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Vauhall Astra VXR (OPC) Races Against Classic Astra GTE and Wins

If there's one thing we like to start our week with, it's a drag race between old cars and new ones. This time, we're in Vauxhall Astra land, as the outgoing model's hot incarnation decided to take on the grandpa unit. The test is irrelevant because production will end soon, but it's still nice to watch.
Outgoing Astra VXR (OPC) Races Against Classic Astra GTE and Wins 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Even though the newer model is much heavier, the fact that it uses a powerful turbocharged 2-liter engine gives it a clear advantage. That's why the guys at Auto Express give the 1983 Astra GTE one second of lead for every decade that separates them.

Despite this, modern technology triumphs over the old timer. Should we be surprised?

Let's look at the numbers and find out. This generation of Astra VXR has been in production since 2012. It's based on the GTC coupe and drops all the regular engines for the 2-liter turbo of your dreams. Two years before the SEAT Leon Cupra came out, this car came with 280 PS and an impressive 400 Nm of torque (295 lb-ft).

Not surprisingly, the 0 to 100 km/h sprint is dealt with in a mere 5.9 seconds. That's without a twin-clutch gearbox, AWD or any launch-control shenanigans.

The first Opel Astra model rolled off the assembly line in Bochum back in August 1979. Back then, many of our readers weren't even born. The hot GTE model followed in 1983 and featured a 1.8-liter engine with fuel injection, which was a big deal at the time. Competitors included the Ford Escort XR3 and the Golf GTI.

Two years ago, Auto Express did a similar drag race between a slightly newer 1987 MkII Vauxhall Astra GTE and a 2013 Astra Sport Tourer with 165 horsepower. We knew you'd want to watch that too, so we featured it below.

On the mechanical side, the 2012-2015 Astra VXR comes with a specially designed mechanical limited slip differential for the front wheels, the sophisticated HiPerStrut suspension, Brembo brakes, FlexRide damping system, three ESP modes (fully on, competitive and off), optimized exhaust focused on reducing back pressure, reengineered intake and more. It's the one you'd take home.

[YOUTBE=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-P1K7RZqLA]

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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