Aimed squarely at the car enthusiast, the Monaro VXR is the perfect antidote to the computer game-like electronically controlled dynamics of modern performance cars. Everyone will be impressed by its stunning good looks, while petrolheads will be hypnotised by its sheer power and ability.

In its limited market place, nothing else can offer Vauxhall Monaro VXR's combination of sheer power and metal for the money. In terms of coupes, the Jaguar XKR also offers a 400bhp V8 (albeit a supercharged 4.2 versus the Monaro's 6.0-litre) but costs a massive UKP 23,000 more. The 362bhp Mercedes CLK 55 AMG is a fraction cheaper at UKP 58,960, and the BMW M3 gets closer still on price (at UKP 41,150) but can only offer 343bhp. Even Mitsubishi's highly-tuned, 2-litre, 4-cylinder Lancer EVO FQ400 costs a massive UKP 46,999, and TVR's 390bhp Tuscan S is a surprisingly pricey UKP 48,800.

This combination of value and performance meant that the outgoing Vauxhall Monaro VXR was a sell-out success, with all the production run of 50 cars being snapped up within three months of going on sale. This led to some disappointed buyers, so Vauxhall is increasing the number of new VXRs which will be brought in to 300 over the next 18 months.

Although this will mean that more drivers get to experience the brute force of the flagship VXR, it will still be a rare and exclusive beast, especially compared to some rivals. Expected to find particular favour with affluent, 30-something, car-aware men, Vauxhall Monaro VXR has enormous power, drivability and presence but will easily seat four adults in comfort. So, as well as being a terrifically good drive - thanks in no small way to its 6.0-litre V8 engine and RWD set-up - it's also extremely practical.

The perfect choice for grown-ups who haven't quite grown up, Monaro offers the very best of all worlds. It can be a well-set-up head turner with an unstressed V8 providing effortless performance, or a track day tool which will play to win with supercars, and provide plenty of sideways handling action on demand.


Vauxhall Monaro VXR - History

- Original Holden Monaro debuted in 1968
- The first all-Australian sports car
- A benchmark design

Set against a backdrop of 2001: A Space Odyssey and to a soundtrack of Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix, the original Holden Monaro roared on to the scene in 1968. Achingly cool, Monaro was the first ever sports car to be built entirely in Australia for the Australian market.

The product of a nascent Holden design studio, Monaro was influenced directly by the trends of America. Not surprisingly it was semi-modelled on an American design, the Oldsmobile Toronado coupe - itself a hugely influential car. Monaro took its roofline, rear pillars and rear wheel arch blisters from the spectacular Toronado, mixed them with Holden's own design cues and worked it all into a spectacular coupe, designed for the maximum 'wow' factor.

Looking and feeling like the muscle cars on which it was based, the 1968 Monaro featured a wide, gaping grille, leading into broad, powerful flanks. At the back there was an almost constant slope from its rear window to its boot lid. Sleek and suave, Monaro was the epitome of cool.

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