Vauxhall Chevette

2/3/4-door 5-Seater Saloon/Hatchback/Estate/Van

F/R

1300/2400

The Chevette was designed to fit into the Vauxhall range below the Viva, and was initially presented as a hatchback, a style that soared in popularity during the 1970s. The Chevette was the first British-built hatchback of this size, with Ford not responding with a similar product until the following year. From 1975 until 1978, the Chevette was, in fact, the UK's best selling hatchback as UK branded rivals failed to respond to the challenge of the Renault 5 until the arrival of Ford's Fiesta at the end of 1976.  It was launched in the UK using Vauxhall's slogan and musical 'jingle': "It's whatever you want it to be! - A sporty coupe, a family saloon, a handy estate...". See Link to Youtube Video below. The early dealer 15 minute promotional film featured Rodney Bewes, of the TV series the Likely Lads was also made. Does a copy still exist?  This longevity led to the Chevette being exported to Germany after 1979, when the comparable Opel Kadett City had ceased production; it provided an unusual small car in that it still had rear wheel drive. By this time, it was the only Vauxhall to be sold in continental Europe, while the Chevette also held this dubious distinction in markets like Mauritius and New Zealand; and none have been exported since. Although the Chevette was largely a rebadged Opel Kadett C with revised front-end (detailed below), it did use the 1256 cc overhead valve (OHV) engine of the Viva instead of the Kadett's units, which were produced by Opel. The Kadett's double wishbone front suspension, rear-wheel drive and rear suspension with Panhard rod, torque tube and coil sprung live axle were carried over unaltered. Inside, the two cars differed only in terms of their dashboard and switchgear: the Chevette stuck to the British & Japanese right-hand drive tradition of having the indicator switch on the right-hand side of the steering column, while the Kadett had the mainland European left-hand drive custom of the flasher stalk being on the left. The Chevette also had a much more angular instrument binnacle, although the instrumentation within was similar (though in imperial rather than metric measurements).

The Chevette's front end featured a more aerodynamic-looking nose treatment than the Kadett, based loosely on the design of the "droopsnoot" Firenza. In contrast the Kadett had a more conventional flat-fronted design. In 1980, the Chevette underwent a facelift with flush fitting headlights, giving it a "family look" alongside the larger Vauxhall Cavalier. It also received new wheel designs, revised C-pillar vent covers and revamped interior trim with re-designed front seats to increase rear knee room marginally. However, it was effectively the beginning of a phase-out in favour of the newer Astra, Vauxhall's version of the front wheel drive Kadett, which was launched in January 1980.  For Chevette HS and HSR see below.

Trim levels:

Special Editions (Some not all)

Vauxhall Chevette HS/HSR

2-door 4-Seater Hatch

F/R

In 1976, at the instigation of new chairman Bob Price, Vauxhall decided to increase their profile in international rallying. In conjunction with Blydenstein Racing, who ran Dealer Team Vauxhall, the nearest thing to a 'works' competition effort, they developed a rally version of the Chevette.

They created a far more powerful Chevette variant by shoehorning the much larger 2.3 litre Slant Four engine into the shell, using a sixteen valve cylinder head which Vauxhall was developing. Suspension and rear axle were from the Opel Kadett C GT/E, while the gearbox was a Getrag 5-speed. Chevrolet Vega Alloy wheels (similar in appearance to the Avon wheels used on the droopsnoot Firenza) were used, as well as a newly developed glass-reinforced plastic air dam.

The resulting car was extremely fast, with 135 hp (100 kW), and a far cry from the small-engined Chevettes from which it was developed. In order to compete in international rallying, the car had to be homologated; for Group 4, the class the HS was to compete in, this meant building 400 production examples. The result was an incredibly fast and well handling, if rather unrefined, road car. Like the Droopsnoot Firenza, the HS was available only in silver, with red highlighting and a bright red, black and tartan interior; though (partly to help sell unsold vehicles) some cars were repainted black, such the Mamos Garage HS-X.

The HS was a great success as a rally car, clocking up notable wins for drivers such as Tony Pond and Russell Brooks. It advanced the state of the art in world-class rallying quite significantly, and was a challenge to the most successful rally car of all time, the Ford Escort, which had dominated the sport. However, its reign was not to last, as the Audi Quattro soon appeared, raising the stakes once again by introducing four-wheel drive.

To stay competitive, an evolution version, the Chevette HSR, was developed, which held its own for several more years into the early 1980s. Evolution demanded a production run of 10% of the original build incorporating the new modifications; these were made by rebuilding unsold HSs and by modifying customers' vehicles. However, the merger of the Vauxhall and Opel marketing departments had already resulted in Dealer Team Vauxhall and Dealer Opel Team (DOT) joining to form GM Dealer Sport (GMDS); with the Chevette soon to be obsolete, Opel were able to force the cancellation of the HSR rally programme in favour of the Manta 400.