A modern classic muscle car, loved by a PHer for 15 years and still just 50,000 miles old...
It can be hard to remember how enthusiast-focused Vauxhall was around the turn of the century. Yes, it was a reasonably long time ago, but the change in attitude has been pretty stark. Here, after all, was a manufacturer winning touring car title after touring car title, helping out little Lotus and creating its own brilliant roadster in the process, plus making mad hot hatches to go alongside. Vauxhall could always be counted on to do something fun. Now not so much - not at all, really.
The crowning glory of that early 2000s golden era was arguably the Monaro. So successful was Vauxhall’s importation of the Holden coupe that the UK ended up with Aussie V8s on sale for well over a decade: the four-door VXR8 took the place of the coupe in 2008, and remained on sale across two generations until 2017.
The Monaro kicked off the revolution in 2004, offering a 5.7-litre V8 and 330hp for £30k. Persuasive, right? This black example will have been one of the very first in the country, registered in Essex in June 2004. What a sight it must have made among the Corsas, Astras and Vectras. What a time it was, too, for relatively affordable, interesting fast cars: the Impreza and Evo, the Clio V6, the Nissan 350Z and BMW Z4 Coupe would all have been similar money.
Furthermore, while Monaros were never renowned for their ambience and perceived quality, this one has stood up to 20 years of use well. Inside and out looks good without being so perfect you’d be scared to use it; some effort expended on a bit of polishing would work wonders. They’re fundamentally quite simple old beasts, too, so running a Monaro shouldn’t be disastrously expensive. This one would probably benefit from a service and freshening up for 2024, given its last service was in 2020.
Perhaps best of all, Monaros remain affordable, just like they always were. As some interesting cars of the era have skyrocketed in value , so the Monaro has only crept up:
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