The Opel Speedster And Vauxhall VX220 Are Featherweight Sports Cars Worth Waiting Another Year For: GM Hit Or Miss

The 2000s were a weird time for GM performance cars. The Camaro and Firebird were going away, Bob Lutz was preparing an SS version of every Chevrolet from the Malibu to the Silverado, Cadillac decided to start chasing BMW, and Pontiac tried out a reverse-staggered tire setup to counteract the waywardness of a transverse V8. Over in Europe, things were even more nuts. While European Corvette sales happened in limited numbers, General Motors showrooms over there had arguably even more want-one hardware on offer. The Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 are arguably two of the most exciting GM products of the 2000s, even if they weren’t entirely made by GM.

See, General Motors has quite the history with Lotus. From buying the brand in October 1986 to tapping its expertise to develop the infamous Lotus Carlton super-sedan and astonishing C4 Corvette ZR-1, GM knew that Lotus meant performance. At the same time, GM had that big carmaker expertise for passing pesky regulatory requirements, and a plan was set in place to give Opel and Vauxhall showrooms a dose of speed while offering Lotus the opportunity to further develop its lightweight aluminum platform.

It’s common conjecture that the Opel Speedster and its British twin, the Vauxhall VX220, are basically Lotus Elises, but that’s only half-right. See, Motor Trend reported that out of the 2,000 parts that make up an Opel Speedster, only 140 were shared with the original Elise. Sure, the extruded and bonded aluminum construction is similar to that of the Elise, but a 1.1-inch wheelbase stretch is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changes.

The Speedster gained an airbag and anti-lock brakes, five-lug hubs and rear discs from a Saab 9-3, entirely new baby supercar coachwork with stacked exhaust tips and jewel-like lighting. The dashboard was new, the tires were new, the suspension tuning was unique, and while many of the Speedster’s changes were adopted by the series 2 Elise, compared to the original Elise, it may as well have been from a different planet.

However, the biggest difference is what came under the engine cover. While early Elise models came with the Rover K-series engine, not to be confused with the Honda K-series engine, that wasn’t exactly the most reliable motor in the world. In contrast, standard Opel Speedsters featured the 147-horsepower 2.2-liter Ecotec naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine from an Opel Astra, an engine that America got under the hood of the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac Sunfire, Oldsmobile Alero, Saturn Vue, and a litany of other extraordinarily common GM models. This means that not only are engine parts absurdly cheap, you can get them from your local auto parts store no problem. Cheap oil filters, cheap spark plugs, the works. The Opel Speedster may look and feel exotic, but as far as regular maintenance goes, much of it is no more expensive than it would be on a Mazda Miata.

Oh, and even though 147 horsepower isn’t the largest figure in the world, the Opel Speedster weighed in at just 1,918 pounds. That’s 456 pounds less than a new Mazda MX-5. Plus, 90 percent of peak torque was available from just 1,900 rpm, peaking at 150 lb.-ft. at 4,000 rpm. As such, Car Magazine reports that the Speedster/VX220 ran from zero-to-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and was a seriously thrilling machine when the pace increased, writing:

It was also thrilling and rewarding in equal measure to punt hard and fast. That larger and wider chassis made it stable (except when on a circuit basking under Spanish summer sun, obviously); the unassisted steering was precise, accurate and feelsome; the ride quality possessed that magic Lotus quality that allowed the Vauxhall to breathe over the road; and the brakes were well up to dealing with the pace dished up by the torquey Ecotec engine. Even the slightly sloppy long-throw gearshift quality couldn’t detract from the car’s all-round brilliance. And it looked superb. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I loved the VX’s chiselled and edgy looks. It was a dramatic car in every sense. And it was, without doubt, a significantly better car than a contemporary Elise.

Yep, substantial re-engineering and a GM heart built a better Lotus, and the program didn’t stop there. For 2004, the Speedster and VX220 were given a big dose of extra shove thanks to a Turbo model. Out came the 2.2-liter Ecotec engine and in went the Z20LET engine from an Opel Astra OPC. We’re talking about a two-liter turbocharged four-banger with 197 horsepower and 197 lb.-ft. of torque, good enough to drop the zero-to-60 mph time down to four seconds and offer a top speed of 150 mph. Guess what? People loved it even more.

When the Speedster Turbo and VX220 Turbo launched, the media adored it. As Jeremy Clarkson said in a period comparison against the TVR T350C, “It’s an epic trackday car but it works well on an everyday basis as well, and it’s a convertible, and the word Vauxhall doesn’t appear on it anywhere.” Surprisingly, the VX220 Turbo won that comparison test, with Clarkson concluding, “This manages to be fun without being frightening. It creates a grin so enormous, it splits your face clean in half. This is my winner.”

Of course, with the extra power, you really had to treat the chassis with respect as although it was reportedly a sweetheart to those who love a neutral chassis setup, it still wasn’t a car for the inexperienced. As AutoExpress wrote:

But the turbo has the ability to kick the tail out if you plant the throttle to the floor, and it can catch out the inexperienced – just ask the six journalists on the launch who brought their test cars back in several pieces on tow trucks.

Six! And we aren’t talking about anyone who could plunk down a deposit, we’re talking about journalists with seat time in a variety of cars. Then again, I’ve seen a few things on press launches, and excessive heroics are a known thing in the industry, so who knows? We’re talking about a real-deal sports car, and while a production run of 7,207 cars may seem low, for something this extreme, that counts as sales success.

These days, the Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 remain a bit of a bargain, just like they were when they were new. It’s not difficult to find Vauxhall examples in the £10,000 to £18,000 range, while driver-spec left-hand-drive Opel Speedsters start at around €17,000 and go up to €27,000. Considering what a Lotus Elise goes for in North America, I’d call that a damn good deal for two whole handfuls of sports car.

Was the Opel Speedster and its Vauxhall VX220 twin a hit? Oh god yes. We’re looking at some of the best sports cars of the new millennium, and they happened to be sold through GM dealerships — just not on this side of the pond. Sure, Canadians have been able to enjoy them for nearly a decade now, but America’s going to have to hold out a touch longer.

Production officially started in July of 2000, meaning that at the minimum, Americans will have to wait a year to import an early Opel Speedster or Vauxhall VX220. However, it’s worth the wait. This brilliant anomaly is a car America should’ve got, and an absolute smash-hit.

(Photo credits: Opel, Vauxhall)

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