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The greatest Vauxhalls ever
 The XVR concept was first seen at Geneva in 1966 22 April 2008 Vijay Pattni went to the heritage centre which played host to some of the most recognised exports from Luton, from the classic Vauxhall Viva to the storming 377bhp Lotus Carlton. View more pictures from the Vauxhall Heritage Centre open day A 240bhp bright red Vauxhall Astra VXR strums into the car park, followed by a 1980s Cavalier SRi. And behind them - a fully kitted 2005 Audi RS4. The car park heaves with automotive exotica old and new ad the Vauxhall Heritage centre looms into view. And sitting outside are two of the carmaker's greatest achievements: the Lotus Carlton and Vauxhall Monaro VXR. Vauxhall threw open the doors to its Heritage centre this weekend to celebrate the company's most memorable models and for owners of classic Vauxhalls to drive down and showcase their cars. Here are some of the cars which were on show. Lotus Carlton
Ripping out the standard engine, Lotus fitted an all-singing 3.6-litre twin turbo lump churning out 377bhp – which meant this four-door large saloon was now a bona-fide supercar-slayer. The Lotus Carlton could accelerate from 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 174mph, and was the grand-daddy of today’s supercar saloons, such as the BMW M5.
Vauxhall Cavalier
The humble Cav’ featured front-wheel-drive and came in a variety of guises including saloon, hatchback and even a convertible version. Vauxhall spiced things up with the 130bhp SRi models and rare Calibre models.
Vauxhall Calibra
Introduced in the 1990s, the handsome coupe was the most aerodynamic production car in the world, and featured came in either 2-litre and 2.5-litre flavour – including the hot 200bhp four-wheel-drive turbo edition.
Vauxhall XVR Concept Car
This brightly-liveried beast is a concept car introduced at the 1966 Geneva motor show, styled by American GM designer Wayne Cherry.
Vauxhall Victor
And there are rumours of a modified Vauxhall Victor which claims to be the fastest street-legal car in the world – featuring a 9.3-litre V8 engine and boasting a 0-60mph time of just one second…
Vauxhall Viva
The handsome saloon still remains a hit with classic enthusiasts – especially the coupe ‘Droopsnoot’ Firenza edition – and the pretty estate model features unique ‘Coke-bottle’ styling cues. The Viva – which in current form is the new Vauxhall Insignia – would also be the last model designed and built exclusively in Luton.
Vauxhall Chevette HSR
And this hard-as-nails rare rally edition was built with one mission in mind: to end Ford’s dominance on the Rally stages. The hardcore Chevette HSR edition featured a 240bhp 2.3-litre 16v engine and was driven to success by drivers such as Pentti Airikkala, Jimmy McRae and Russell Brookes. View more pictures from the Vauxhall Heritage Centre open day What do you think about the new Vauxhall Insignia? Have your say on the Auto Trader Blog |
Tuning gods Lotus took 950 Vauxhall Carltons fresh from the factory and injected a serious dose of adrenaline.
The car responsible for turning around the fortunes of the then flailing company, the Vauxhall Cavalier was introduced in the early 1980s, built to take on the iconic Ford Cortina – as driven by hard-nosed 
Those swooping curves, the dramatic roofline and a fulsome figure – the Vauxhall Calibra looks like it was crafted in an Italian design studio.
It’s big, it’s yellow – and it’s a Vauxhall. .jpg)
The Omega of the late 1950s, the Vauxhall Victor saw five generations of production before being replaced by the Vauxhall Carlton in the early 70s.
The first new small car Vauxhall built after world war two, the Vauxhall Viva was built to take on the Morris Minor and Ford Anglia, as driven by Harry Potter author 
The Chevette slotted in the Vauxhall line-up below the Viva – think Page 1
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