Thorney Motorsport Vauxhall Astra VXR-S And VXR-R

Thorney Motorsport have a long history of tuning Vauxhalls, and now they unveil their latest work – the Vauxhall Astra VXR-S and Astra VXR-R.

Launched at the same time as a new Corsa VXR-R and VXR-S, the modified cars feature various upgrades to squeeze even more performance out of the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. The new models have been built to celebrate a successful season’s racing in the Dunlop SportMaxx Championship and they are based on the championship winning race cars. According to Thorney Motorsport’s press release the VXR-S and VXR-R have been “developed in competition with astounding results these are a complete another level from the road cars they are based on”. OK, the grammar isn’t great but you get the idea.

The range works as follows – the VXR-S is the ‘sport’ version and the VXR-R the more hardcore ‘racing’ version. Starting off with the Astra VXR-S you get a fast road braking setup courtesy of upgraded pads front and rear. The handling is improved thanks to uprated springs that allow the car to sit 30mm lower, and new TMS 18-inch lightweight alloys are attached, wrapped in sticky 225/40YR18 Dunlop SportMaxx Tyres. Power on the VXR-S is up by 15% over the standard VXR thanks to a Milltek race exhaust (with unique black tipped exhaust tailpipe) and Thorney Motorsport’s own Stage 2 engine remap.

If the VXR-S sounds a bit soft you might be interested in the Astra VXR-R. Enhancements include more race-derived components, 20% more power and a limited slip differential. The chassis features race suspension with uprated springs and dampers and a 40mm lower ride height. A limited-slip differential is also fitted to improve traction and cornering performance. The brakes are upgraded with 4-piston racing callipers and uprated pads all round.

The engine on the VXR-R pumps out a handy 300bhp and 340lb.ft. This is achieved with the same Milltek Sport exhaust as on the VXR-S, but in addition there is a new front-mounted intercooler and Thorney’s own Stage 3 engine remap. The lightweight 18-inch wheels are carried over to the VXR-R but this time are wrapped by Dunlop SportMaxx Ultra Performance tyres.

The VXR-S can be spotted by the red lip on the alloys while the VXR-R gets a green lip around the alloys. Both cars feature special badges, a numbered plaque and ownership certificate, and with only 25 of each car being built they will be a very rare site on the road.