000, while a younger S13 model achieved £12,000 at auction. This S12 is expected to sell for somewhere between the two.
Car & Classic’s auction for the 1986 Nissan Silvia S12, in association with Retro Motor, is live now and runs until 28 November 2023.
In January 2024, the final Chevrolet Camaro will roll off the production line. While the end of the Camaro is suspected to be merely a hiatus, it does mean that Chevrolet’s legendary muscle car will no longer be available to buy new.
Sold for 11 years between 1970 and 1981, the second-generation Camaro had the longest production run of any of the six models so far. Made in 1971 in Motor City, Detroit, this car crossed the pond to Britain in 1976, where it has resided ever since.
The 1970s Camaro looks distinctly different to the angular car that followed it. Its small, round headlights frame a large front grille, behind which lies a long, aggressively profiled bonnet. From the side and the rear, the car’s bulbous wheelarches and jutting spoiler are accentuated by its flame red colour. Deep-dished Weld Racing steel wheels add more retro charm, while chrome accents gleam against the striking paint.
Ain’t no substitute
The Camaro has previously been subject to a restoration, so is offered for sale in good and mostly original condition. There is no bodywork damage, and the interior features only minor wear, with four excellent black leather seats.
Power comes from a 350 cubic-inch (5.7-litre) V8 that sits within a beautifully presented engine bay. Custom features include side-exit exhausts with remote control cutouts, Air Lift rear suspension and a racing chrome engine sump kit.
The car has covered less than 100,000 miles in its 52 years and has been used sparingly since 2010, with only 5,000 miles added to the total since then.
An American dream
Due to its limited use, the classic Chevrolet may require some recommissioning before it can take to the streets again.
A concours-ready second-generation Camaro Z28 previously sold for £44,000 on Car & Classic, although third- and fourth-generation cars can be found for less than £10,000.
Car & Classic’s auction for this 1971 Chevrolet Camaro, in association with Retro Motor, is now live and runs until 21 November 2023. When the bidding comes to a stop, this wedge of American muscle is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000.
Citroen has a long and illustrious history of creating memorable family cars, and few were as important for the French marque as the Bertone-designed BX – a car often credited with saving the company.
Launched in 1982 and arriving in the UK the following year, the BX looked far more radical than contemporary rivals such as the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier. A wide range of models and regular revisions meant sales stayed strong well into the 1990s.
In total, more than 2.5 million examples of the BX found homes worldwide, making this one of the best-selling Citroens of all time. During an 11-year run in the UK, the diesel versions were among the most popular.
The BX factor
This BX 17 D Turbo is one of the finest survivors, having been garaged for its entire life. The late Venetian Red example is powered by the robust 90hp 1,769cc XUD7TE turbodiesel engine, linked to a five-speed manual transmission.
Remarkably, it stayed in the care of the same owner from new until 2020. During that 27-year period, this modern classic enjoyed a cosseted life, leading to its impressive condition today. A genuine 108,496 miles equates to an average of just 4,000 miles per year.
The remarkably clean exterior boasts straight panels that are free from damage and corrosion. Indeed, the only signs of use are light markings or minor chips commensurate with age. Excellent trim, crystal-clear headlamps and 14-inch steel wheels fitted with almost unmarked original wheel trims complete the picture.
Let’s do the Timewarp
The factory-fresh theme continues on the inside, where the BX’s angular dashboard and period instruments face pristine velour upholstery. The original dealer-fit radio-cassette is ready to play a copy of ‘NOW 1993’ – included with the sale.
The car is mechanically up-to-scratch (including its hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension) and comes accompanied by a comprehensive history file. A full service was conducted in January 2023 and the MOT is valid until May 2024. Adding further piece of mind, a large box of spare parts is included with the sale.
‘Timewarp’ might be an overused term, but this Citroen certainly stands out from the crowd in terms of its originality and condition. It must surely be one of the best examples of a turbodiesel BX in the UK.
