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It’s the fastest accelerating Vauxhall ever. Say 'hi' to the VX220 – the Lotus built two seater that's one of the greatest cars on the roads.

 

Stuart Milne drove a turbocharged VX for a week and hasn't been the same since - with 200bhp in a car built from plastic, it's not hard to see why.

 

Whenever I mention how good the Vauxhall VX220 is to someone, I get one of two responses:

 

"They're great aren't they. Based on the Elise, I think."

 

Or

 

"Nah mate, it’s a Vauxhall, innit."

 

Well yes, the VX220 is heavily based on the Lotus Elise – they were built alongside one another at Lotus's factory in Norfolk. And yes; well done, it is a Vauxhall.

 

It's because of the badge snobs that I adore the VX220. It does everything the Elise can do for much less money.

 

It's very slightly easier to life with too. But that's like saying you prefer you'd rather sleep in the middle of a roundabout in Birmingham than on the side of the M6.

 

A few years ago, Vauxhall loaned me a turbocharged version for a week, and up until then, I'd never experienced anything with such ferocious acceleration.

 

Three years on, there are still only a handful of faster cars I've driven.

 

But it wasn't its straight line performance that blew me away, it was the confidence it inspired to give it the full moo on a winding country lane.

 

You can steer the car on the throttle: lift off the accelerator mid-corner to get the back sliding wide, give it some beans and the rear would tuck back in line (on a private test track, of course).

 

If there is an automotive nirvana; it'd be a never-ending set of curves, a VX220 and an infinite supply of tyres.

 

Its performance is scintillating. Acceleration was staggering off the line – it can reach 62mph from rest in just 4.7 seconds before topping out at 151mph – thanks to its 200bhp turbocharged 2-litre motor.

 

The engine sat in a modified Elise chassis, which was more accustomed to a 1.8-litre Rover engine, but that was just about all the changes required (apart from a few suspension tweaks).

 

But you can tell all this to a badge snob, and they just can't look past it. That's good news for prospective buyers of the griffin-badged roadster.

 

Today you can get an early VX220 from 2001 for around £9,000 – about £3,000 less than a Series 2 Elise from the same year.

 

But if you want to go faster still, the sensational Turbo model can be had for about £15,000. It's difficult to go faster without breaking the bank.

 

L.A.T.W.O.T. Video of the Week

 

60mph to 120mph in the blink of an eye

 

 

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