Triumph TR7
PROJECT £800-2000 // USABLE £2000-5000 // GOOD £5000-10,000 // EXCELLENT £10,000+ // PRICE WHEN NEW £6412 (1983)
Given the solidity of the GTE, it’s a suprise there are so few survivors.’
Ah, General Motors. Always late to a party. In 1983, when its first genuinely interesting FWD hot hatch, the Astra GTE, went on sale, the Golf GTI had been around for seven years. If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you might assume that all of that time was spent wisely developing the perfect car. If not, you might wonder why on earth Vauxhall built a car that didn’t advance the hot hatch zeitgeist one jot.
But let’s rewind. When the Astra first went on sale in the UK in 1980 as a griffin-badged version of the Opel Kadett, it vaulted to the top of the class. Its powertrains and handling were excellent, it was practical and good looking. It was so good that when they bodykitted a standard 1.6 model in 1982 and called it the SR, this 90bhp warm hatch was good enough to trade punches with the XR3.
Lessons learned, when the GTE sauntered in the following year, it had the kit, the striking colours and trim, and a 1.8-litre fuel-injected engine packing a Golf-beating 115bhp. Vauxhall pitched it straight at the emerging young urban professionals who loved a traffic-light Grand Prix. ‘Nought to naughty naughty in 8.5 seconds,’ it screamed. The marketing might have been brash, but technically the GTE followed a formula gifted from the Volkswagen’s playbook.
Reviews were a little lukewarm. What Car? rated it highly but stopped short of raving: ‘We can wholly recommend the Vauxhall. Not least of its charms is the pleasant 115bhp 1796cc engine that, while not quite endowing the GTE with slingshot performance, is a very tractable unit.’ That less-than-stellar performance was down to long gearing which blunted acceleration. Within six months, the GTE received shorter set of ratios, unleashing its potential. Shame it was in production for such a short time, to be replaced at the end of 1984.
Today, the Astra GTE’s excellence is recognised by enthusiasts after years in the doldrums. Parts and specialist support are lacking compared with its rivals, although getting hold of servicing items is simple enough. Specific GTE items are a more expensive matter. Club support isn’t on the same scale, either, although enthusiasm for GTEs is going through the roof these days on the back of the 1980s hot hatch boom.
You can’t knock the way it looks – sharp and oh-so 1980s, with its body-coloured skirts and spoilers to complement snazzy 14-inch alloys. Sitting snugly in the Recaro seat behind an upright wheel, and it doesn’t have the fizz of its rivals when you fire it up. Get going and it feels docile and a bit grownup – but as the roads open up, it comes to life. Crisp throttle and a raspy exhaust get you in the mood, and once above 4000rpm, the GTE really flies. It’s a real joy to drive hard.
Thanks to the heavy steering and almost dead-feeling brake pedal, it’s a physical car to drive quickly. Put in the effort, you’ll be more than rewarded – a B-road bash will leave you grinning from ear to ear, but a long motorway run won’t leave you exhausted.
Given the solidity and well-engineered feel of the GTE, it’s a surprise that there are so few survivors. That’s down to the car’s propensity to rust like an Alfasud – which at least means it’s guaranteed high values for the nicest examples. In fact, GTE values have been quietly growing in recent years, and they will continue to do so as hot hatchback buyers compete for the best examples. It might not be the most famous hot hatch, but it’s up there with the most valuable.