Fast Vauxhalls have been a part of British motoring culture ever since Prince Henry laid claim to being the world’s first ever sports car in 1911.
Hot Griffin-badged cars have come a long way since then, with multiple icons along the way, from rally-bred Chevettes through to hot hatch Novas and Astras, V8-engined Australian imports and the current range of VXR high-performance models.
And with them comes a whole culture, as will be seen in evidence at the Performance Vauxhall Show, set to take place at Santa Pod, Beds, on June 11th.
Ahead of the event, the show organizers are looking to discover which of the Griffin greats is considered the most iconic performance Vauxhall ever, with a special survey taking place. Fans of Vauxhalls and performance cars, in general, are encouraged to take.
The Survey will run until May 31, 2017, with the overall favorite being announced a week ahead of the Santa Pod spectacle.
This year’s Performance Vauxhall Show is set to be one of the most action-packed yet, with various attractions to draw fans of the British brand’s most thrilling models.
A special 25th birthday display to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Cavalier Turbo will be one of the star attractions, celebrating the Cavalier with attitude. With a 204bhp C20LET turbocharged engine, four-wheel-drive and Chevrolet Corvette-derived six-speed gearbox when it made its debut in 1992, but with just 49 examples left registered on the UK’s roads it’s now one of the rarest and most cherished of 1990s performance saloons.
At least 10 of the surviving examples will be on display at the show, from immaculately preserved standard variants to the wildly modified.
The Cavalier feature will be just one part of the ultimate show for fans of hot Vauxhalls, sponsored by Hardrace, Ksport, BC Forged Wheels, BC Supsension and Goodridge, which regularly attracts over 10,000 visitors to the famous drag strip.
With on-strip action, including the chance for owners to enter their own Vauxhalls in a VX-only ‘Run What Ya Brung’, Santa Pod will be spilling over with classic and performance models, be them retro Novas, Chevettes, Cavaliers, and Astras, or more modern VX220s, Monaros and VXRs.
As well as the drag strip action, PVS promises a host of other features including an Autotest, entrance photography, a lively retail village for the latest parts, mods and memorabilia, a show and shine, and some of the best and busiest club displays going.
The show itself takes place on Sunday, but many fans making their annual pilgrimage love to make a weekend of it, so this year PVS is putting on some live evening entertainment, in the form of DJ Pied Piper and MC DT, the sound behind the famous Ayia Nappa hit ‘Do Your Really Like it?”
Camping is available at the show on a Saturday evening, and that’s where the fun really begins. Camping costs £25 per person if booked in advance, with a late night bar and Santa Pod’s funfair in action all evening.
