Vauxhall XVR


The Vauxhall XVR is a concept car built in 1966 by Vauxhall. The name stands for eXperimental Vauxhall Research prototype. It debuted at the March 1966 Geneva Motor Show, receiving favorable reviews from press, but never went into production.

Production

3 XVR prototypes were built in total. 2 were glassfibre rolling mockups with no engine, while 1 was a fully functional example with a metal body built by Motor Panels of Coventry. The fully functional car was the one displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. In total, the concept took 5 months to design and build. Only one of the mockups survives today, as Vauxhall crushed both the running prototype and the other mockup. The surviving car currently resides at the Vauxhall Heritage Centre.

Specifications

The single fully functional XVR is powered by a front-mid mounted 2.0 L Slant-4 engine producing around. The suspension is fully independent in the front and rear and there are disc brakes at all four corners. At the time, this engine was a pre-production model and was later used in the Vauxhall VX4/90. The XVR was able to reach a top speed of over

Design

The design team for the XVR was directed by David Jones and included Wayne Cherry, John Taylor, Leo Pruneau and Judd Holcombe. The looks are inspired by the Mako Shark II concept car introduced in 1965, and the design features a split windscreen, pop-up headlamps and gull-wing doors.