The angry griffin.... VX220 turbo

     The Vauxhall VX220 is a vehicle that always managed to captivate my attention, and excite my senses. The creases, the lights, the overall shape. Everything was ahead of its time, and if you saw one of those on the street, your head would spin around like an airport radar, because oh my god, this car is pretty.

 Introduced as far back as 2003 by Opel and branded as the ''speedster'', this car was nothing more of a monumental failure, because very few were actually sold. Vauxhall re-branded it and sold it as the VX220 and even Daewoo did their own version called the ''Speedster'' as well. Demand was low however, and production finally ceased two years later in 2005. Much like the Nissan Juke I wrote about earlier, Opel (Vauxhall) re-defined what modern design is, and to be honest I did not quite like it when it came out. But it seems like they nailed the sweet spot, and car design evolved in a couple of years to exactly what Vauxhall had in mind back in 2003. It was brilliant, and I think that Niels Loeb and Martin Smith did an outstanding job on the styling. This car is something to behold... For me it is pure art.
     On paper, It might not seem lighting bolt quick with its asthmatic 2.2 liter GM engine, five speed gearbox and 147 horsepower. If you dig in though, you will be surprised that under the pretty body, lies the chassis of a Lotus Elise, which is a benchmark for handling, and speed to some extent. Dig in even more, and you will be startled to know that the whole body weighs less than 940kg, and that the vehicle is actually built in the Lotus factory in Norfolk, England. Do not for once though, think it is boring, because this car is able of electrocuting every single hair on your skin. It is like a spoonful of wasabi... it is hard to swallow, but you will remember it forever.
     The original VX220 had a 2.2 liter engine capable of producing the somewhat childish 147 horsepowers. Acceleration was not pulverizing and at 44000$ the price was quite steep as well, making it not a very good value for money. Vauxhall relised that, and soon came up with a faster tauter version. And to do this, they actually decreased the capacity of the engine to two liters. This time around however, they fitted it with a high pressure turbo, which mated with the engine produced the still somewhat humble 197 BHP. The effects however were profound. 0-100kph (0-62mph) took the outlandish 4.7 seconds, and for a two liter to mess in Porsche proclaimed territory was quite a step. The top speed was limited to 242km/h (150 mph), and even though it is achievable by many cars, it still is something to awe about.  And just when I thought, that is the best car money can buy, I got to the interior, which I can only describe as being ''GHASTLY''

     I am sorry, but the only thing consisting of more grey and hard plastics than this car, is my laundry basket. You step in, and are greeted with funny replicas of steel grids, fabricated out of that famous oil by-product (At least the car in which I had the fortune to sit). The gear lever on the other hand is crafted out of pure aluminium, and its presense is as inappropriate as a truffle in a fast food joint. Some may argue the style of the interior is simplistic and clean, but that is extremely contradictive when you take into account the exterior styling which I can describe as being ''Kindly Vulgar''. What is more, the window frame is too low for my liking, and I kept trying to imagine what menace it will be driving this car, when the only thing I could see before my eyes, was a steel beam. And puh-lease, do not even think of using the sun visor, because you will then be overloaded by the Health and Safety Notices.
    And then Vauxhall dropped my jaw even more, when I found out that the price, when it was new was...$ 50000. 50000 for a small, impractical, plasticky vehicle, with a dreadful stereo, and an engine that sounded like its been powered by stones. But it was the looks that made this car a gem among all others, and it grew on me more than anything. Do not get me wrong. I'd buy this car in a heartbeat if I was given the chance. I'd even purchase it with the engine from a lawn mower, because I'd be happy having it on my drive only to look at. But as a day-to-day work tool, it is as useless as a porn magazine in the Buckingham Palace.