Car & Classic’s auction for the 1993 Citroen BX 17 D Turbo, in association with Retro Motor, is live now and runs until 14 November 2023.
This is what happened when Renault was going through one of its off-the-wall phases and decided to stick a V6 engine into the Clio supermini. It wouldn’t fit in the front, so the rear seats had to come out, with a 3.0-litre motor slotted into their place above the rear wheels.
The Clio V6 was described as a ‘classic’ even when it was new – with many astonished that this extreme hot hatchback even made it into production.
The first-generation car quickly developed a reputation for being snappy at the limit, while the phase two models (like that driven here) had some chassis tuning by Porsche and are considered more desirable.
What are its rivals?
The Clio V6 was the fastest hatchback money could buy when it was new. Potential buyers might also consider the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA or Seat Leon Cupra R, but neither were anywhere near as bonkers as this radical Renault.
In reality, the Clio was closer to a Porsche 911 in a supermini-shaped body than a traditional hot hatch.
What engine does it use?
The Clio V6 was launched at a time when various mainstream French cars were available with a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine. It was already used in models such as the Renault Laguna, Vel Satis and even the Espace people carrier, not to mention the Peugeot 406 and Citroen Xantia.
By this phase two model, power had been boosted to 255hp, thanks to a revised cylinder head and better induction system.
What’s it like to drive?
First impressions: this feels like an early 2000s Renault Clio. The interior is drab and you sit far too high – but that’s par for the course when it comes to retro hot hatches. Start it up and the sound isn’t exactly thunderous, either.
It only starts to feel special when you put your foot on the clutch and select first gear. The clutch is Land Rover Defender-heavy, while the gearbox feels snickety in a way you don’t expect from a Clio.
Pull away and – huge turning circle aside – it all feels a bit, well, ordinary. There are creaks and rattles (and bear in mind this is a cared-for 20,000-mile example), while the steering seems surprisingly light and uncommunicative. You keep telling yourself that it’ll make up for it as soon as you reach a stretch of national speed limit road and open it up.
Does is get better? Well, sort of. It sounds good as you (steadily) rev towards its 7,500rpm redline, but the performance isn’t up to the standard of modern hot hatches. It will hit 62mph in 6.0 seconds – an astonishing figure back in the early noughties, but one that seems unremarkable now. The V6 feels lazy by today’s standards, too. It’s just not as frantic as you’d expect from its appearance.
At least, being mid-engined and rear-wheel drive, there’s none of the wayward torque steer we associate with hot hatches of this era. The Clio V6 feels like it has an abundance of traction, and later models don’t have the same reputation for being a handful that early ones did.
Unfortunately, the manic excitement promised by its looks doesn’t really arrive. Period reviews of the car suggest it takes a little time to get into the rhythm of the Clio V6 – and perhaps being spoilt by the instant gratification of modern hot hatches doesn’t help its cause. It didn’t leave us buzzing with exhilaration, though.
Reliability and running costs
The Clio V6 isn’t as unreliable as you might think, although finding a good specialist willing to work on it might be tricky. The position of the engine makes DIY maintenance difficult, and car insurance companies will be wary if you’re young or have a number of crashed hot hatches to your name.
You’ll also be lucky to achieve 20mpg and a tank will be emptied in less than 300 miles. So the Clio is definitely more of a B-road blaster than a car for crossing continents.
Could I drive it every day?
With prices as strong as they are (and rising), and less than 150 examples of this later 255hp model on UK roads, it’d be a shame to drive it every day. And why would you want to, frankly? The interior is pretty grim for spending a large chunk of your life in, and the novelty factor of driving a two-seat, mid-engined Clio every day would soon wear off.
If you want a sports car as a daily-driver, buy a Porsche Cayman. A Clio V6 is best kept for occasional use, including just to admire in your garage.
How much should I pay?
It won’t surprise you to learn that the Renault Clio V6 was only built in small numbers, so finding one will be your first challenge. When you do, reckon on a budget of between £50,000 and £60,000 for a tidy phase two car example like this one – around twice what the car cost when new.
Does that make the Clio V6 a good investment? Up to a point, it should be. But mixed reviews mean the car doesn’t have the exalted status of, say, a Peugeot 205 GTI.
What should I look out for?
Most obviously, signs of abuse and crash damage. Even the latest examples of the Clio V6 are 18 years old now, and in Renault hot hatch years that’s a lifetime. Especially if the car has been thrashed from cold, missed services and been chucked into the odd hedge sideways.
With the engine where it is, even checking the oil isn’t particularly easy, so some owners simply didn’t bother. Take it for a good test drive and feel whether the gears select easily; if not, there might be a synchromesh issue. Also, do the brakes stop the car in a straight line without any unpleasant noises?
Inspect the bodywork, as damage can be pricey to fix, and check the wheels carefully for signs of kerbing. Even the slightest nudge can knock out the car’s tracking.
Should I buy one?
A budget of £50,000 buys you a hot hatch like no other (apart from the original, mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo, perhaps). Alternatively, you could treat yourself to the brilliant new Honda Civic Type R, fresh out of the factory, and have a little left over. Or, on the secondhand market, how about Porsche Cayman or a BMW M2?
None of these cars have the novelty factor of an ageing French supermini from a time when Renault was crazy enough to shoehorn in a V6 engine. But how much do you want to be different? Only you can make that call.
Pub fact
Rumour has it, when the Clio V6 was being developed, Volkswagen heard that a 3.0-litre Clio was being produced. Refusing to be outdone in the efficiency stakes, or so it thought, the German comapny rushed the Lupo 3L into development – with the goal of consuming just three litres of fuel per 100km. The result was a very different car to the Clio V6…
Thanks to 4 Star Classics for the loan of the Renault Clio V6, which has now been sold.
Land Rover buyers in the early 2000s were a fairly conservative bunch. They’d just got over the shock of the downsized, school-run-friendly Freelander, while the ageing Land Rover Discovery could trace its roots back to 1989.
The big news was the arrival of the third-generation ‘L322’ Range Rover at the end of 2001. This was conceived under BMW ownership, then launched following Ford’s takeover of the company.
While the L322 was a fairly dramatic change for Land Rover – it was all-new, with an aluminium body and new BMW engines instead of a Rover V8 – it was also exactly what one might expect from a Range Rover developed under the watchful eye of BMW.
Class-leading, luxurious and expensive… yes, it was all of those. Controversial? No more so than its P38 predecessor. In fact, probably less so, as many considered the troublesome P38 an insult to the memory of the original Range Rover.
A question of Sport
By 2004, Land Rover was wondering how to introduce its new, Discovery-based Range Rover Sport model to the market. This was a car that put style above all else – although it was still very capable off-road and proved to be surprisingly good on it.
Simply launching the Range Rover Sport out of the blue might have upset Land Rover enthusiasts and caused confusion elsewhere.
Under Ford ownership, Land Rover particularly wanted the Range Rover Sport to succeed in the North American market. An idea was formed: why not develop a concept car, previewing the Sport, that could be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) in 2004?
A marketing stunt, or more?
The bizarre thing was that, with the Range Rover Sport set to be revealed later that year, the car’s development was almost entirely finished before a team got around to designing the Range Stormer that would preview it.
Ordinarily, a concept car would provide a vehicle for engineers and designers to experiment with bold ideas ahead of working on a production model, but the Range Stormer was nothing more than a marketing stunt.
Its creators started off with a platform from the aforementioned P38 Range Rover (which conveniently featured the same 108.1-inch wheelbase as the upcoming Sport), along with the P38’s 4.6-litre V8 engine and four-speed automatic gearbox. It might have looked radical on the outside, but the Range Stormer was quite old-fashioned underneath.
The future is orange
Still, the Range Stormer’s design was what mattered. Finished in a molten orange colour (which was available, briefly, as Vesuvius Orange on First Edition models of the production Range Rover Sport), with huge 22-inch wheels and a three-door body, it looked like nothing ever produced by Land Rover before. A marketing stunt, perhaps, but an eye-catching one.
And it wasn’t all bling. Anyone who caught a glimpse inside the Range Stormer’s cabin at Detroit might have spied a rotary controller that would, in the production car, control Land Rover’s clever Terrain Response system. It wasn’t actually connected to anything in the concept, but it was a sign of tech to come.
Other clever features included swivelling bi-xenon adaptive headlights (which later appeared on the Sport and Discovery 3) and doors that split in two, with the lower half forming a step and the upper half raising vertically gullwing-style (which, er, didn’t).
A concept that deserves credit
With hindsight, the Range Stormer did a superb job of preparing North America (and the rest of the world) for the Range Rover Sport. But to simply describe it as a preview of the forthcoming car does it an injustice.
Even looking at it today, we can see hints of the Range Rover Velar – and indeed the stillborn three-door Range Rover SV Coupe that was revealed in 2018.
If you want to see the Range Stormer concept in the metal, it’s currently on display at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The museum also houses the very first Range Rover off the production line.
The second-generation ‘E34’ BMW M5 is one of those Goldilocks classic cars that simply does everything well. Hand-built in Germany between September 1988 and August 1995, this understated super saloon is handsome, practical, reliable and rapid.
The 1990 M5 seen here is powered by a 315hp 3.5-litre naturally aspirated straight-six: good for 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds and an autobahn-storming maximum of 155mph.
A five-speed manual gearbox (no paddles here, danke schön) sends 266lb ft of torque to the rear wheels, with bigger brakes and a limited-slip differential to keep all that performance in check.
Hungry like the wolf
The M5’s interior is a study in simplicity, along with being comfortable and beautifully built. This car boasts heated part-leather seats, both front and rear, which came with the optional Lux Pack.
The smart styling extends to the exterior, the E34’s elegant lines seeming a far cry from the bold and brash BMWs of today. The dark Macau Blue paint and factory-fit ‘throwing star’ alloys only enhance its ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ aesthetic.
Recommissioned earlier in 2023, the M5 is described as being in good and original condition, with minor wear commensurate with its 116,528 miles.
Save a prayer
Currently owned by a long-term BMW enthusiast, the M5 comes with a ‘fairly comprehensive’ service history. All the original BMW manuals are present, along with numerous invoices and receipts, most recently for a major service and MOT in August 2023.
A true all-rounder, and a classic that could be driven every day, Car & Classic has sold a number of E34 M5s. Prices range from just over £10,000, up to concours-ready examples for closer to £30,000.
Car & Classic’s auction for this 1990 BMW M5, in association with Retro Motor, goes live on Saturday 4 November 2023 and runs for five days. The car is expected to sell for between £15,000 and £20,000.
A replica Fiat 500 Jolly owned by British Formula One driver Lando Norris has found a new home following an online auction.
Sold through the Car & Classic auction website, the open-top – and doorless – classic Fiat attracted plenty of interest, with a total of 32 bids received. A final selling price of £32,000 meant the Jolly achieved its pre-auction estimate of between £28,000 and £33,000.
The sale adds to Norris’ recent run of good fortune; the McLaren ace also won the Driver of the Day Award for a determined effort in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Being beside the seaside
The original Fiat 500 Jolly was built in small numbers by Carrozzeria Ghia, intended as a runabout for owners of luxury yachts. Only around 650 cars were made, leading to demand for detailed evocations like this one.
Lando’s Jolly wears a period-correct light blue paint colour and features steel wheels with whitewall tyres. Most importantly, it has a wicker interior, with the correct seats fitted both front and back. A wicker storage box adds to the car’s period charm.
The rest of the interior features retro caramel-coloured carpets, along with a chrome central instrument dial and a two-spoke steering wheel.
Racing on the streets of Monaco
Norris is used to wrestling a McLaren-Mercedes Formula One car around the world’s most challenging race circuits, so the 500 Jolly must have offered a refreshing change of pace.
Mounted at the rear of the Fiat is an air-cooled 499c engine, connected to a four-speed manual gearbox. Although the engine is said to feature some modifications, it still offers rather less power than the hybrid V6 in Lando’s company car.
Norris bought the Jolly to drive around the streets of Monaco, having described it as being one of his “dream cars” and a “perfect runaround”.
More space in the Norris garage
The new owner of the Fiat, which has now been imported to the UK, can enjoy a car that is exempt from the London ULEZ charge, along with being free from road tax and the requirement for an MOT. However, with no weather protection and winter on the way, they will likely wait a few months before using it…
Norris now has to adjust to life without his Fiat 500 Jolly, but we imagine he will console himself with his latest McLaren road car.
Earlier this year, Norris collected a bespoke 765LT Spider, modified by Woking’s in-house MSO division. The McLaren boasts plenty of blue-tinted carbon fibre, but wicker seats were notably absent from the options list.
You are simply buzzing. Your left leg is hot, your right arm is damp and a hot exhaust has singed your calf as you wriggle free of a low-roofed cockpit, the door almost slapping you in the face.
You’ve just driven 150 miles in the rain in a Caterham Seven – and loved every second. But your body is relieved to be escaping the close grip of the cabin, your ears are humming from the din and part of you wishes the experience had been just a little more comfortable.
Wouldn’t it be great, you find yourself thinking, if you could have all the thrills of a Seven in a car with a sensibly scaled cockpit that didn’t roar like a North Sea gale?
That very idea was exactly the one that Caterham Cars had in the early 1990s.
Caterham’s modern Seven
The plan was to rebody the Seven. Or more accurately, perhaps, to provide it with a body beyond the vintage wings, simple clam of a bonnet, that famous nose-cone and a big tray for a pair of seats and spare wheel mounting.
Instead, the Seven’s tubular chassis would get enveloping bodywork that looked more sports car-sensuous, and pushed through the air with less blustery commotion.
Why 21? Not because Caterham reckoned it was three times the car that the Seven was, but because it had been making the Seven for 21 years, this car a celebration of the fact.
It must have been quite a challenge to extract a flowing shape from the Seven’s proportions, the closeness of the occupants’ backsides to the back axle threatened to force the old-school proportions of a 1950s British roadster onto the new Caterham.
And that’s what it got, although your eye was drawn away by the shapely tail and its Ford Mondeo lamp clusters, plus the long bonnet and pair of air extractors whose exit ramps occupied much of the 21’s lower body.
The result was a car that looked a bit Brit sports car traditional and unusually narrow, despite adding three inches to the Seven’s front track to provide slightly wider footwells. However, it was neat and not unattractive.
The 21 looked more appealing inside, where a stylish twin binnacle fascia replaced the Seven’s simple flat panel. The centre of the dash cascaded into a narrow centre console and carried a strikingly stacked trio of dials, while the outer edges of the dashboard were body-coloured, as was much of the surface of the inner doors, making this cabin look a whole lot more contemporary. It was also very well finished.
The absence of window winders seemed contemporary too, the 21 having electric window lifts, you’d be thinking. Except that it didn’t, their opening was a task for the driver, who needed to demount the glass and stow it in the boot.
Still, it was an arrangement that made the 21 lighter, its 665kg kerb weight generating an exciting 205bhp per tonne when the car was fitted with the 136bhp 1.8-litre version of Rover’s all-alloy K Series engine. It was 110kg more than a Seven, but still 60kg less than a Lotus Elise.
Fear the Lotus Elise
Ah, the Elise. There was brief honeymoon for the 21 when the Lotus wasn’t present. The Caterham was unveiled in autumn 1994 with an alloy body, and appeared a year later at the 1995 Earls Court show with its glassfibre production shell.
Not many months afterwards, though, the Elise went on sale, and with the mid-engined layout that Caterham had originally considered – before concluding that this was too much of a leap for a tiny firm to take on.
