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Lovely, low mileage, unmodified VX220 Comprehensive history file Suspension rebuilt with ‘Elise Parts’ kit Pure and rewarding driver’s car Cherished registration included

Overview It’s hardly a name synonymous with sports cars, but Vauxhall needed an injection of pizazz at exactly the same time as Lotus desperately needed some money. As a result, the VX220’s story goes a little like this: with the first-generation Elise about to be sidelined by crash safety legislation, Lotus didn’t have the funds to re-engineer the car to stay in production.

It was new crash legislation that was the problem, and while Lotus had the engineering expertise to get around it, its piggy bank was empty. An empty piggy bank was often overlooked by General Motors (some would argue a closer eye may have done it a few favours, but if it led to cars like the VX220, we don’t care).

A deal was brokered between GM’s UK engineering team and the gu...