1974 Vauxhall Victor

Vauxhall FE-series (Saloon/estate), 1972-1978

The Vauxhall FE was in production from 1972 to 1978. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive saloon and estate seating four adults.

Replacing the FD, the FE Victor was based on the Opel Rekord D, albeit with its own bodyshell and Vauxhall slant-four engines. Billed as "The transcontinentals" in early marketing literature, the range at launch included the basic Victor, the sporting VX4/90 and the upmarket 3.3-litre Ventora. Victors were available with 1.8 and 2.3 litre versions of the slant four - plus the unusual Victor 3300SL estate which was a more basically appointed Ventora-engined estate model. This would be replaced in September 1973 by a Ventora badged estate model, which offered an improved specification.

Later models would include the special Victor-based 2300S, the five-speed VX490 which used the same dog-leg ZF box as the BMW 2002, and the later VX models which would eventually replace the Victor. The VX1800 and VX2300 replaced the Victor, while the VX2300GLS was introduced in 1976 as a replacement for the Ventora at the top of the range. It gave up the big six in return for an improved specification, including a vinyl roof and an egg-crate grille that would foreshadow that of the Senator.

VX1800-2300 production would end in 1978, and the range would be replaced with the single model Carlton range and the top of the smaller Cavalier range. 88594 would be built in total.

The Victor suffered the same problem as the Leyland Princess in that it sat between two market segments, in the 1800-2300 class. That naturally makes the Princess an obvious competitor, while over at Rootes the Chrysler 180 and 2-litre would certainly have appealed to fans of the Transatlantic look. However, upmarket Ford Cortinas and the Ford Consul would have been considered as rivals, while the Ventora's chief rival would have been the Ford Granada 3.0GXL. Today, cars like the FD Victor range would also be viable competition, as would the Cavalier and Carlton that succeeded the FE series. While the Triumph 2000 and Rover P6 wouldn't have been a viable comparison when new, today they fetch similar money and are of similar size.