1983 Vauxhall Chevette - 'The Vader'

If you’re reading this listing it’s highly likely that you are the sort of person who nods appreciatively at a passing classic, regardless of the badge, because, above all, we are enthusiasts. We all remember the first car that made us smile, perhaps your dad’s car or maybe a shiny MG or Austin Healey that passed you every morning whilst standing at the bus stop as a fourteen-year old on the way to school.

The remarkable motor car on offer here owes its very existence to that level of nostalgia, generated from a fifteen-year-old’s first experience of going fast in a road-rally prepared Chevette back in the day. With later success, came the sports cars that one expects to see in an enthusiast’s garage, and yet that memory lingered, could that first experience be recreated? With a healthy budget and some firm ideas, that formative memory grew into a compulsion to create something very special. 

No ordinary undertaking, and with only a handful of specialist workshops with proven experience of combining precision engineering and design flair, the talented team at Retropower Ltd., of Leicestershire were duly commissioned. Not many workshops would be brave enough to ‘resto-mod’ a car for, Gordon Murray, one of the world’s leading automotive designers, however, they had been tasked with that project and he was delighted, declaring his Mk1 Escort “A masterpiece of functionality and classic understatement…the car is more than I’d ever hoped for.”

However, understatement, was clearly missing in the brief for ‘Project Vader’ and the photographic record of the 18-month transformation of a rather tired hatch-backed, 1983 Vauxhall Chevette L in faded Yellow to the spectacular one-off motorcar we see today is breathtaking. The Chevette HSR enjoyed much success in Group 4 rallying in the past and its distinctive looks with a wide rear end tapering to a slightly narrower front was much admired, however, Project Vader was never intended to be some half-baked rally homage, but a new car, with performance to match its looks.

The record of works is exhaustive, and we’ll therefore highlight the key points that make this car unlike any other. Happily, motoring journalist Jonny Smith interviewed Callum Seviour of Retropower about the build and Jonny’s subsequent road test is a joy to watch on his YouTube channel, The Late Brake Show.

Taken back to its bare shell which was then braced the gearbox and axle tunnels were enlarged to house the upgraded mechanicals whilst the car was fitted with a triangulated cage, and the extra-wide GRP body-kit was extensively refinished for the perfect fit. One of Paul Exon’s highly rated C20XE Redtop engine, rated at 265bhp at the flywheel, was then mated to a Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox. The interior speaks for itself; the carbon fibre trim, push button controls and digital display has more than a hint of Knightrider. The attention to detail is exquisite, from the raised Vader badge at he rear to the subtly re-finished period Vauxhall emblem on the bonnet. 

The odometer currently reads some 42,000 miles which is largely immaterial in what is essentially a new car. The project took 18-months with an investment of close to £200,000 and the spectacular result is unquestionably unique in the proper sense of the word.

Further technical and specification to follow.