The Lotus was also joined by the MGF, a milder-mannered sportster, but an able one nonetheless. Thus, the appearance of these two, alongside the Mazda MX-5, provided the 21 with formidable opposition. Those after a more extreme experience also had the Renault Sport Spider to choose from.
Still, the Caterham delivered formidable performance, its low weight allowing the 1.8 Supersport to burst to 60mph in 5.8 seconds and onto 131mph: far more than most Sevens could manage.
The more powerful 1.8 – there was a 1.6-litre version, too – also got you Caterham’s excellent six-speed gearbox. All of which added up to a riot of a drive, if not quite as much rebellion as you’d enjoy aboard a Seven. The 21’s steering lost a little of the Seven’s blade-sharp edge, and it felt heavier.
‘Simmering vegetable’
That would have mattered less if the 21 had delivered the extra civility implied by its bodywork. True, the ride was a little smoother, but you were still packed Ryanair-tight into the Caterham’s cockpit, its mechanicals made as much noise as an all-night party and if you left the roof on and the windows up, you’d boil like a simmering vegetable.
You needed the agility of a squirrel to get beneath the hood and bridge a bicycle lane’s width of sill before tumbling into your seat. In other words, several of the supposed advantages of a redesigned body failed to materialise.
And the 21 was inevitably more expensive, taking it straight into enemy territory. While the ultra-modern Elise 1.8 cost £19,950, the 1.6 litre Caterham 21 was £21,995 – or an ambitious £25,495 as a 1.8 Supersport.
An MGF 1.8i, meanwhile, was £17,440 and a base 1.6 Caterham Seven £17,850. It doesn’t take a marketing analyst to deduce that the 21 was going to sit somewhere between a hard and desperate place, as proven by an eventual sales tally of 48 cars between its announcement in 1994 and the end of production in 2000.
The 21 was a good effort for such a small company, but not quite good enough, and unlucky to face a barrage of fresh sports car competition. Ironically, the best of this came from Lotus, the original source of its bread-and-butter Seven.
These days the Caterhams 21 is almost entirely forgotten, but it makes a more convincing classic buy than it ever did as a new car. Provided you can actually find one for sale, that is.
A lightweight, two-seat roadster built in Hethel, Norfolk. It can only mean one thing… a Vauxhall?
The Vauxhall VX220 was produced between 2001 and 2006, thanks to a deal struck in 1999 between Lotus and General Motors. Based on the second-generation Lotus Elise, it was seen at the time as a less exotic take on the acclaimed British icon.
Twenty years after this example left the factory, the VX220 is held in high regard as a driver-focused sports car. It’s also rare, with only 7,207 produced – compared to 35,124 examples of the Elise.
Add lightness
This VX220’s 72kg aluminium chassis and fibreglass body panels helped make it 60kg lighter than the 1.6-litre Mazda MX-5 of the time – despite using a 2.0-litre ‘Z20LET’ turbocharged engine from an Astra GSI.
With 197bhp in a sub-tonne package, the VX220 Turbo was capable of 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 151mph. Plus it had the agility to match.
This particular VX220 has only 22,000 miles on the clock from its two owners – the latter in possession of the car since 2009. Its bodywork is naturally corrosion-free and its bright red paint is in gleaming condition. Taking a look inside, minor creases to the seat bolsters are the only signs of wear.
Seeing red
The VX220 Turbo’s MOT history is excellent, with only one advisory in 20 years (for low tyre tread, resolved immediately). Its latest MOT runs until September 2024. Other paperwork includes a stamped service book, plus a selection of documents, invoices and receipts.
A high-mileage VX220 sold for less than £10,000 earlier this year on Car & Classic, while a car with moderate miles sold prior to that for £14,000. However, the excellent condition and low mileage found here should lead to a higher price.
Car & Classic’s auction for the 2003 Vauxhall VX220 Turbo, in association with Retro Motor, is live now and runs until 31 October 2023. The car is expected to sell for between £15,000 and £20,000.
