Vauxhall to collaborate with the British Superbike Championship for 2017, with a couple of concepts.

Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles has unveiled two new concept vans, its first in over a decade, that have been specially-designed to celebrate Vauxhall’s commercial vehicle partnership for the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship (BSB). 

Debuting at the first BSB race of the season this weekend at Donington Park (March 31^st to April 1^st), the Vivaro Race Van Concept and the Movano Race Van Concept will be on display at all UK BSB race meetings throughout the season.

VIVARO RACE VAN CONCEPT 

Based on the best-selling Brit-built Vivaro panel van, the Vivaro Race Van Concept was designed in consultation with industry experts including Sortimo. During the working week this Vivaro is completely functional as a mobile workshop supporting any number of trade professionals, however, on a non-working day it can be easily-transformed into a race day van to support track-day or even off-road motorcycling. 

The cargo layout is well-considered and appropriately flexible. Along the driver side the layout features a combination of fixed racking and removable lightweight mobile workstations. Decamping from the Vivaro into the pits or paddock couldn’t be easier. The passenger side has folding shelves to store additional kit. 

Emptied and folded up against the body, the space adjacent to the motorbike is maximised to help easier access in and out, and there is also space allocated for paddock stands, fuel, spare tyres, racing kit and a ramp. And for a long day at the track, there are also a number of built-in comfort features including a fold-down bench seat on the bulkhead, microwave, refrigerator and a 32-inch Smart television. 

The exterior is covered in an eye-catching livery that has been specially-designed by Motormode and features the Vauxhall Griffin riding a motorbike. 

MOVANO RACE VAN CONCEPT

Based on the popular Movano L2H2 panel, the Movano Race Van Concept was also designed in consultation with industry experts including Sortimo, with the purpose of providing support and transport for the smaller and more budget-conscious motorcycle racing teams. 

Unlike the Vivaro Concept, the cargo layout on the Movano is intended to be permanent. Along the driver’s side the layout features a combination of a workbench and fixed racking. The toolboxes in the workbench can be removed. The opposite passenger side has folding shelves to store additional kit. 

Emptied and folded against the body, space adjacent to the motorbike can be maximized to help get it in and out easily. There is also space allocated for paddock stands, fuel, spare tyres, racing kit and a ramp. 

The Movano Race Concept also features a sided awning to enable an all-weather enclosed work space adjacent to the van. This gives the team a viable workspace for a race weekend. 

A number of built-in comfort features include a fold-down bench seat on the bulkhead, microwave, refrigerator, wash basin and a 40-inch Smart television. 

“These two concept vehicles are the perfect way to celebrate our commercial vehicle partnership with BSB,” said Steve Bryant, Vauxhall’s Head of Commercial Vehicle Brand. “We can’t wait to take them up and down the country to all UK BSB events this season and gauge customer reaction to these versatile and stunning-looking vehicles. 

“We’d also like to thank Sortimo, Camperlands UK, Yamaha UK, Yamaha Tamworth, AMCA Yamaha Motorcross Experience and Motorsport Vision for their help in bringing these concepts to reality.” 

VIVARO RACE VAN CONCEPT FULL SPECIFICATION

Based on the new up-level Vivaro Limited Edition NAV L2H1 F2900 145PS BiTurbo S/S, its features include: 

• FlexCargo
• Dual passenger bench with fold-flat centre section
• Air conditioning
• Cruise control and rear parking sensors
• NAVI50 Intellilink
• Auto-lights
• Auto-wipers
• Black alloy wheels 

Racking

• Provided and installed by Sortimo UK
• Sobo Grip+ crash tested safety floor (9mm)
• Sowa Flex wall, door upper and ceiling linings
• Pro-Safe lashing rail with Pro-Safe straps (on bulkhead)
• Drivers Side racking features:
  • Pro-Safe lashing rail on wall
  • Light Weight Globelyst Racking including - fuel can shelf to end of rack; component S-Boxes; Integrated front load fridge; lift up base cover; work top with two drawers; First-Aid kit and document holder to end of racking. All racking includes full Pro-Safe Lashing System with Pro-Safe Straps.
  • WorkMo mobile workstations include drawers; L-Boxes; PPE cupboard; tool holder trays on top
• Passenger Side racking features:
  • Two-tier Flex Rack unit with full integrated Pro-Safe lashing system 

Weight of Sortimo equipment (including Fridge) = 220kg 

Other Equipment

• Installed by Sortimo UK
• 32-inch flat screen TV with wall bracket
• BikeTek wheel chock with quick release baseplate
• Upholstered bench seat on bulkhead
• LED lighting
• Small Breville 800W Microwave
• Shore Power electrical system Including 2000 Watt isolation transformer, 240v-12v DC transformer, consumer unit & ancillaries
• TRP688S Motor Cycle Ramp 

MOVANO RACE VAN CONCEPT FULL SPECIFICATION

The Movano Race Concept is based on one of the most popular Movano panel van configurations: the F3300 L2H2 powered by the new 2.3-litre CDTi (130PS) BlueInjection engine. It has been optioned with the Premium Pack (NAVI50 Intellilink, rear parking sensors, air conditioning, trip computer) and also a perimeter alarm has been fitted.

