Insignia VXR warms up

Text: Tom Phillips / Photos: Stefan Baldauf

26th August 2008

THERE’S no rest for the wicked at Vauxhall! Only weeks after the Insignia’s British Motor Show launch, engineers were back in Germany honing the range’s performance flagship – the fire-breathing VXR.

The black disguise worn by this development car shows it is no ordinary Insignia hatch. 
Underneath is a deeper, lower front bumper with enlarged air intakes to cool the engine and brakes. In production form, the car will wear a chrome Vauxhall badge on the grille, which will also feature sporty mesh to 
further distinguish the VXR.

The Insignia gains sculpted sills, larger twin exhausts and a reworked rear bumper. Sports suspension and low-profile tyres on 18-inch alloys aid handling, and larger brakes cope with 
the uprated performance.

Under the bonnet is a reworked version of the firm’s 2.8-litre V6 turbo petrol unit, producing 280bhp, or a 247bhp 2.9 V6 turbodiesel. Both will be available with six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes.

Importantly, the fastest Insignia will be the first four-wheel-drive VXR, ensuring all of the power is transmitted to the road. It’ll be available in saloon, hatch and estate variants, priced at around £28,000 to firmly undercut rivals such as the £30,990 VW Passat R36. The VXR will join the Insignia 
range from next autumn.

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