2008 Vauxhall Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition review and pictures

Vauxhall Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition review:

The car for when even an Astra VXR isn`t VXR enough...

Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition, on sale now

Remus Sports exhaust provided as standard

Exclusive white paint, embossed leather seats and graphics

Priced at £21,295 on-the-road

There are plenty of hot hatches on the market, but it`s the Astra VXR that`s the undisputed Ring leader...

And to prove it, Vauxhall has pulled the wraps off the Nurburgring edition, named after the car`s spiritual home, where much of its pre-production development was carried out.

Based on the standard Astra VXR and priced at £21,295, each individually numbered Nurburgring edition will come with an exclusive all-white paint finish and lightweight white 18-inch alloy wheels, equipped with bespoke Dunlop tyres, are also specified. Other exterior features include dark tinted windows, carbon fibre effect mirrors and B-Pillars and distinctive chequered flag body graphics, to further emphasise the car`s incredible performance.

Mechanically similar to the standard VXR, the Nurburgring Edition produces 240PS in factory tune, giving it the ability to accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph. Each UK-specification car will also come provided with a Remus Sports Exhaust, developed with Vauxhall`s BTCC race team, Triple-Eight Race Engineering, which provides a power increase of up to 15PS.

Like the standard car, the Nurburgring Edition benefits from a six-speed manual gearbox and lowered, uprated VXR suspension with ESP as standard. But its dynamics are enhanced still further with the wider front and rear tracks and lower un-sprung weight offered by the new alloy wheels. Ventilated 321mm diameter disc brakes at the front and 278mm diameter discs at the back help slow things down, while blue-painted callipers remain a VXR trademark.

The Nurburgring Edition theme continues inside, with carbon fibre detailing on the door trims and fascia, bespoke leather seats with the Nurburgring circuit graphic embossed into the Recaro front seat backrests and an individually numbered plaque showing each car`s build number.

Optional extras include electronic climate control (£275), cruise control (£200), electric foldable door mirrors (£125) and adaptive forward lighting (£750).

In fact, the only thing it doesn`t come with is one of those Nurburgring bootlid stickers you can buy when you do a lap of the circuit. Such a shame, as it means you`ll have to drive it there and buy one yourself.