Vauxhall Firenza

Vauxhall Firenza ca 1970

The Firenza was a model of car produced by Vauxhall Motors between 1970 and 1975. It was a development of the Viva, but had a distinctive coupé body style (fastback) and only two doors.

The initial Firenza was available in a base model 1159 cc overhead valve and two models with overhead camshaft, in 1598 cc and 1975 cc variants. The latter was the same engine as used in the earlier Viva GT. In 1972, the engine capacities were enlarged to 1256 cc, 1798 cc and 2279 cc respectively. All models had a front mounted four cylinder engine driving the rear wheels. Suspension was double wishbone and coilsprings at the front, and a live rear axle with trailing arms and coils at the rear. The SL model in each engine size carried the highest level of trim.

The model changes in early 1972 included the introduction of a top-of-the-line 2300 Sport SL model (introduced at the Geneva Motor Show), using the 2279 cc engine. The 2300 Sport SL was the only version to feature the seven dial dash (speedometer, clock, RPM, fuel, oil pressure, water temp, & battery charge). The engine was an inclined four cylinder with single overhead camshaft and twin Stromberg carburettors, producing 122 BHP. The oversquare straight four engine was renowned for its big torque curve, making the car very flexible and easy to drive. The interior was equipped with bucket seats, front and back, to carry four persons. The centre console with heater controls and warning lights was quite distinctive and luxurious for the time.

The 2300 Sport SL was raced in by the Dealer Team Vauxhall, following their successes with the Viva GT. In Castrol colours, these cars enjoyed some successes.

Droopsnoot Firenza

Firenza "Droopsnoot", standard road-going version

In 1973, Vauxhall acknowledged that their rather dull model range needed a makeover, and developed a radical version of the Firenza, known officially as the High Performance (HP) Firenza, but known colloquially as the "droopsnoot" after its dramatically styled aerodynamic nose. The nose was moulded from GRP, and featured two pairs of Cibié headlamps behind toughened glass covers. The overall look was somewhat reminiscent of the Renault Alpine A310, and used the same headlamp units.

HPF in side view shows off coupé bodyshell style

At that time, the original flat-fronted Firenza model was rebadged as the Magnum coupé, and the name Firenza was used exclusively for the HP version. This car was an exciting styling departure for Vauxhall, and certainly created something of a buzz. The engine was the 2.3 litre variant of the OHC Slant Four engine, uprated to a very torquey Template:Auto bhp using a variety of parts developed by Blydenstein racing. It had twin 175 Stromberg carburettors, high-lift camshaft and free-flow tubular exhaust manifold. The car was styled by American designer Wayne Cherry and the result was an exceptionally low drag coefficient for its time. Suspension was uprated and lowered, brakes uprated, and a 5-speed ZF dog leg gearbox was installed, a much stronger unit than fitted to the standard model (though rather noisy). Another unusual and unique feature of the car was the alloy Avon Safety Wheels, which were designed to retain the tyre safely in the event of a puncture. This was the first car to use these wheels in production. All production cars were painted in the same colour - Silver Starfire, and featured a largely black interior with silver-grey cloth seats. An unusual interior feature of dubious utility was the passenger grab handle on the dash in place of the standard glovebox.

The car was a design triumph for Vauxhall, but a marketing failure. The car was launched to much publicity in a special one-off race at Thruxton circuit in Hampshire, with top drivers of the day taking part including Gerry Marshall and Barry "Whizzo" Williams, who won the race. However, the fuel crisis of the time meant that suddenly it became very hard to sell gas-guzzling cars like this (even though the aerodynamics increased fuel economy greatly, reducing the power needed to attain its top speed by some 30 hp), and coupled with some production line difficulties in actually building the car meant that sales and delivery were slow, and eventually just 204 examples were built, far short of the 30,000 projected. This very low volume was obviously a disaster for Vauxhall, but ironically it has led to the car becoming a very collectible classic, thus ensuring its survival—some of the much more common production cars produced alongside it can be now harder to find. A celebrity owner of a droopsnoot Firenza was footballer Luther Blissett.

File:Oldnail.jpg

Gerry Marshall in "Old Nail", a racing version of the HPF

The Firenza was also very successful in saloon car racing in the 1970s, especially in its Old Nail and Baby Bertha versions, piloted to great effect by Gerry Marshall.

Despite the low production run, the aerodynamic qualities and styling of the "droopsnoot" were incorporated, with improved productionisation, into most of Vauxhall's remaining 1970s new models: the Chevette, Cavalier and Carlton. The Firenza can be seen as a styling prototype for these models. Its influence can be judged from the fact that Ford adopted a very similar look for its Mk II RS2000 Escort and the 1982 Ford Sierra, which in turn were widely copied throughout the 1980s by others. For this reason, the HPF looks far less dated than many of its contemporaries.

Performance

• Top Speed: 120 mph (190 km/h)
• 0-60 mph: 8 seconds
• Economy: 25 miles per gallon

Comparable Contemporaries

• Ford Capri
• Ford Escort RS2000
• Triumph Dolomite Sprint
• Rover SD1
• Hillman Avenger Tiger

External links

• The Vauxhall Viva Owner's Club (Owner's Club catering for all Viva models)
• DroopSnoot Group (Owners' Club catering for Vauxhall's 'droopsnoot' model cars, including the Firenza, Magnum and Chevette HS/R)
• Vauxhall Heritage (Suppliers of Heritage Vauxhall Spare Parts, closing down soon, apparently)
• VBOA (Vauxhall, Bedford and Opel Association)
• Viva Outlaws (Owners Club catering for modified and racing Vivas, owners of the Viva GT Register)
• Viva Drivers Club (Owners Club catering for all Viva models, for owners who wish to drive their Vivas)