1978 Vauxhall Chevette HS

The Vauxhall Chevette was a great little town car and was deservedly successful - but not what you might call quick. But that was in standard guise. The HS, aimed squarely at motorsport, was something else altogether...

Building a works rally car back in the '70s normally meant squeezing your best engine into a small family car, adding big brakes, suspension tweaks, and different gearboxes and axles, to create an 'homologation special', then trying to sell 400 of them. Ford had the Escort RS, Talbot had the Sunbeam Lotus, Fiat the 131 Abarth and for Vauxhall, it was the Chevette 'HS'.

The 2,279cc slant-four from the HC range, with a new 16-valve head, was shoehorned into the Chevette's tiny engine bay and Vauxhall raided the parts bins, coming up with the axle, brakes and suspension from the Kadett C GT/E, and a 5-speed Getrag gearbox and alloys from the Chevrolet Vega. The aerodynamics were improved with a front air dam and rear spoiler in the 'Droopsnoot' tradition, the paint was Silver and the interior was Tartan. Only 400 of these cars were ever built and as such, they are very rare and very collectable.

"ETU 754S" was initially registered in the UK on 10th February 1978 to its first owner and was subsequently sold in Ireland in 2008. We understand that it underwent a sympathetic restoration in 2010 by the owner previous to our vendor. The car has no modifications, save for the 4-branch exhaust manifold currently fitted.(the original cast iron manifold and down pipe are included in the sale). During the restoration, the steering, Bilstein suspension, and brakes were all attended to, ensuring this Chevette HS performed as it should. The original alloy wheels and the tartan interior remain in fantastic condition throughout.

This car will be supplied with a NOVA reference number and will need to be UK registered upon purchase. These rare Vauxhalls are only going in one direction, so it"s time to get in quick, as energetic hot-hatch sideways fun has never looked so appealing!