Vauxhall Chevette dubbed’ The Vader’ goes on the market for eye-watering price after spectacular £200k revamp
A VAUXHALL Chevette from 1983 is up for grabs with a whopping £70,000 price tag.
The original all-black motor, dubbed The Vader, has undergone a £200,000 restoration and is now a one-of-a-kind.
With 42,000 miles on the clock, the souped-up car has a carbon fibre trim, push-button controls and a digital display.
There is a raised Vader badge at the rear of the car.
It is fitted with an Exon Racing C20XE 285bhp engine mated to a Quaife sequential gearbox.
The car is listed with Arwel Richards at Iconic Auctioneers and it will hit the auction block February 22 at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.
“The remarkable motor car on offer here owes its very existence nostalgia, generated from a fifteen-year-old’s first experience of going fast in a road-rally prepared Chevette back in the day,” states the listing.
“No ordinary undertaking, and with only a handful of specialist workshops with proven experience of combining precision engineering and design flair, the talented team at Retropower Ltd., of Leicestershire were duly commissioned.”
The auctioneers called the 18-month transformation of the hatch-back Vauxhall Chevette “breathtaking”.
The car was originally a faded yellow, according to the sellers.
Iconic Auctioneers continued: “The Chevette HSR enjoyed much success in Group 4 rallying in the past and its distinctive looks with a wide rear end tapering to a slightly narrower front was much admired.
“Project Vader was never intended to be some half-baked rally homage, but a new car, with performance to match its looks,” they added.
The amount of work done to the vintage motor was described as “exhaustive”.
It was stripped back to a shell and the gearbox and axel tunnels were enlarged to fit the upgraded interior kit.
The car was then fitted with a triangulated cage and an extra-wide GRP body-kit was refinished for the “perfect fit”.
“One of Paul Exon’s highly rated C20XE Redtop engine, rated at 265bhp at the flywheel, was then mated to a Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox,” the auctioneers continued.
“The interior speaks for itself; the carbon fibre trim, push button controls and digital display has more than a hint of Knightrider.
“The attention to detail is exquisite, from the raised Vader badge at he rear to the subtly re-finished period Vauxhall emblem on the bonnet.”
According to the sellers, the project saw a whopping £200,000 pumped into the car to ensure it was “unquestionably unique”.