Not everyone can afford a highly powerful sports sedan like the BMW M5 or Mercedes E63 AMG, the modern day equivalent of muscle cars. But fortunately there are other options that satisfy the requirement of a four-door sedan with a massive engine, depending on where you live.
If you live in Canada, you can’t get any of these cars I’m about to mention. In Australia, the car is called the Holden Commodore SS V, in the United States you can buy it as the Chevrolet SS, and in the United Kingdom, as a Vauxhall VXR8 GTS.
The Vauxhall VXR8 GTS is the most powerful of the three, with the supercharged LSA V8 engine from the new Camaro ZL1. The engine is a 6.2 liter V8, producing 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual or optional automatic transmission. This powerful sedan reaches the 60 miles per hour mark in only 4.2 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
For stopping power, the VXR8 GTS is equipped with ventilated 390 mm discs with forged 6-piston calipers at the front and ventilated 372 mm discs with forged 4-piston calipers at the rear. The car rides on a performance suspension and comes with ESC, EBA, TCS, and Torque Vectoring.
The exterior styling is quite aggressive and you’ll definitely know this is no stock family sedan. The front features a large central air intake with a pair of smaller intakes on the sides. The rear features a diffuser with a pair of dual exhaust tips and a spoiler. The car rides on 20” wheels with sticky ContiSportContact 5P tires. The interior is pretty standard with the addition of a pair of highly bolstered front sports seats.
The Vauxhall VXR8 GTS has a starting price of £54,999 (or about $92,500 US at today’s exchange rate); this can be made more bearable with Vauxhall car leasing. The price probably does seem expensive to our North American readers, but remember, vehicles in Europe are more expensive; for example, the BMW M5 has a starting price of £73,505 ($123,500 ) in the United Kingdom. Via: Vauxhall
Hi, great article by the way. One thing, in Australia it is called the HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) Clubsport; which come in Clubsport R8 and GTS variants. The closest variant to the Vauxhall VXR8 you posted is the (highest spec) HSV GTS. Over the years it’s become the epitome of V8 muscle cars in Australia. Oh and it is proudly designed and built here too.