Vauxhall was pretty forthright in its advertising for the new Astra Convertible when it debuted in 1988. “Better than Gary and Tracy’s Escort XR3i” proclaimed the advertising, focusing on the fact that the Astra Convertible was styled by Bertone – the same styling house as the Lamborghini Miura and Ferrari Dino GT4. “Surprisingly enough, not all Turin schoolboys dream of playing centre forward for Juventus,” added Vauxhall. “Nuccio Bertone dreamt of designing cars.”
While that much may be true, the Astra Mk 2 wasn’t necessarily the styling house’s main event, but nevertheless it’s one of the coolest cabrios of the 1980s and 1990s. And it was built in Italy by Bertone, too.
This one is made even more desirable by virtue of its smart Rioja Red paintwork, but moreover by its incredible history and low mileage – it’s a genuine 46,000-mile car, with three previous owners and an entirely known history, with some awesome extras including a genuine Vauxhall Performance Car Club Owners’ Pack, with its own GTE pen and ice scraper. That’s the kind of stuff you don’t come across every day!
The vendor has owned it for two years but is now in the market for a hardtop GTE having owned several performance Vauxhalls in the past, so is offering the convertible for sale to make space for his next acquisition.
THE HISTORY AND PAPERWORK
UK V5C, plus old V5s from previous ownerships
Lots of old tax discs and MOTs
Vauxhall Performance Car Club Owners’ Pack, with its own GTE pen and ice scraper
Grey Velour sports seats (one very small hole in driver’s side bolster)
Original Vauxhall radio-cassette player
Electric windows
Electric folding roof
Clean and tidy presentation
Digital LCD dashboard in full working order
THE EXTERIOR
Rioja Red Metallic
Excellent overall condition with mostly original paint
A few very small stone chips and tiny dings but nothing of any note
Underside inspected and undersealed when the vendor acquired the car – described by his regular garage as “incredible” underneath
Original alloys in very good condition
Excellent roof with no obvious wear or damage
Small touched-in paint repair to rear bumper
Fantastic presentation – a lovely, original and unspoilt car
THE MECHANICS
2.0-litre single cam fuel-injected 8v engine
115bhp
Five-speed manual transmission
Reported by vendor to be in excellent running order with no known issues
Regularly and recently serviced
Very good under-bonnet presentation
SUMMARY
This has got to be one of the very best Mk2 GTE convertibles on the market, presented in wonderfully original condition and ready to use, show and enjoy. It’s a superb example with a complete and known history from new, mechanically well-sorted, never welded and seemingly in great structural order, while the history file is a historical record in itself.
A great example of a rapidly appreciating early Nineties classic.
Notice to bidders
This item is sold on an ‘As is Where is’ basis. The condition of this item is the opinion of the seller and may differ from your own opinion. Photos and listing descriptions are for guidance purposes only. Car & Classic do not warrant listing accuracy. Full inspection is recommended. Viewings are at the seller’s discretion. Buyer is responsible for delivery and collection of any item purchased.
A non-refundable buyer’s deposit is payable on this item, refer to FAQs and T&Cs for the applicable percentage.
