A spokesperson for the Vauxhall brand in the United Kingdom has confirmed that the VXR moniker – and by implication sister marque Opel’s OPC badge – will “survive”, retaining its position above the recently revived GSi nameplate.
Speaking to Carbuyer, the unnamed spokesperson said “we haven’t lost this sporting brand, and it will remain at the forefront of performance motoring in the mainstream”.
The spokesperson added that the high-performance arm of the automaker would “always be a hardcore offering, with a jump in performance as well as very focussed dynamics”.
Interestingly, Vauxhall and Opel will apparently consider ways of upping the performance of future VXR and OPC variants without “six or eight cylinders and a turbocharger or two”, explaining that new models will “need more efficient power sources” to comply with Europe’s ever-tightening emissions regulations. The report speculated that this could come in the form of hybrid powertrains.
In March 2018, Opel took the wraps off its GSi-badged Corsa, a warmed-up model that could be considered something of a swansong for the outgoing generation of the B-segment hatchback.
Now owned by the PSA Group, Opel earlier confirmed that its sixth-generation Corsa would go into production in Zaragoza in 2019, sharing its platform with the Peugeot 208.
