How the VX220 came about: development, early years and first Turbo road test

Who wrote the pieces

• The article. The member who posted it said he had put it together himself. Another member asked whether it was by a named journalist, said he had read it before and that it is wrong to claim it, and a third thought it came from the VX220 book. We don't know who wrote it or when. It reads like a magazine feature.
• The book extract. The extract is chapter 5 of Alastair Clements's Elise: Rebirth of the true Lotus (first published 2003), which includes comments from Lotus ride and handling engineer Gavan Kershaw. It is a book about the Elise, so it looks at the VX220 from the Lotus side.

Where the car came from

• The partnership. The article says Vauxhall had not built an all-out sports car for nearly ninety years, and the Lotus tie-up came out of the blue. The concept was proposed at General Motors' technical centre in Rüsselsheim, as the Opel Speedster for Europe, with the Vauxhall griffin badge on UK cars. The book says the Opel Speedster appeared on the Opel stand at the Geneva show in March 1999, and that the aim was to lift the appeal of the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
• Styling. Both name Martin Smith, then GM's design director for compact models. The article calls him a Briton who had worked on the Audi TT interior. (A 2003 owner's buyer's guide says it was styled by an Australian, which doesn't match.)
• Other evidence of origin. One member said Opel Switzerland gave everyone at the "Let's Speedster!" meeting at Hockenheim (September 2002) a hardback booklet on the car's conception, including prototype drawings with the Opel badge dated May 1998, and that most of the people shown were German Opel engineers. A German TV programme described the project as that of a female Opel engineer. He said he met and spoke to her, and she said they worked closely with Lotus but Opel set the specification.
• The factory. The book says Lotus announced at the 1999 Earls Court show that it would build 2,000 Opel Speedsters and 1,000 VX220s a year at Hethel, which meant a new factory with capacity for 6,000 to 10,000 cars a year. The car's code name at the factory was Skipton. The article says Vauxhall claimed the car could be assembled in half the time of an Elise Series 1.

How much is Elise?

• Shared parts. The article says the cars share only 114 parts out of more than 2,500. Kershaw told the book that about 10 per cent of components carry over, such as fixings, radiators and indicator stalks. Kershaw said the interior and the driving feel are different.
• The tub and the changes. The book says it is a modified version of the extruded and bonded Elise chassis, with the sills cut down by 50 mm for easier entry, a longer wheelbase, a wider track (especially at the rear), larger overall dimensions and a weight of 875 kg. It says it has a similar double wishbone layout, new Bilstein dampers, a standard servo and ABS, and a Getrag five-speed gearbox. The article says Lotus modified the steering rack to cope with the larger wheels.
• Wheels and tyres. The article says Vauxhall marketing wanted big wheels to fill the arches, so the car got 17 inch wheels with 175/55 front tyres, and that the narrow fronts also helped build in safe understeer. Both pieces mention the skinny 175-section fronts. See Tyre pressures.
• Handling brief. The article quotes the project manager, Mark Vinnels, as wanting a car that was safe and predictable in inexperienced hands but not dumbed down, and gives Kershaw much of the credit, working with Bridgestone on specially developed tyres. The book says that Lotus helped Vauxhall make the car behave differently from the Elise so both could sell, and Kershaw described them as horses for courses.
• The engine (the sources disagree). The article says the Ecotec engine was developed by the Lotus team at Hethel. The book describes the engine as the Astra Coupé's all-aluminium 2,198 cc 16 valve Ecotec four, giving 145 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 150 lb ft (203 Nm) at 4,000 rpm, with 0 to 60 in 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 132 mph. Those figures differ from a 2003 owner's buyer's guide, which quotes 147 bhp and 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds. We haven't checked any of these.

Design details the article mentions

• The stacked twin exhaust tips are a styling choice that hurt thermal efficiency. Instead of giving up boot space for cooling, holes in the subframe channel carry air to the rear.
• The frameless doors took a long time to get right, with several designs dropped because of window position and sealing.
• Vauxhall added refinements such as electric windows, ABS and an airbag (the article's list also includes air conditioning, which we haven't been able to confirm; the article says the airbag was sourced from Lamborghini, and the book says the Momo steering wheel was the smallest with an airbag fitted). The soft top was redesigned to fit without tools, and sound deadening foam was added.
• The book also mentions conventional dashboard with Stack instruments and a centre starter button, drilled aluminium pedals, and a bigger boot and more watertight hood than the Elise.

