The Vauxhall Astra – or Opel Kadett, if you’re European – has been a mainstay of the GM Europe range since 1980, and is now in its eighth generation. It’s competed in one of the most fiercely-contested sectors in the European motor industry – the small family hatchback, and has held it’s own for the most part during its lengthy production run in the face of rivals such as the VW Golf, Ford Escort, Renault Clio, Austin Maestro, Lancia Delta, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla among many others.
Just some of the competition in the small family hatchback sector
Dave Leadbetter delved into the background to the launch of the Astra in his Great Drives piece a few weeks ago, which saves me doing it, but if you missed it first time around, you can check Dave’s article out here. This allows me to jump straight to the Orwellian year of 1984 and the introduction of the second generation Astra, since it’s from this iteration that our Prime Find comes this week.
Launched in the Autumn of that year, the new Astra was mechanically more or less the old Astra but with a smart and very different new suit. So effective was this new design that the car was voted European Car of the Year in 1985, something the original Astra failed to achieve.
The new clothes were a complete departure from the Mk 1 Astra’s straight-edged origami styling. Instead, this Astra had softer edges, particularly at the front, while retaining the vertical “kamm” tail. It was also much more aerodynamic – not difficult – to the point where it was claimed to be the best in class, with the GTE having a drag coefficient of just 0.30, and even the standard Astra achieved 0.32, As per the older model, the new one was available as a hatchback and estate, but also as a convertible and three-box saloon, the latter branded separately as Belmont, a trend that aped the Ford Orion and VW Jetta, both booted versions of their hatchback siblings. All three were very frumpy, if I’m being kind, and not particularly successful. Power units were as per the old Astra, with 1200, 1300, 1600 and 1800cc engines available, all four cylinder, and we shall return to the convertible later.
Top of the range was the GTE, added to the range soon after launch and initially utilising the 1.8-litre, 115bhp engine from the original Mark 1 GTE, enough to propel the car to 126mph, due in no small part to its excellent aerodynamics which took it to the top of its class. Yet this was not enough and was quickly replaced by a more powerful 2.0-litre, 124bhp unit. GTE’s featured electronic instruments – all the rage at the time, to be found in cars such as the MG Maestro, Montego and Audi Quattro.
A few years later the GTE was given a substantial power boost with the introduction of a twin-cam version that pushed out 156bhp, making the GTE capable of reaching 60mph in just 7 seconds and a top speed of over 130mph. Later versions were compromised slightly with the requirement to meet stricter emissions standards, but the GTE was a properly hot hatch.
The convertible version – created to provide an alternative to similar Escort and Golf variants – was made available as a 1.6-litre, 82bhp base car and as a 2.0-litre, 115bhp GTE, and unlike more standard Astra’s, was designed and built by Bertone, and GTE versions came with power-operated roof and electric windows.
Lots of the first two around – not so many of the Astra GTE Convertible
All of this brings us very neatly to our Prime Find, which is a manual Vauxhall Astra GTE Convertible, built in 1990. Bertone made 6,764 GTE convertibles – I’m guessing this number includes the Opel-badged cars – between 1987 and 1993, and our Prime Find is one of only 18 left on he roads in the UK, so a rare animal indeed; here, at least.
It’s being offered for sale as part of Manor Park Classics auction taking place on September 10th, and comes with an estimate range of between £10,000 to £14,000. The auctioneers describe the car as an “original and unmolested example”, finished in Mauve Purple with grey upholstery, and if the photos we have borrowed from the lot entry – which you can see here – are any indication, this looks like a very tidy car indeed.
The odometer reads just 58,000 miles, although this is not warranted, the car has just had £5,000 worth of recommissioning work done and comes with “an array of spare parts” as well as a service book and original bookpack and wallet.
By comparison, there is another of the 18 UK examples for sale, for £7,500, which doesn’t look too bad, so while this one seems relatively expensive (assuming it reaches the estimate range) there is more to it than just the car.
The auctioneers have driven the car and state that “it drove exceptionally well with no noticeable knocks or bangs”, but as always, if this smart-looking – and rare – Astra GTE Convertible is tempting, we recommend you arrange prior inspection if possible before raising your bidding paddle, whether you plan to be in the room or bid online.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk