By Classic Yorkshire contributor, Tony Lofthouse
When we muse over future sporting classics, Vauxhall is not the first car maker that springs to mind.
But, in 2000 General Motors gave us the sleek two-seater VX220, born of a collaboration with Lotus and unlike any other car to bear the Vauxhall badge.
The car was built at the Lotus HQ in Norfolk, based on a Series 2 Elise ‘platform’ and made use of the company’s latest aluminium technology.
Under the bonnet, it shared many similarities with the Elise but Vauxhall also wanted it to have its own appeal.
It came with a longer wheelbase to the Elise and was fitted with ABS and 17-inch wheels, compared to the Elise’s 16 inch ones.
The car was originally launched with a 2.2 litre Ecotec petrol engine and in 2003 added a 2.0 litre turbo unit derived from the Astra GSi.
A year later, a limited run of a 220bhp VXR220 giving still more power and less weight was introduced.
Unfortunately, sales of this super roadster struggled from the start and some potential UK buyers simply couldn’t get past the VX badge. In the rest of Europe the model achieved better sales as the Opel Speedster.
By the time production ended in 2005 only around 7,000 had been made.
Looking back the VX220 delivered great handling and performance and deserved to be a big hit.
Today, these are rare cars with only a few hundred still on our roads, but they retain a loyal following and prices for a tidy low mileage turbo version can top £20,000.