Launch, sales and specials

• Price. The book gives a launch price of £22,995, about £320 more than a basic Elise, plus £1,200 for the optional hard top.
• Image and sales. Both pieces say the car suffered from its image, seen as a poor relation of the Lotus, and from a launch advertising campaign with a comedian in a beard and Y-fronts. The article adds that later price changes annoyed early buyers. The book says Vauxhall sold 450 cars in 2001, a little over half of its target, which it partly blames on early production problems at Hethel. It also says What Car? named it Best Roadster in 2001 and 2002, and that a Channel 4 programme found it more practical than the Elise with a bigger boot and a more leak-resistant hood.
• Lightning Yellow. For early 2002 Vauxhall offered 0 per cent finance for three months and made a run of 100 Lightning Yellow cars with a matching hard top, anthracite alloys, a black windscreen surround, black leather, a CD player and a build number on the dash, for £2,000 extra (the book).
• Sprint. The book says a track-oriented Sprint version was built in mid-2002 with Lotus Motorsport parts such as Sport Elise adjustable suspension and black Exige wheels, a revised engine giving 165 bhp, some weight reduction, a roll bar, an electrical cut-out, a fire extinguisher and competition seats.
• Driver training. Vauxhall offered buyers a free advanced driver training day with PalmerSport at Bedford, according to the book.
• The Turbo. The book says a 178 bhp Vectra V6 was considered but was heavy, and the Astra Coupé's 2.0 turbo, quoted as 187 bhp and 184 lb ft, was chosen. It says the model was delayed by problems with heat in the engine bay and was aimed at a price of about £25,000 and 0 to 60 in under five seconds. These are 2002 figures for a car yet to be built, so check the production specification elsewhere.

Kershaw's view, and an owner's reply

One member (2003) said Kershaw sounded lukewarm in the book, whereas CAR magazine had quoted him calling the VX220 the best road car he had been involved in developing. He also said the Elise S2 borrowed the VX220's chassis settings and reached the market quickly once early VX reviews came out, that the VX220 is not tangibly stodgier than the Elise (which the book hints), and that according to the coffee-table book given to new buyers, Kershaw's input amounted to thousands of hours on the track. He thought Kershaw was giving a populist view to Lotus fans. These are one owner's opinions and claims, and we haven't seen the CAR quote.

The coffee-table book mentioned came with new cars. Two members said in 2003 that Vauxhall no longer gave it out unless you asked the dealer very nicely.

An early owner's view of the NA (2003)

A 2003 NA buyer's guide by a club member described the car as full of feedback, with Subaru WRX-level acceleration from a torquey engine, firm, noisy and awkward to get in and out of, and he said the Turbo was a much more powerful and smoother car that many thought a better all-rounder. He quoted 150 PS (147 bhp), 150 lb ft, 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds and 136 mph, and said it shares 114 parts with the Elise S2, which matches the article above. He called the engine the L850 Ecotec and said Lotus designed it, which the book's description of an Astra Coupé engine contradicts. His buying advice is in Buying a used VX220.

First Turbo road test and track day (2003)

A club member was lent a fully loaded Coral Blue Turbo press car for three weeks, did 622 miles on the first day and said he rang to confirm his own order the next morning. He was open that he was biased. His points:

• Sound and refinement. The standard exhaust is disappointing. The touring pack (extra carpet and sound insulation) made the car feel solid and quiet at motorway speeds and he called it a must-have option. He found the £600 stereo option pricey, with a blown rear speaker and a radio that wouldn't hold a station.
• Drive. Smooth gearbox and a revvy engine on a run-in car. He said to wait for a car to be run in before test driving, because a dealer demonstrator had felt tight. Strong low-down torque, then the car comes alive at about 3,000 rpm. The solidity makes licence-losing speeds arrive without drama, and there is a small lag that he liked. He claimed 150 mph on a private road.
• Handling. More understeer than an Elise S2 on tight corners, but the torque turns it into oversteer at the apex. His tip is to feed the power in through the bend rather than carry speed in. He expected it to need more care in the wet than the NA because there is more power all the time. The steering is heavier than the Elise, which he preferred.
• Niggles. Care is needed with the petrol filler to avoid scratching the paint. The side bins need an anti-slip mat. The fuel gauge is vague, the heater vents blow dust, the rear-view mirror is oversized and rear visibility makes parking harder. The Turbo kick plates are too small to protect much.

Castle Combe track report

• He took the stock Turbo to a track day (15 minute sessions) to see whether it was quick enough. His verdict was that it was: off the mark and in the mid-range it was quicker than the Porsches in his group (a 993, a 996 and a Boxster S), top end was about the same as the 996, and it held a higher corner speed than the Boxster S.
• Brakes. He recommended the cross-drilled discs. The ABS stepped in too early at the entry to Tower and the pads faded towards the end of a session. He wished for an ABS off switch and better pads.
• Handling on track. The road suspension was too soft for the track, as expected. Understeer came first but later than he expected, and the car was pointy through the chicanes. Oversteer was easy under power but understeer returned on corner exit and wasted power. He spun twice himself and saw another car do three 360s.
• Heat. 86 degrees all day, on a cold day.
• Circuit tip: at Quarry, braking on the crest locks the wheels, so brake before or after it.
• Verdict. About 90% of the way to a Caterham-like, 911-power car: brakes nearly there, handling about 75% there, and the perfect road and track car for about £25,000. For himself he wanted adjustable suspension, harder pads and a sports exhaust, and he said it didn't need more power.