{"id":653,"date":"2019-05-10T08:55:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=653"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:25:01","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:25:01","slug":"car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selling new cars is all well and good, and for every manufacturer around the globe it\u2019s also fairly important, but that doesn\u2019t mean they should ignore their roots. For some brands, that means the token roll out of an older model for a television advert with a \u2018look how far we\u2019ve come\u2019 undertone. For others, heritage means something more. It\u2019s something to be proud of, something to celebrate and something to hold on to. One company that most definitely has that outlook is Vauxhall, which has this incredible heritage collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

Spanning over 100 years (116 to be exact) the collection boasts an impressive seventy-five cars, including pre-war, post-war and modern-day offerings. To use the old adage, there really is something for everyone. As we walk up to the building, complete with period \u2018Vauxhall\u2019 branding, we find our eye drawn to all manner of metal before we even get to the door. The car park outside is packed with interesting cars. There was the BTCC replica Vectra, the two late-model Astras full of roll cage (because they were Top Gear\u2019s \u2018reasonably priced cars\u2019) and the Bedford CF that was converted to run on electricity back in the day. So much good stuff, and we were still outside!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

As we get to the door we\u2019re greeted by Simon Hucknall, Head of Product Communications for Vauxhall. Within his remit is the heritage collection, and as soon as we start talking to him we get the impression that it\u2019s arguably one of the best parts of his job. Simon has an honest, captivating enthusiasm for the collection. It\u2019s nice to see, because it serves to remind us that this collection wasn\u2019t a box-ticking exercise by the suits. It\u2019s something that has been created and later curated with genuine love and interest. That matters, it\u2019s why we\u2019re drawn to classic cars after all, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

The building is split into two huge rooms. The first houses the really old metal. For example, there\u2019s a 1918 D Type staff car and the imposing 1926 OE Type. While the L Type Wyvern proudly represents a time after WW2. Moving on in years, there is the Vauxhall H Type from 1937, then the E Type Wyvern from 1953 and as you can see, lots more metal besides.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through into the bigger part of the workshop and we\u2019re faced with an altogether more familiar, but still largely classic collection of cars. The place is jam-packed with machinery<\/span>, like some sort of Luton-based automotive Tetris or something. And everywhere you look there\u2019s something to catch your eye. Be it the PA Velox, the Bedford CA van in period livery or the Calibra V6 parked beside it. There\u2019s a Lotus Carlton in there, too. Just sat, waiting to be given a damn good thrashing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the beauty of this collection \u2013 it is a working fleet. As Simon explains to us, there is simply no point in having all these cars as static museum pieces. Of course, there are exceptions like the XVR and SRV concept cars, but aside from those, this is a collection of cars that earn their keep. These cars can only claim a space within the Heritage building if they\u2019re willing to work for it. As such, every car is MOTd, they\u2019re all taxed and they\u2019re all insured. They largely exist to satisfy motoring media and television, though they will also be used for shows and launch events, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

The collection is maintained by a small team, and they have arguably the best job in Luton. They prep and pamper the fleet, keeping every car, be it an FD Ventora or a VX220, in tip-top condition in readiness for its next outing. These cars want for nothing, and that\u2019s lovely to see. As we touched on earlier, they\u2019re not here to tick a box, they\u2019re here to be enjoyed and celebrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

Of course, as any of you with a collection of cars will know, you don\u2019t end up with <\/span>just<\/span><\/i> cars. You get all the interesting paraphernalia, too. Vauxhall\u2019s collection is no exception. Look beyond the cars and you\u2019ll see motorsport heritage in the form of trophies for various race wins. There is marketing material everywhere from days and vehicles gone by. Model cars are present, as are interesting parts and items from around the factory. Pre-production design models, blueprints, the list goes on. We even found a load of unused, adhesive still present, Frontera badges and graphics. The Frontera wasn\u2019t a particularly spectacular car, granted, but there\u2019s a strange thrill to seeing an old unused badge that\u2019s survived all these years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

\"Vauxhall,<\/p>\n

Vauxhall\u2019s heritage collection is a magnificent gathering of cars. Chevette HS, Firenza \u2018droop-snoot\u2019, Opel Monza, there is just so much to take in. It\u2019s a fascinating look into the history of a company that in modern terms, we just take for granted. Yes, Vauxhall has been part of General Motors and Opel, but above all that, it\u2019s been a British company through and through, and as this collection goes to prove, they\u2019re incredibly proud of that, and rightly so. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Selling new cars is all well and good, and for every manufacturer around the globe it\u2019s also fairly important, but that doesn\u2019t mean they should ignore their roots. For some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[2],"tags":[15,280,279,278,12,13,284,283,11,287,286,276,285,14,16,122,192,277,282,281],"yoast_head":"\nCar & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC07689.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\"},\"headline\":\"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\"},\"wordCount\":874,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"automotive\",\"Bedford CA\",\"Bedford CF\",\"Calibra\",\"carandclassic\",\"carandclassic.co.uk\",\"Carlton\",\"Chevette\",\"classic car\",\"classic car collection\",\"classic cars\",\"Heritage Collection\",\"Lotus Carlton\",\"motoring\",\"retro car\",\"Vauxhall\",\"Vauxhall heritage\",\"Vauxhall Luton\",\"Ventora\",\"Viva\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Classic Cars\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\",\"name\":\"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Car & Classic Magazine\",\"description\":\"The latest in the classic car world - articles, news, how to's, advice and more\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Car and Classic Limited\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png\",\"width\":4262,\"height\":3881,\"caption\":\"Car and Classic Limited\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\",\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Car & Classic\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/author\/car-and-classic\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine","description":"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine","og_description":"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/","og_site_name":"Car & Classic Magazine","article_published_time":"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC07689.jpg","width":1800,"height":1198,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Car & Classic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Car & Classic","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/"},"author":{"name":"Car & Classic","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39"},"headline":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage","datePublished":"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/"},"wordCount":874,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization"},"keywords":["automotive","Bedford CA","Bedford CF","Calibra","carandclassic","carandclassic.co.uk","Carlton","Chevette","classic car","classic car collection","classic cars","Heritage Collection","Lotus Carlton","motoring","retro car","Vauxhall","Vauxhall heritage","Vauxhall Luton","Ventora","Viva"],"articleSection":["Classic Cars"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/","name":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage - Car & Classic Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-05-10T08:55:02+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-12T09:25:01+00:00","description":"Down in Luton there is a building full of automotive wonder. This is a collection of cars like no other, this is the personal collection of Vauxhall...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/car-classic-visits-vauxhall-heritage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Car & Classic Visits \u2013 Vauxhall Heritage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/","name":"Car & Classic Magazine","description":"The latest in the classic car world - articles, news, how to's, advice and more","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Car and Classic Limited","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png","width":4262,"height":3881,"caption":"Car and Classic Limited"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39","name":"Car & Classic","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Car & Classic"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.carandclassic.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/author\/car-and-classic\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":669,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions\/669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}