Vauxhall Astra
Vauxhall's first front-wheel drive model, launched in 1980.
The Vauxhall Astra is a C-segment compact car that Vauxhall has been selling since 1980. Across eight generations, various GM, Opel, and Stellantis factories around Europe have built it, but the majority have come from Vauxhall’s own plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK. The Astra name first appeared on a Vauxhall-badged version of the first front-wheel-drive Opel Kadett, the Kadett D launched in 1979. This car went on sale in March 1980, taking over from the Vauxhall Viva in Britain.
For its first two generations, the Astra nameplate was used only on right-hand-drive versions of the Opel Kadett sold in the UK. From 1991 onward, Opel itself adopted the Astra name for its B/C-platform cars. General Motors’ Saturn division in the United States also sold a Belgian-built Astra as a captive import from late 2007 until Saturn was shut down after GM’s 2010 bankruptcy.
The first-generation Astra (1980–1984) was Vauxhall’s first front-wheel-drive model. Vauxhall had originally planned restyled Kadett D versions with its trademark “droopsnoot” nose and a conventional three-box saloon to directly replace the Viva, but budget cuts forced GM to cancel those projects. So the Astra differed from its Opel sister only in badging and trim—a pattern that continued for all future Vauxhall models. Initially, both the Kadett and Astra were sold in Britain through separate dealer networks with overlapping lineups that competed directly. Vauxhall tried to reduce the overlap by offering the Astra in fewer trim, engine, and body combinations than the Kadett, partly because until 1981 both cars came solely from Opel’s Bochum plant; UK production at Ellesmere Port began on 16 November 1981. By 1982, GM began merging the Vauxhall and Opel dealer networks, limiting the Opel Kadett range to the well-equipped five-door Berlina (1.3S or 1.6S) and the sporty 1.6 SR, leaving most of the market to the Astra. As dealership consolidation finished, Opel-badged versions were phased out entirely.
Production of the Opel Kadett D started at Bochum in August 1979, with British deliveries beginning in November 1979, four months before the Vauxhall-badged Astra launched. The previous Kadett C effectively lived on as the Vauxhall Chevette, which stayed on sale partly to keep Ellesmere Port running until Astra production began and to offer a choice for customers wary of front-wheel drive.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Vauxhall Motors Limited (Stellantis)
- Production
- 1980–present
- Assembly
- Bochum, Germany / Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom / Gliwice, Poland / Rüsselsheim, Germany
- Layout
- Front-engine, front-wheel drive
- Class
- Small family car (C)
- Predecessor
- Vauxhall Viva / Vauxhall Chevette
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The first-generation Astra (1980–1984) was Vauxhall's first model to have front wheel drive. Initially, Vauxhall had worked on restyled versions of the Kadett D which would have featured the company's trademark 'droopsnoot', as well as a conventional three-box saloon version that would have directly replaced the Viva, however budget constraints meant that General Motors cancelled their development, and the Astra was released differing only from its Opel sister car in badging and trim. Confusingly, in the British market both the Kadett and the Astra were sold through separate marketing operations, with overlapping lineups that competed directly with each other. By 1982 this anomaly had been sorted out as GM had begun to merge the previously separate Vauxhall and Opel dealer networks. The overhead-camshaft engine was a huge leap forward from the earlier generation of small engines used in Vauxhall and Opel cars in terms of power, economy and refinement. It was initially available in 1300 and 1600 forms, and later an 1800 fuel-injected version was added, used in the Mk 1 Astra GTE model, introduced in 1983. There was also a van version badged as the Bedford Astra Van, presented in October 1982.
The second-generation Astra (1984–1993) used the same range of engines and running gear as the Mark 1, but with a completely restyled body with better aerodynamics. It was voted 1985 European Car of the Year. The saloon was launched in January 1986 and sold as the Vauxhall Belmont. Bertone built 6,764 cabriolets from 1987 to 1993. In 1990, Vauxhall began exporting Astras badged as Opel Kadetts to other European countries from the Ellesmere Port plant.
Reader's Guide
The Vauxhall Astra was notable for being Vauxhall's first front-wheel drive model, replacing the Vauxhall Viva in the UK. Sales of the first Astra were strong, and gave Vauxhall a much-needed boost in the small family car sector after several years of declining sales with the Viva HC. It soon overtook the Austin Allegro as Britain's second most popular small family car, although it was still a long way behind the Ford Escort in terms of sales success. The original Astra was awarded What Car?'s 'Car of the Year' for 1980, though it was pipped to the European Car of the Year award by the Lancia Delta. The second-generation Astra sold well in the UK, and although it was never able to outsell the Ford Escort, it came closer than any other similar-sized car to achieving this. The Astra nameplate has continued through eight generations, with most versions sourced from Vauxhall's plant at Ellesmere Port. Since 1991, Opel has used the Astra nameplate on its B/C-platform. General Motors' Saturn division in the United States also offered a Belgian-built version of the Astra as a captive import from late 2007 until Saturn was discontinued following GM's 2010 bankruptcy.
Did You Know?
- The first-generation Astra was Vauxhall's first front-wheel drive model.
- The Astra name originated with the Vauxhall-badged version of the first front-wheel drive Opel Kadett D.
- The Mk 1 Astra GTE, introduced in 1983, used an 1800 fuel-injected engine.
- Bertone built 6,764 cabriolets of the second-generation Astra from 1987 to 1993.
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