Both Vauxhall and Ford had managed to keep selling older cars that were way past their best. The Manta and Capri were old hat. New models from Japan promised reliability, more modern design and technology at a competitive price.

Vauxhall had a replacement planned, but it had a fight on its hands too.

Pictures courtesy of Absolute Classic Cars who sold this wonderful example in 4×4 Turbo Spec.

Vauxhall Calibra Design

The project was led by American Wayne Cherry who worked for Vauxhall before heading up car design at Opel. A surprise visit from the General Motors President in was an opportunity to gain support for the new project. In response, Cherry gave Erhard Schnell the task of styling the Calibra which was completed in just a week.

“A new, modern design language. I had complete freedom with the styling”

Erhard Schnell – Vauxhall Calibra Designer

By July 1987 the project was given the go ahead and an official project code “P-2670”.

Project P-2670 Starts

Cherry was already an advocate of aerodynamics and in Hans-Joachim Emmelmann he found another. Emmelmann’s job was to oversea the aerodynamics as the car was being made ready for production.

With Wayne Cherry in charge, aerodynamic excellence was a certainty. His previous work on the “Dropsnoot” and SRV concept car focused on the benefits of aerodynamics.

Hans-Joachim Emmelmann was another advocate for aerodynamics on the engineering side of the project. The head designer of the project was Erhard Schnell, renown for his work on the Opel GT.

What better project than a slippery coupe to demonstrate this aero obsession to the world?

In most companies the aerodynamic work was done early on in the project along with styling. Scale models were used to get a CD (Drag Coefficient) figure and if acceptable, production would start. As the model developed, this figure would decline as trim, bumpers and other items were added to the production version.

This structure was changed so aerodynamics were revisited at each stage of the project until the final detail optimisation stages. This meant constant testing in the DNW wind tunnels in Stuttgart and Amsterdam.

Vauxhall Calibra – Aerodynamics

The proposed car used a shortened version of the GM2900 platform. For simplicity this was changed to the standard platform which had the additional benefit of seating four in comfort. Schnell was insistent on using frameless doors, slim headlights, indicators and fog lamps -which improved aero efficiency further.

A scale model of the Calibra started with a CD of 0.33. Emmelmann quickly found issues around the front bumper and panel gaps which could be improved.

Extracts below from the journal “The Aerodynamic Development of the Opel Calibra”

• Front spoiler
  “By moving the sides of the spoiler 60mm outboard, to cover more of the front wheels, a CD reduction of .006 was obtained”
• Side skirts
  “The lowering (of the side skirts) was realised by the addition of plastic rocker mouldings”
• Underbody optimisation
  “Only one aerodynamic feature remains on the underbody. The plastic tank spoiler, between the fuel tank and the rear bumper incurred a reduction of 0.003”
• Anti contamination lips
  “The lips integrated into the rubber windshield mouldingserve the purpose of directing dirty water from the windshield up the A pillar and onto the roof…
  “A lip in the side mirrors guided dirty water away from the side windows and mirror”

The tapered rear quarter window of the Calibra increased aerodynamic efficiency by 50% alone. Flat surfacing around the wheel arches completed the bodywork changes. The first Calibra had an incredible CD 0.26 the lowest of any mass produced car at the time.

Vauxhall Calibra – Launch & Production

The Calibra was launched at the Frankfurt motor show. The Calibra even overshadowed the launch of BMWs new 850i. In the UK the Calibra was launched with much fanfare and a selection of great TV adverts:

The Calibra was effectively a MKIII Cavalier underneath the refined bodywork. This meant it would never be a dynamic wunderkind, so the new car would rely on style more than most.

Thankfully the famous Vauxhall “Red Top” C20LET engine was fitted, to accompany the show with some go. This engine would later be turbocharged and combined with a four wheel drive system. In typical nineties style, this meant some excellent badges reading “Turbo” and “4×4”.

The interior was from the MKIII Cavalier which was practical and hard wearing. White dials, a boost gauge and a very early trip computer were some of the interior highlights.

The MKIII Cavalier platform meant a big practical boot and comfortable seating for four.

Vauxhall Calibra – Performance

While the exotic styling belied it’s Cavalier roots, the Calibra’s handling could not. Against the Nissan 200sx, Toyota Celica and Honda Prelude the Calibra was outmatched dynamically. The Honda (Which journalist LJK Setright loved) and Nissan would remain memorable cars to drive years later.

The Calibra wasn’t going to win awards for handling, but compared well in style, value and equipment. The Calibra V6 was replaced with the turbocharged C20LET engine and 4×4 running gear. The most potent version, with 204 bhp it reached 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 152mph. Enough to keep the legendary 1992 Escort Cosworth honest (in a straight line at least).

