Spotted in SoCal: Vauxhall VX220, a Lotus Elise in disguise

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Spotted in SoCal: Vauxhall VX220, a Lotus Elise in disguise

If you spend any time hanging out in the same areas frequented by the affluent, you'll inevitably stumble across plenty of exotic motorized conveyances. Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and La Jolla, California are riddled with Bentleys, Porsches, Ferraris and Aston Martins. Since those vehicles are readily available for sale here, anyone with enough liquidity can wander in to a dealer and pick one up.

Every once in a while, though, you'll stumble across something genuinely unusual, that clearly took some effort to acquire. Such was the case the other day when we came across this diminutive silver speed demon in a La Jolla parking garage. Those familiar with the Lotus Elise and Tesla Roadster will recognize the lineage. However, this machine is far more sharply chiseled than its cousins.

This is the Vauxhall VX220, complete with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the cockpit. During the first half of the 1990s, Vauxhall and its continental counterpart, Opel, collaborated with Lotus to produce a rebodied and stretched version of the Elise powered by General Motors Ecotec four-cylinder engines. We have no idea how this car came to make its way to the Golden State, but if the owner (we're probably safe in assuming there is only one person in California with a VX220) reads this and cares to enlighten us, we're all ears.

link:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/20/spotted-in-socal-vauxhall-vx220-a-lotus-elise-in-disguise/

[hyperv6]

I hope the Fiero guys don't see this as they will think the Fiero is coming back again.

They still get on that kick now and then. Then they also see this car and think Pontiac could have brought it here has sold it for $18K.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I hope the Fiero guys don't see this as they will think the Fiero is coming back again.

They still get on that kick now and then. Then they also see this car and think Pontiac could have brought it here has sold it for $18K.

Wasn't that the rumor when this car debuted (back in 2000-ish)??? Too bad, it would have made for an interesting Pontiac of this decade.mmI always felt as though this car somehow inspired the Solstice Concept of 2002.