Vauxhall de-restricts the Insignia VXR

Vauxhall are offering a £250 upgrade on its top-of-the range VXR Insignia which de-restricts its engine management system, allowing the car to achieve 170mph – although presumably not whilst heading along the M1 motorway near the company’s Luton HQ.

Known as the ‘Unlimited’ option, it removes the ‘regular’ Insignia VXR’s 155mph restrictor and in so doing becomes Vauxhall’s fastest current model.

Available with either manual or auto transmissions, and in Hatch, Saloon and Sports Tourer body styles, the Insignia VXR Unlimited option is visually distinguished by a blue Brembo logo on its front brake callipers and a newly-designed tachometer and speedometer, showing higher increments.

Producing 320 bhp, the VXR’s turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 engine enables the Insignia VXR to accelerate from 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds for the manual Hatch, a time which is unchanged with the Unlimited option.

The Insignia VXR comes as standard with Vauxhall’s Adaptive 4×4 system, which provides optimum traction in all conditions. The system uses a sport differential with a Haldex multi-disc clutch as well as electronic centre and rear limited slip differentials (eLSD), and is complemented by Vauxhall’s FlexRide chassis, which allows drivers to choose between three dynamic setups: standard, Sport and VXR.

But just to ensure that Insignias fitted with the Unlimited option were safe, durable and entertaining to drive, prototype vehicles underwent extensive testing at the gruelling Nurbürgring’s Nordschleife (north loop), where 10,000 kilometres were accrued. According to the engineers the test programme is rated at ‘factor 18’, which corresponds to 180,000kms (112,000 miles) on normal roads.

The Unlimited option package costs just £250 and is available immediately through Vauxhall dealers.

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