Vauxhall Firenza HP – Cult Classic, Not Best Seller

‘High Performance’ are two words that one would not generally associate with Vauxhall but that’s exactly what the HP stands for in the Firenza HP name. Most know it more colloquially as the ‘Droopsnoot’, thanks to its rather pointy front end, but whatever you call it, the Vauxhall Firenza HP was quite brilliant, believe it or not. Much like good comedy though, timing is crucial and can be a cruel mistress when it wants to be. Sadly this was indeed the case with the Firenza HP and a poor delivery of Vauxhall’s punchline meant that the car never quite hit the mark, despite having all of the ingredients for its very own prime-time show.

The original Firenza was introduced in 1971 as Vauxhall’s answer to Ford’s new and hugely successful “European Mustang”, the Capri, and remained in production until ’75. A two-door coupé it was a pretty little thing and with its front-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout it was set up correctly too. It was based on Vauxhall’s best-selling Viva HC, well, we say based on – it was pretty much the same car but with a fastback roof, like when you copied your friend’s homework at school but just swapped some of the words around in the vain hope that the teacher wouldn’t notice. It even shared the Viva’s 1.2 and 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engines.

Another motor was available upon launch in the form of a 1.6-litre OHC four banger and at the end of its first year a 1.3, a 1.8 and a 2.3-litre engine also joined the party, ensuring there was a Firenza for everyone. The 2.3 carried a ‘Sport SL’ badge and with its twin Stromberg carburettors was capable of 122bhp – a sneak peak, if you will, of what was to come from the team at Luton. With pressure from its rivals mounting Vauxhall felt compelled to produce something a little more performance oriented for the young’uns who were lapping up the sporty Capris, Stags and Z-cars at the time. For this, they turned to the Firenza and released the HP in 1973. The most distinct and obvious difference from the stock coupé was the front end. The car went under the knife, care of American designer Wayne Cherry and received a full-on facelift consisting of a new fibreglass nose cone, developed to make the car more aerodynamic. And it worked too, significantly reducing the car’s drag coefficient and therefore improving its performance as a result.

It wasn’t just the bodywork that got a seeing to though, the Firenza HP went on a protein rich diet and hit the gym too. The 2.3-litre, slant-four engine was tweaked and fitted with a re-profiled camshaft and cylinder head as well as a new exhaust manifold which upped horsepower to 131, meaning the car could now hit 60mph in seven and a half seconds and press on to a top speed of 120 mph. Tidy. A five-speed, dogleg gearbox was also utilised, bringing the car even more sporting credentials. It looked like Vauxhall had done it. Unveiled at the London Motor Show in 1973 the Firenza HP caused quite the stir and Vauxhall planned to produce 1,000 units per year but unfortunately, despite this cup-half-full optimism, as well as heaps of praise from the motoring press, reality, rather harshly, came knocking and dictated that only 204 were ever made. This was mainly due to the fact that the Firenza HP was a difficult thing to build, thanks in part to the nose cone, and all of them had to be hand-finished. Not only that but that pesky oil crisis at the time well and truly put the kibosh on thirsty, big engine cars. What did we say about timing?

On the road the Firenza HP was no slouch. Performance was considered impressive for the time with bags of mid-range torque care of the large engine displacement and handling was on point too, if a little firm, thanks to its lowered and stiffened coil spring suspension and live rear axle. It was pretty practical as well with a cavernous boot and the ability to transport four adults in relative comfort. The list price at the time was considered a little high compared to other, similar cars from Triumph and the like but the Firenza HP not only drove well, it looked exciting, enticing you in and almost willing you to throw caution to the wind and get your foot down. Vauxhall proved it could build a provocative, performance coupé at a time when it was renowned for its rather drab output and it must have been a huge blow to everyone involved to know that they did everything right only for circumstances largely out of their control to conspire against them.

With a whole bunch of Droopsnoot nose cones left over, like the remnants of some Cyrano de Bergerac-themed fancy dress party, Vauxhall decided to fit them to a modified version of their Magnum estate and hence the Vauxhall Sportshatch was born. With less than 200 ever built, however, this is an even rarer beast than the Firenza HP and deserving of its own cult classic article. Watch this space.

The story of the Firenza HP then is a bit of a sad one and it’s a shame because it was a good looking car, it had presence, and more importantly, it had the performance to back it up. This was most definitely a bark and bite kind of a deal but sadly the world had other ideas. An incredibly rare proposition, both then and now, the Firenza HP makes for a truly individual, sporting classic but beware of clones because they are out there. They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but a genuine Droopsnoot is very much worth seeking out, if you can even find one. Parts will be a limiting factor but the Droop Snoot Group (http://www.droopsnoot.co.uk/) is an indispensable source of information and support.

Not quite the smash hit Vauxhall had hoped for the Firenza has enjoyed cult classic status for a long time now. Under-appreciated in its own time the live show may not have gone down too well but the ensuing years have left people clamouring for the now rather collectable DVD release.