At The Crbn Fbre Comp we love our supercars and our recent posts have shown that! But in the automotive world, £100k+ supercars aren't the the only way to enjoy speed and the adrenaline rush from racing down a windy road.
For today's For Sale Series we reminisce over the days of boy racers and tuned hot hatches and what better place to start than with the Astra VXR!
The mark V Vauxhall Astra wasn't necessarily the first big selling Astra but it was the first one that youngsters really aspired to own. The sleek coupe vibe the 3 door version exuded made it appear a completely different car from the 5 door hatchback and brought this Astra into the realm of pseudo sportscar on a budget.
Let's not lie we all wanted this Astra, all black, tinted windows, blacked out alloys, very cool car.
For those that had a bit more money, the VXR was a dream. 2l turbo charged, 237bhp, 320Nm torquey engine that really pulls those front wheels off the line. This particular example however is a VXR Racing edition tuned to 300bhp with a stage 2 remap and around £6k spent on modifications. A dream for youngsters and petrolheads looking for performance and practicality. The red paintwork alongside the blue is synonymous with the VXR, the gloss black front lip, front grille and wing mirrors give this car a premium look, whilst the vents on the bonnet give it much more aggression.
The side profile is surely the most famous for this Astra, the black decals are not standard but the contrast of gloss black with the red paintwork works perfectly, the rear spoiler gives a more sporty look and completes the slightly swooping roofline down to the boot.
19 Inch Gloss Black Ronal Alloy Wheels with the "Vauxhall" centre cap again shines on this car with an appropriate mix of boy racer and high end feel in the design.
A gloss black rear diffuser and almost tunnel like central, single exhaust makes this stand out from the competition and the regular Astra.
How does this match up with the mark VI? Let's have a look...
The Mark VI Astra was up on power compared with the older version, 276bhp vs 237bhp with torque up to 400Nm from 320Nm, significant gains.
The newer Astra was introduced with a distinctly different design to the previous generation. This version was more round in design, taking a little edge off the shape and making the regular Astra much more docile in its appearance. For the VXR, this means a lot more work to match the aggression of the previous generation and notable additions have been done to try and make that happen. The bonnet for starters has adds deliberate vents alluding to this car's need to look more aggressive, whilst the mesh style grille and gloss black side vents adds to the appearance.
For the eagle eyed amongst you'll notice the Vauxhall badge has also been blacked out for measure matching the wing mirrors and the overall contrast theme around the car.
The most significant change on the rear of the car is the big hatchback style rear wing with a slightly redesigned rear bumper to incorporate the exhaust tips. The silver tips and the design don't help to maintain the intent of creating an aggressive car and in fact make the rear, bar the spoiler, look pretty standard.
The star style wheels do a lot for the side profile, really screaming sporty and premium. But all in all for looks and design, I'd have to argue the Mark V Astra looks far better, more aggressive, more sporty and ultimately more eye catching. The new Astra VXR looks more modern and more recent but in terms of getting excited by a hot hatch? It doesn't do enough, the previous generation VXR takes it all day.
Links to both cars are down below, check them out if you are looking for your next hot hatch and follow us at The Crbn Fbre Comp as we bring you more content on a weekly basis!
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