Vauxhall XVR.
Seen flying around a test track is the shapely 2 seater XVR experimental sports car from Vauxhall.
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The only note that comes with this photo is shown in the picture above:
"XVR, Vauxhall's experimental two-seater coupe, seen here showing its paces, has been undergoing track development at the company's Research and Test centre since its first appearance at Geneva earlier this year. Vauxhall Motors Ltd. Issued October 1966."
What a shame that this swoopy coupe didn't get produced - for a company that was building sober-suited cars like the HA Viva and Victor, this would have been a real departure. Interestingly it has a split windscreen, acting as the hinge point for the gullwing doors. Glazing such a wrap-around style of screen may also have been an issue given that it wraps right around down the side of the car. The 'clap hand' wiper arrangement would also have been an unusual thing to see on a late 60s car.
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Where is HXD 929D now? did it get cut up, as happens to so many prototype cars, or did it escape the chop to survive in a collection of old Vauxhalls somewhere? I remember reading something about the XVR quite recently, so I think it is still around. If anyone has more photos of this amazing old Vauxhall, I'd be interested to see them.
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A photo of the Vauxhall XVR at rest.
Toby got in touch in April 2011, following my request for more photographs of the XVR. He kindly sent over a scan of another press photograph, one that shows the Vauxhall at rest. Is it the same car though? Apparently three were built. The car in the photo shown below isn't road registered, and sports a set of Goodyear tyres. The main difference though is with the wiper mechanism. The wiper spindles fitted to the car in my photo are placed to the outside of the screen, while in Toby's photo the spindles are near the dividing split in the screen.
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