The name ‘Monaro’ may not mean much to many Brits, but in Australia, it holds similar sentimental connotations as ‘Capri’, ‘Mustang’ and ‘Charger’ – i.e., an affordable, unpretentious, uncomplicated way to go pretty damn quickly. General Motors’ Aussie branch, Holden, dusted off the badge again a few years back for a new rear-wheel-drive coupe based on its Commodore hot-rod saloon, fitted a Chevy-sourced 5.7-litre V8 (329bhp, also used in the last-series Corvette) and counted the cash as it hit the spot with blokes across the southern hemisphere. Yes, make no mistake: the Monaro is most definitely a bloke’s car… Click here to read more.. »
Scribbled on November 8th 2008 in
Vauxhall,
Vauxhall Monaro
The Monaro was also sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Monaro where it won Top Gear’s best muscle car award.
To the delight of British motorists, Vauxhall offered the Monaro buyer a special treat prior to the discontinuation of the model: the VXR 500. A Harrop supercharger was installed onto the standard GM 6.0 LS2 engine by Vauxhall dealer Greens of Rainham in conjunction with tuning firm Wortec, bumping up power to 500 bhp (373 kW) and bumping up torque as well to 500 lbf·ft (677 N·m). In addition to this, a shorter gear linkage was added to enable quicker shifts. The resultant acceleration times were impressive at 4.8 seconds from rest to 62 mph (100 km/h). Click here to read more.. »
Scribbled on October 12th 2008 in
Vauxhall,
Vauxhall Monaro