Racking

• Provided and installed by Sortimo UK
• Sobo Grip+ crash tested safety floor (9mm)
• Sowa Flex wall, door upper and ceiling linings
• Pro-Safe lashing rail with Pro-Safe straps (on bulkhead)
• Driver side racking features:
  • Light Weight Globelyst Racking including - drop front shelf; fuel can shelf; tyre space with Pro-Safe Strap; open top shelf with matt & dividers; component S-Boxes; small open shelf; drawer with integrated wash basin and cupboard with waste/clean water containers; integrated front load fridge; lift up base cover; work top with 4 drawers; 2x LT Tool Boxes & lift-up base cover; First Aid kit & document holder to end of racking. All racking includes full Pro-Safe lashing system with Pro-Safe straps.
• Passenger side racking features:
  • Two-Tier Flex Rack Unit with fully-integrated Pro-Safe Lashing System

Weight of Sortimo equipment (including fridge) = 240kg

Awning

• Provided by Camperlands UK
• Fiamma F65 320 awning with single end panel (Side W Pro). This gives a shaded area 3.1m in length along van, and extends 2.5m in depth

Other Equipment

• Installed by Sortimo UK
• 40" flat screen TV and wall bracket
• BikeTek wheel chock with quick release baseplate
• Upholstered bench seat on bulkhead
• LED lighting
• Small Breville 800W Microwave
• Shore power electrical system Including 2000Watt isolation transformer, 240v-12v DC transformer, consumer unit & ancillaries
• TRP688S Motor Cycle Ramp

The Vauxhall/Opel GT Concept gets it's official release at Geneva, but here, you can see it in all it's glory.

• Purebred concept receives world premiere at Geneva Motorshow
• Bold, minimalistic form points to Vauxhall/Opel’s ever-evolving design philosophy
• Turbocharged, front mid-engined, rear-wheel drive with sequential gearbox
• 1966 Vauxhall XVR & ‘65 Opel Experimental GT showcars pre-cursors to GT Concept
• Re-visits name of first Vauxhall concept created more than half a century ago

Vauxhall and Opel will reveal their vision of the future sports car with the GT Concept at this year’s Geneva International Motorshow (March 3-13). Purebred, pared down, yet unashamedly avant-garde, the GT Concept is even shorn of door handles and door mirrors, its breathtaking form clothing a classic front mid-engined, rear-wheel drive chassis that will appeal to driving enthusiasts.

While the GT Concept is forward-thinking, encapsulating Brit designer Mark Adams’ philosophy of ‘Sculptural Artistry meets Technical Precision’, its name mirrors that of the 1964 GT Concept, the first styling model to be produced by the nascent Vauxhall Design & Engineering Centre in Luton which opened the same year.

But importantly, it pays homage to two significant motor show cars: the 1966 Vauxhall XVR and the 1965 Opel Experimental GT, the first true concept vehicles to appear from the design houses of a European manufacturer. The 2016 GT Concept is also a logical step on from the innovative and beautiful Monza concept from 2013.

‘We created the GT Concept to capture the bold, emotional spirit of both the Vauxhall and Opel brands,’ said Mark Adams, Vice President, Design Europe. 

‘It is dramatic, sculptural and full of innovations, which is our great tradition that we intend to continue. In the mid-Sixties, Vauxhall and Opel created their own interpretations of a light-weight sports car – the XVR and the Experimental GT – both of which were thoroughly modern with dynamic sculptural forms. 

It’s certainly difficult to reinvent iconic concepts like these, but just as each was avant-garde back then, so too is this GT Concept today – absolutely pure, minimalistic, yet bold and uncompromising. This coupe impressively demonstrates the continuous development of our design philosophy.’ 

A key innovation of the GT Concept is its large doors with integrated side windows that show a seamless transition from glass to painted surfaces. 

Both driver and front passenger gain access to the spacious interior after pressing a touchpad for the electric doors that is integrated in the red signature line of the roof. The doors cleverly open into the front arches, using a space-saving and patented mounting that allows a large opening angle for tight parking spaces in urban areas. 

Two cameras mounted behind the wheel arches offer enhanced visibility, especially in city driving. They transmit their images to two monitors on the left- and right-hand side of the cabin, rendering external mirrors obsolete. The windscreen flows into a glass panorama roof, affording occupants a similar experience to that of a targa-topped car.

Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director, Rory Harvey, summarised what the GT Concept meant to both brands: ‘It shows what Vauxhall and Opel stand for now – ambitious and confident brands that are not frightened to innovate.’

GT Concept continues philosophy of Vauxhall and Opel’s groundbreaking Sixties’ concepts

‘GT Concept’ was the name given to a remarkably prescient and rakish, full-sized styling model, the first of its kind from Vauxhall’s new-for-1964, £2.25m Design & Engineering Centre in Luton, which became the leading centre of its kind in the UK for the next two decades. But two years later it was a radical show-car that really put the Centre on the map.

‘Uncompromising in its styling treatment, the XVR shows the future trend in world automotive design’, said Vauxhall’s Director of Design, David Jones, when he revealed the Luton company’s radical concept at the Geneva Motorshow in 1966.

Built to showcase Vauxhall’s design innovation and autonomy in the mid-Sixties, the XVR project was managed by the legendary Wayne Cherry at Luton. 

Inspired by parent company GM’s work with concepts in the US – including the ‘65 Mako Shark II – the XVR (Xperimental Vauxhall Research) had a simple purity of line, gull-wing doors forming a unique split windscreen, a clam-shell bonnet and pop-up headlights. 

Three cars were built, including a 100mph driveable vehicle with a pre-production 2.0-litre engine producing 100bhp. And while the car never reached production, design cues like the ultra-slim rear lights could later be seen in Vauxhall’s Viva HC and Firenza models.

Opel’s Experimental GT, however, did become a production reality. First shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1965, it broke the mould for European concept cars. 

A sleek and low-slung coupe, the Experimental GT was the product of Opel’s new-for-1964 design centre in Rüsselsheim. Like today’s GT Concept, it eschewed unnecessary decoration and made the ‘design statement’ that its creator, Erhard Schnell, was keen to achieve. Three years later, the Opel GT was a production reality.

Fifty years later, the GT Concept once again showcases Vauxhall and Opel’s pioneering spirits. 

Reinforcing its appeal to driving enthusiasts, the car has a red signature line that splits the vehicle body horizontally and proportions it. The distinctive red tyres – mounted on rims with a ‘roller-skate’ design – are a reference to an iconic Opel motorbike from the 1920s – the Motoclub 500 – which sported red-coloured rubber. 

And while the long bonnet, central dual exhausts and lack of a boot-lid are all shared with both the Vauxhall XVR and Opel Experimental GT, today’s GT Concept is unashamedly forward-thinking, with no retro references.

A real sportscar – front mid-engined, turbocharged and rear-wheel drive

The GT Concept’s front-mid engine configuration keeps the car’s centre of gravity low and central for excellent dynamics. Beneath its stretched bonnet is a powerful 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged engine, based on the all-aluminium unit used in the ADAM, Corsa and Astra. 

Developing 145PS and maximum torque of 205Nm, the engine delivers drive to the rear wheels, via a six-speed sequential transmission operated by steering-wheel mounted paddle shift. Weighing under 1000kgs, the GT Concept accelerates from 0-62mph in less than eight seconds and on to a maximum speed of 134mph.

Another unique feature of the GT Concept is its integrated headlamp/indicator units. Using ultra-modern projection technology, the lights have a three-dimensional beam which allows glare-free high-beam driving. 

Based on Vauxhall/Opel’s award-winning IntelliLux LED matrix lighting, first seen in the recently launched Astra, the GT Concept sees the intelligent lighting system’s next stage of development. The design of the lights is completed by the three-dimensional design of the tail lamps.

All-New vauxhall Astra to debut at the 2015 Frankfurt International Auto Show.

Vauxhall’s all-new Brit-built Astra will premiere at the 2015 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt on September 15^th, 2015 at 09:00 at Stand D09 in Hall 8.0. 

Built at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, the new Astra is up to 200kg lighter than the outgoing model and thanks to its clever design it is smaller on the outside and bigger inside.

The powertrain portfolio features petrol and diesel units ranging from 100PS to 200PS, including an all-new 1.4-litre (145PS) ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo, a four-cylinder unit from the same family as the one-litre, three-cylinder engine seen in Corsa, ADAM and VIVA.

Equipped with OnStar, the first all-new Vauxhall to feature this technology; this includes high-speed 4G LTE mobile network, emergency response notification and stolen vehicle recovery technology. 

It is also one of the first vehicles from a mainstream manufacturer to get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, available through a new version of the IntelliLink infotainment system.

"The all-new Brit-built Astra raises the bar in terms of quality, design and connectivity," said Tim Tozer, Vauxhall's Chairman and Managing Director. "Lighter than ever before, with new powertrains and cutting-edge technology including OnStar, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technology, the new Astra looks set to shake up the C-segment when it arrives in showrooms this autumn."