Vauxhall uprates its Monaro VXR
New 6.0-litre engine pushes power to 400 bhp
Vauxhall has uprated its Monaro VXR muscle car. With 400 bhp supplied by the Corvette’s 6.0-litre LS2 V8, Vauxhall's new Monaro VXR is set to be the first ever production Vauxhall to top 180mph, finally overtaking the iconic Lotus Carlton to become the fastest ever Vauxhall.
The latest version of the company’s performance flagship takes over from the original Monaro VXR, which sold out within three months of going on sale earlier this year. The new car takes the VXR brand to even further extremes, with more power and torque than any other production car to wear the Vauxhall badge.
Under the new ventilated bonnet sits the high-output 6.0-litre LS2 V8 engine, which recently made its debut in the Corvette C6. As you’d expect from a supercar engine, power figures are impressive, with 400 bhp -- up from the last model’s 380 bhp -- and a massive 390 lb-ft of torque -- was 376 lb-ft. Although performance figures have yet to be officially recorded, Vauxhall expects that the VXR will be able to comfortably surpass the 177 mph record set by the Lotus Carton in 1990. A 0-60 time of around 5.0 seconds is also predicted.
Along with the new engine, most of the drive-train has been upgraded. You get revised suspension and bigger brakes to ensure -- as Vauxhall puts it -- that "the latest version can keep the power tamed while still being thrilling to drive. With its classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, the Monaro has already gained a reputation for being an enthusiastic driver’s favourite."
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tyling changes have been kept to the bare minimum. To help the car breathe more efficiently and keep the engine cool, a pair of distinctive ‘nostril’ vents has been added to the bonnet, while the rear now gains quad exhaust tail pipes. New 10-spoke, 19-inch alloy wheels allow onlookers to see the new grooved discs and VXR-branded brake callipers.
Prices have yet to be confirmed, but it’s expected that the new Monaro VXR will still cost half the price of other 180 mph supercars at around £37,000. The first cars will reach customers in March.
They seem to know how to keep a petrolhead happy.
Two good quotes from the article. "Unfortunately for Pontiac , our comparo jury wasn't blind" and about the Ford "...becons you from the showroom until you come and take it home"
name said:
Even though the Ford was slower in just about every measure it won because it looked better and "felt far more than the sum ot its parts".
Which is all very well, unless you actually don't like the Ford's looks. (a bit heavy handed at the front, me thinks). Given that the Monaro doesn't have leaf springs, I'd know what I would choose..
wedgepilot said:
Nothing wrong with a properly located live axle....
Quite. I've seen a lot of people slag off the new 'vette for using a leaf spring on the rear too. Again nothing wrong with that at all, providing it works properly as a spring (which ofcourse it does). I think I read that it's made of some composite material too.
As for the Monaro, plain looks but ticks all the right boxes for me
Hopefully they'll be cheap in 2 or 3 years time. AndySA said:
Believe it or not and I find it hard to despite it's live axle rear end (with coil springs by the way) and narrower tyres the Mustang had a higher lane change speed in the test of 64.7 mph v 62.9 mph
Mmmh, does that mean that Ford did a great engineering job with little, or does it mean that GM started with the right concept but dropped the ball?
I don't have anything against leaf springs, I just don't remember any great sports car or succesfull racing car -after 1970 that is- using them?
Something about the Monaro says 'Calibra on Steroids' which seems really wrong in a kinky sort of way. I think.
Those live rear axles on the Mustang's, they just feel so disconnected from the car, feels like there is too much going on. Just reminds me of a Transit van everytime.
"
Live axle
A live axle is a type of transmission to a set of wheels in which the drive components (shafts, gears, etc) are part of the suspension and move with it. Until the 1980s it was the most common form of driving axle found in the average rear-wheel drive car.
A typical live axle consists of a solid tube with a central casing containing the differential, with the wheels mounted on each end of the tube. The drive shafts run inside the tubes. The whole assembly is connected to the vehicle body or chassis by links and springs. Because the axle follows the road, with the vehicle body moving above it, drive is supplied to the axle via a swinging propellor shaft and universal joints. While relatively cheap to manufacture due to its simplicity, its weight (which is part of a vehicle's unsprung weight) can lead to handling problems.
Live axles are still widely used on trucks and heavier vehicles, but in cars they have mostly been replaced with front-wheel drive or independent rear suspension (IRS) designs"
Even the dictionary deffinition says they are no good for modern cars!!
I think a lot of cars now are over engineered and computerised, probibly why I like the monaro so much.
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