Vauxhall VX220
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The Vauxhall VX220 is a British-built mid engined, targa-topped, 2-seater sports car introduced in the summer of 2000.
It was built for General Motors (GM) – along with a left-hand drive version badged as the Opel Speedster – at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England.
[edit] Lotus connection
The VX220 was built alongside the Lotus Elise S2. Its design was based on the Elise chassis, modified to accept a GM engine in preference to the Rover K-series engine used by the Elise. It carried the internal model identification Lotus 116 and the code name Lotus Skipton.
The normally aspirated version used a Vauxhall Astra 2.2 L Ecotec L61 engine giving 147 hp (110 kW) in a car weighing 870 kg. The Turbo model, introduced in 2003, used a 2.0 L Ecotec LSJ engine, producing 200 hp (149 kW) but weighing 930 kg. A final version, the track-oriented VXR220, based on the turbo model, was tuned to give around 220 hp (164 kW) and used Lotus-style 16 in (406 mm) front wheels that allowed the fitting of special sports tyres to gain better road holding.
The car was hailed by the motoring press as a great drivers' car and won several accolades, with the 2.2 NA (normally aspirated) version being considered the easier drive of the two standard variants. Some journalists recommended that the Vauxhall car was better value for money than the Lotus.[citation needed]
Production ended in 2005, with no direct successor.
[edit] See also
- Saturn Sky / Opel GT / Vauxhall VX Lightning
- Lotus Elise / Lotus Europa S