Against the slightly less exotic opposition in the coupe market, the Calibra looked like a good option. Stylish and quick it competed admirably against the VW Corrado, Audi Coupe, Fiat Coupe, Rover Tomcat and later the Ford Probe.

Calibra Modifications

Sadly like a lot of nineties performance cars, the Calibra suffered at the hands of the UK car modification scene. The C20 engine was cheap and easy to upgrade. Unfortunately modifications to the bodywork ruined the carefully crafted aerodynamics.

The UK scrappage scheme encouraged many owners to trade in their Calibra to get credit on new cars. 186 Calibra’s met their end this way. The engine was often removed and used in Westfields and other kit cars making the car even rarer.

A number of special editions (the SE series cars) were launched based on the entry-level car but with more equipment. The end of production in July 1997 was marked by a final special edition, the SE9. In total 40,460 Calibras were sold in the UK. The next Vauxhall 4 seater coupe was the Monaro in 2004 (co-incidentally with a far more significant drag coefficient of 0.31).

The Calibra was a statement of intent from Vauxhall and many of the techniques pioneered on the Calibra soon became commonplace.

For all the thousands of Cavaliers, Vectras and Novas, Vauxhall had the occasional frenzied meltdown and built some mad cars – possibly out of boredom. After finishing thousands of base spec Vectras, I could easily see a production line worker turning into the Incredible Hulk and breaking down the board room door.

Hulk would probably design something big and powerful and uncouth. A car that people would remember, something to combat the dull Vectra. The Vauxhall Monaro VXR is that kind of car. It’s a big engined no-nonsense coupe with tons of character. Something Vauxhall was running short of in the early 2000s.

Monaro VXR Origin Story

2002 had been a bumper year of sales for Vauxhall with the Corsa, Vectra, Zafira and Astra selling well. To expand the product line and develop some links to the Vauxhall racing team, a performance brand was created: “VXR”, which would be used on the cars in the British Touring Cars Championship.

“The whole plan with the VXR brand was to introduce it in motorsport , which we did in 2002. It was about that time that we started to introduce the concept of the road car programme and that became apparent with the VX220 and the Monaro VXR. From that point on, we introduced other models, some of which will be finished next year when we introduce the Corsa VXR”

Stuart Harris – VXR Brand manager interview with Crash.net

VXR would also form the name of all Vauxhall performance derivatives too. This would eventually encompass most of the Vauxhall range including (whisper it) the Meriva.

In its drive to establish the new VXR brand, Vauxhall decided to officially import the Monaro from sister company Holden in Australia. Vauxhall and Holden had worked together on and off since the 1960s, when the Vauxhall Viva helped Holden form the basis of the Torana.

The Holden Monaro was a large coupe fitted with the 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8. A great car to kick start a performance brand and offer the British public an affordable muscle car. It would allow Vauxhall to finally source a replacement for the Calibra coupe which had ended production in 1997.

Initially just branded Monaro, it included modified suspension to cope with British B roads. VXR spec and badging came slightly later with the bigger 6 litre engine and power was up to just shy of 400 bhp.

Monaro VXR Competitors

The price and performance of the Monaro (£29,895) made for some interesting match ups, particularly in VXR (£36,785) spec. A hot hatch budget would almost get you into a Monaro even though the performance was closer to a BMW M3 than a Golf GTI (in a straight line at least).

The BMW M3 might have been a far sharper steer than the Monaro, but at £42,240 was significantly higher in price, especially when the expensive options were accounted for. The Monaro VXR would also compare well against the Jaguar XKR with similar performance, better interior space and a lower price than the Jaguar’s £60,995 list price.

MG’s £65,000 limited edition SV Xpower supercar was made to look ridiculously priced, especially as the Monaro’s Chevrolet derived V8 was more powerful than the Mustang V8 in the MG.

Monaro VXR 500 – The Performance Bargain

By 2006 General Motors was starting to rationalise the range of cars it sold. The rather niche, big engined two door Monaro was, unsurprisingly, in line for the cull.

In an effort to shift the final examples Vauxhall teamed up with a tuning company (Greens) to use a Wortec supercharger on the big V8. The resulting 493 bhp model was christened the Monaro VXR 500 and was priced under a standard Monaro VXR.

Vauxhall really pressed the price advantage home and this model became a major performance bargain. Performance was on par with a BMW M6 (£83,300) but was priced at just £35,995.

Evo magazine got close to the VXR500’s top speed on a German autobahn but found the old Lotus Carlton quicker above 150mph.

