HIRED MUSCLE

Vauxhall's rebadging of an Australian V8 coupé was an ingenious corporate coup that also inspired its fiery VXR performance sub-brand

- SIMON HUCKNALL

In 2003, there was a lightning strike in Luton, followed closely by a clap of thunder from Down Under. Vauxhall had marked its first century with a very un-Vauxhall-like concept called VX Lightning. Essentially a redesigned Pontiac Solstice, more importantly it was a statement of intent for the company's future. At the extreme edge of this brave new world emerged a Griffin-badged, V8-powered, Aussie-built coupé the likes of which had never been seen before in a Vauxhall brochure. It was called Monaro.

While Vauxhall had blitzed the fleet market through the 1990s with stolid Astras, Vectras and Omegas, its appeal to enthusiasts had been in freefall. Other than the odd GSi derivative, there had been little to pique petrolheads' interest since the mindblowing Lotus Carlton had departed at the start of the decade. But by the turn of the century, a small contingent of Griffin folk was set on restoring some spice to the brand. A collaboration with Lotus had already led to the launch of the Elise-based VX220, but that was merely a taster.

General Motors, Vauxhall's parent since 1925, wanted its global businesses to share more vehicle and engine technologies. Luton's incoming managing director, Australian-born Kevin Wale, identified Holden, Vauxhall's sibling Down Under, as the perfect source for an aspirational offering in the UK. Holden's Monaro coupé, which had just been introduced in its Commodore-based third generation, was the obvious choice, combining GM's fruity, 5.7-litre LS1 V8 with four-seater practicality to deal a cut-price blow to the big-engined Mercedes-Benz CLKs and 6 Series BMWs.