Vauxhall VXR8 / Holden Commodore VE
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Sold as the Vauxhall VXR8 in the UK, but known maybe by the rest of the world as the Holden Commodore VE.........
Well I went on a track day organised by Vauxhall this weekend to drive the VXR range, of course I was 99% there for the VXR8, although the Corsa was fun and the Astra was mighty impressive for a faggot wheel drive car.
Sadly I only got a couple of goes in the VXR8 on the drift section of Rockingham but I posted the vids up here on my you tube account.
There will be some other vids coming up as well at some time, as well as some BMW stuff I already have done on track before.
After the drifting session we moved onto the track where I ran around 20 laps around rockingham international layout in the rain, plus more laps in other cars from the VXR range.
So whats the VXR8 like I hear you say ?????
Well compared to my BMW's past and present you will be pleased to know it really is a drivers car, but much more of a hooligan because it lacks the raw grip a BMW will give you on the limit, that makes it plenty sideways and much fun, the chassis is really well balanced and easy to throw around if your used to tossing your BMW around.
The engine is super smooth and very torqy, quite a sensitive throttle as well, you really have to drive this car by the seat of your pants and by fingertips when on the track in the wet thats for sure, at one point I had one hand on the wheel whilst reaching for another cog when I entered a slide at around 120mph, casually just dialing in some opposite lock to correct with no hassle, its super smooth in transition and response, a really easy car to drive hard that talks to you nicely to let you know whats going on.
I found the interior and driving controls quite nice, tho heel and toe proved difficult to get used to in the time I spent with the car, no doubt gets easier the more used to it you are.
Would I buy one ?
Whilst the styling is a little "ricey" the driving experience is what this car is all about, and in that regard it certainly delivered, even if it didn't have the raw grip of a BMW, thats kinda what made it fun and like an old school muscle car, as a child I always dreamed about owning one of the American style muscle cars like the Charger, Camaro Z28 etc, so it does it nicely for me when it comes to giving a buzz.
Hmmmmmm, yes actually I might buy one when im done with my current car, depends if im still doing the same kind of miles and style of driving really, ideally its more suited to a weekend fun machine which can take the family out aswell as a bonus, I don't drive to work so I do not have to do the regular commute kinda journey every day like most else it would be a killer to run, that said I do run to Nursery and back twice a day with my Daughter, thats only 24 miles a day tho so hardly a bank balance killer.
Well I went on a track day organised by Vauxhall this weekend to drive the VXR range, of course I was 99% there for the VXR8, although the Corsa was fun and the Astra was mighty impressive for a faggot wheel drive car.
Sadly I only got a couple of goes in the VXR8 on the drift section of Rockingham but I posted the vids up here on my you tube account.
There will be some other vids coming up as well at some time, as well as some BMW stuff I already have done on track before.
After the drifting session we moved onto the track where I ran around 20 laps around rockingham international layout in the rain, plus more laps in other cars from the VXR range.
So whats the VXR8 like I hear you say ?????
Well compared to my BMW's past and present you will be pleased to know it really is a drivers car, but much more of a hooligan because it lacks the raw grip a BMW will give you on the limit, that makes it plenty sideways and much fun, the chassis is really well balanced and easy to throw around if your used to tossing your BMW around.
The engine is super smooth and very torqy, quite a sensitive throttle as well, you really have to drive this car by the seat of your pants and by fingertips when on the track in the wet thats for sure, at one point I had one hand on the wheel whilst reaching for another cog when I entered a slide at around 120mph, casually just dialing in some opposite lock to correct with no hassle, its super smooth in transition and response, a really easy car to drive hard that talks to you nicely to let you know whats going on.
I found the interior and driving controls quite nice, tho heel and toe proved difficult to get used to in the time I spent with the car, no doubt gets easier the more used to it you are.
Would I buy one ?
Whilst the styling is a little "ricey" the driving experience is what this car is all about, and in that regard it certainly delivered, even if it didn't have the raw grip of a BMW, thats kinda what made it fun and like an old school muscle car, as a child I always dreamed about owning one of the American style muscle cars like the Charger, Camaro Z28 etc, so it does it nicely for me when it comes to giving a buzz.
Hmmmmmm, yes actually I might buy one when im done with my current car, depends if im still doing the same kind of miles and style of driving really, ideally its more suited to a weekend fun machine which can take the family out aswell as a bonus, I don't drive to work so I do not have to do the regular commute kinda journey every day like most else it would be a killer to run, that said I do run to Nursery and back twice a day with my Daughter, thats only 24 miles a day tho so hardly a bank balance killer.
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Great review Mark
It looks like you had a great day at Rockingham
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It looks like you had a great day at Rockingham
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
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Sounds like a blast. I watch those Holdens race when I get a chance to watch Australian V8 Supercars--rarely on Speed Channel here in the States, and occasionally when I'm traveling. Any track time is fun to me. I even enjoy karting!
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For sure, its an awesome race series I follow as well, shame they moved to allow Sequential gearboxes this last couple of years tho
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
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Originally Posted by Phantom Mark' post='927340' date='Jun 29 2009, 10:57 AM
For sure, its an awesome race series I follow as well, shame they moved to allow Sequential gearboxes this last couple of years tho ![Frown](https://5series.net/forums/images/smilies/imported/sad.gif)
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
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Yep - that's the Pontiac G8 GXP for our US brethren, essentially the same car as the VXR8 you drove.
There is also a new edition, the Bathurst S, which turns things up to 11 with a quite staggering 564hp and 547 lb/ft (and a manual transmission)...
Clarkson reviewed it for his column in the Times and the Hamster wrote an article on it for Top Gear magazine. Both liked it.
There is also a new edition, the Bathurst S, which turns things up to 11 with a quite staggering 564hp and 547 lb/ft (and a manual transmission)...
Clarkson reviewed it for his column in the Times and the Hamster wrote an article on it for Top Gear magazine. Both liked it.
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Yer, just been looking at a Brand New one, only ?37k here in Blighty, serious value for money indeed !!
If I lived in the US I would probably buy the new Challenger SRT-8 tho
, just because........
If I lived in the US I would probably buy the new Challenger SRT-8 tho
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