“I gun the Monaro and, behind, the RS4 chase-car seems to be attached by a tow rope – until we get to 150mph. Then the VXR starts to draw away. I haven’t got the VBOX fitted, but when the Monaro’s digital speedo grinds to a halt at 163mph and the engine keeps on pulling, the RS4 drops back much faster. I kept the Vauxhall nailed a while longer and, before braking, saw the tacho needle just beyond 4200rpm in top. That’s 170mph. Given another four or five kilometres, the VXR 500 might have made over 180mph. Given another 10 kilometres it might have made ‘185mph-plus’.”

John Barker April 2007 Evo magazine

Conclusion

Introducing the Monaro & Monaro VXR to the UK was brave. It was a characterful addition to the performance car market and helped establish Vauxhall’s VXR brand. This wasn’t just a remapped Astra, this was an old school coupe with an iconic Chevrolet V8, rear wheel drive and a limited slip differential.

The VXR brand is meant to be a bit harder-edged than the old GTEs and GSIs of before. We have put a lot more engineering into the vehicles. They aren’t ‘badge engineered’ cars, they are cars that are built on a limited basis and that provide a huge amount of fun and entertainment. They are more aggressive than the older cars so, for us to have the VXR brand and the VX Racing side of things, it makes it an ideal tie-up really for us to use.

Stuart Harris, VXR brand manager interview with Crash.net

I always liked the combination of non-descript styling and the Monaro’s huge size. Together it made for something quite distinctive against the usual Mercedes, BMW and Audi options. It was different in character too. While competitors were busy shaving seconds off shift times and generating cornering forces that would never be used on road, the Monaro relied on the (slightly muted) noise and character of the big V8. It was a modest seller compared to the BMW M3, with hundreds registered, rather than thousands in the BMWs case.

Kryptonite

Thanks to Vauxhall’s Australian sister company, the iconic Chevrolet V8 was available complete with warranty and UK specific suspension.

It was a modest seller (with hundreds registered, rather than thousands in the M3s case), but in years to come will be seen as a fitting swansong for high capacity performance cars in the UK. As the mainstream manufacturers are herded into selling more hybrids and EVs, big engined performance cars have met their Kryptonite in the form of the 2030 petrol ban. What comes next?

“They’re obviously getting very cocky to carry out a raid right in front of a police station but they know they can get away once back inside the car”

PC David Oliver

In 1993 a few months prior, a car was stolen from a residential drive in Worcester. This turned out to be the getaway car in question, registration “40RA” a Vauxhall Carlton. This was a very special Vauxhall Carlton – A Lotus Carlton in fact, the fastest saloon car of its day. This car would be used to carry out a series of robberies across the West midlands over several months.

“We simply haven’t been able to get near the thing and it looks unlikely that we ever will. Our urban panda cars can only go at 90mph, but we also have a policy of not getting involved in chases. If we did that, the thieves could kill themselves or someone else”

PC David Oliver

The criminals were never caught and the Police openly admitted that the only chance they had was to find where the car was hidden during the day. Even the Police helicopter struggled to keep up with the Lotus on the M6.

General Motors turns to Lotus

The Lotus Carlton came about when General Motors decided it wanted to get involved in the performance Saloon segment. Mercedes had the 500E and BMW the E34 M5 and General Motors wanted its own car in this segment. Without a tuning company like BMW’s M division or Mercedes’ AMG, it turned to another company it owned, Lotus.

General Motors decided that the Vauxhall Carlton 3000 GSI (Opel Omega if you’re reading in Europe) would form the basis of the new car and Lotus set to work. The 3000 GSI already included a 3 litre engine and rear wheel drive so it was deemed a good platform to compete against the Mercedes and BMW.

The unassuming Vauxhall Carlton was transformed, with a bigger, twin turbo version of the Vauxhall GSI engine, bonnet intakes, front and rear spoilers, AP vented brakes, limited slip differential, re calibrated suspension and wider arches. The car was capable of 177mph and 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and 0-100 in 11.5 seconds. The 3.6L straight six 24-valve 382bhp engine was paired to a Corvette ZR-1 6 speed gearbox to handle the 419lb ft of torque.

All the cars were finished in Imperial Green with Lotus badging all round. The Lotus Carlton was an official Lotus product with “Type 104” designation. When production had finished, 950 cars had been built, just shy of the 1000 unit target.

Lotus Carlton – Modern classic

The Lotus Carlton was considerably quicker (outright and in acceleration) than the BMW E34 M5, Mercedes 500E and BMW Alpina B10. BMW and Mercedes limited their most powerful cars to 155mph, but the Vauxhall would easily pull another 20mph over these rivals.

While the Lotus Carlton held the title of fastest standard saloon car in the world for over 10 years it was not all about straight-line performance. Lotus had created an exploitable and capable chassis. A strange quirk was that the fuel level affected the handling because the petrol tank was above the rear axle.

Today the car is a rare modern classic that holds onto its value well – in spite of its criminal connections.