Vauxhall Velox
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Vauxhall Velox is a
six-cylinder The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...
executive car Executive car is a British term for a large car which is equivalent to the European E-segment and American full-size classifications. Executive cars are larger than compact executive cars (and the non-luxury equivalent mid-size cars), and small ...
which was produced by
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
from 1948 to 1965. The Velox was a large family car, directly competing in the UK with the contemporary six-cylinder
Ford Zephyr The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their r ...
, and to a slightly lesser extent, with the A90, A95, and A110
Austin Westminster The Austin Westminster series are large saloon and estate cars that were sold by the British manufacturer Austin from 1954, replacing the A70 Hereford. The Westminster line was produced as the A90, A95, A99, A105, and A110 until 1968 when th ...
models. It was introduced by
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
shortly before the
London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O Ev ...
in October 1948, as a successor to the Vauxhall Fourteen. Between 1948 and 1957 the Velox shared its body with the less-powerful four-cylinder
Vauxhall Wyvern The Vauxhall Wyvern is a Mid-size car, medium-sized family car introduced by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall in 1948 as a successor to the Vauxhall 12. The name comes from the mythical beast the wyvern, and may be due to a misidentification of the her ...
. From August 1954 through to October 1965, it shared its body with the more luxuriously equipped
Vauxhall Cresta The Vauxhall Cresta is a British full-size car which was produced by Vauxhall from 1954 to 1972. The Cresta was introduced in 1954 as an upmarket version of the Vauxhall Velox, itself a six-cylinder version of the Vauxhall Wyvern. The Cresta m ...
, a tradition that ended with the introduction of the new PC Vauxhalls. The Velox name was discontinued at that time in favour of the more upmarket
Vauxhall Cresta The Vauxhall Cresta is a British full-size car which was produced by Vauxhall from 1954 to 1972. The Cresta was introduced in 1954 as an upmarket version of the Vauxhall Velox, itself a six-cylinder version of the Vauxhall Wyvern. The Cresta m ...
name, while a new flagship model, the
Vauxhall Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries, a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
, was launched. The Velox and its Opel contemporaries are remembered for having mirrored North American styling trends much more closely than other European models of the time. That was particularly apparent following the 1957 introduction of the PA version of the Velox.


Velox LIP & LBP (1948–51)

The classic four-door saloon boasted a newly developed straight-six-cylinder engine of , with
overhead valves An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...
. The power output provided for a claimed top speed of . Power was delivered to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual gear box with
synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...
on the top two ratios. Optional extras included a heater from which warm air was evenly distributed between the front and back areas of the passenger cabin and which could be set to de-ice the windscreen in winter or to provide cool air ventilation in summer. Also available at extra charge was an AM radio integrated into the fascia. The body was shared with the four-cylinder
Vauxhall Wyvern The Vauxhall Wyvern is a Mid-size car, medium-sized family car introduced by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall in 1948 as a successor to the Vauxhall 12. The name comes from the mythical beast the wyvern, and may be due to a misidentification of the her ...
, a pattern that continued with subsequent versions of the Velox until the introduction of the more compact
Vauxhall Victor The Vauxhall Victor is a large family car produced by Vauxhall from 1957 until 1976. The Victor was introduced to replace the outgoing Wyvern model. It was renamed Vauxhall VX Series in 1976 and continued in production until 1978, by which time ...
at the beginning of 1957. While the Velox exterior differed only in badging, additional brightwork and different coloured wheels, the interior boasted superior seating materials over the Wyvern including a central arm rest in the rear. A car tested by ''
The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine ''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' magazine in 1949 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0– in 22.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £550 including taxes.


Foreign production

As well as being built at Vauxhall's
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
plant in England, early Velox and Wyvern models were assembled in Australia (by
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
in Melbourne) and in New Zealand at the GM plant in Petone, near Wellington. The LBP model ID was applied to "chassis only" exports to Australia, where local production included a two-door Caleche
tourer Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...
and, in early four-door saloons, a unique "six-light" body featuring an additional rear window behind the back doors. This gave the car more resemblance from the rear to the pre-war designed J-series Vauxhall Fourteen it replaced (see accompanying illustration below). File:Vauxhall Velox Saloon (LBP, 1949, Australia).jpg, Brochure image of Australian produced 1949 Vauxhall Velox Saloon (LBP) File:Vauxhall Velox Caleche (LBP).jpg, Australian Vauxhall Velox Caleche (LBP) Velox LIP production also took place in Switzerland, where a 400 kg van version (built by Geser of
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
) was a common sight in the 1950s serving as Swiss Post Office vehicles. Despite the lack of bumper over-riders suggesting the four-cylinder Wyvern powerplant, all vans were Veloxes. Conventional Velox and Wyvern four-door saloons were assembled at the
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
plant at
Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...
. Also built in Switzerland was a unique prototype two seater roadster known as the Vauxhall Zimmerli-Velox 18–6. This used a coach built aluminium body on a tubular ladder chassis, with standard Velox running gear. It was built in 1949 for the Zimmerli brothers, who had a Vauxhall dealership in
Reiden Reiden is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On January 1, 2006 the former municipalities of Langnau bei Reiden and Richenthal were united in the new municipality of Reiden. Geography Reiden has ...
. The car survives today in near original condition.


Velox EIP/EIPV & EBP (1951–57)

In August 1951 a longer, wider Velox was launched, designated as the EIP series, and featuring a modern 'three box' shape and integral construction. The body was again shared with the
4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...
-engined Wyvern. The car was launched with the previous model's engine but with power output increased to . A car with the original 2275 cc engine tested by ''
The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine ''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' magazine in 1951 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 23.7 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £802 including taxes. In the same year, the magazine tested the similarly sized Ford Zephyr Six. Ford's test car was fitted with options including a radio, a heater and leather seating: thus equipped the Zephyr came with a recommended retail price of £842. In April 1952 the Velox was redesignated as the EIPV series, and received a new over-square 2262 cc engine which had been in the development pipeline for several years. This provided either or, with a compression ratio improved to 7.6:1, of power. A further test in 1952 by ''The Motor'' magazine of the EIPV with the short-stroke 2262 cc engine, found the top speed had increased to and acceleration from 0– to 21.4 seconds. A similar fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost had risen to £833 including taxes. In December 1952 General Motors Holden launched a tourer and coupe utility version of the EIPV Velox and EIX Wyvern models on the Australian market, these cars' chassis were prefixed EBP for the Velox and EBX for the Wyvern. Both these cars used modified Vauxhall bodies affixed to the
Bedford CA The Bedford CA was a distinctive pug-nosed light commercial vehicle produced between 1952 and 1969 by Bedford in Luton, England. It was manufactured in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase forms, each form available in either a 10–12  ...
chassis. The tourer was originally to be called the Caleche but by the time of launch the model name was changed to Vagabond. The Vagabond was a two-door five seater with folding top and side curtains. It did not survive the 1955 face lift. The coupe utility continued on (Velox only from 1955) until officially withdrawn at the end of the 1957 model year. In August 1954 a significant facelift was applied. Most obvious of the many cosmetic changes was a new front grille and trafficators were replaced by flashing lights (red at the rear, US-style). More important was the introduction at this time of a sister model, branded as the
Vauxhall Cresta The Vauxhall Cresta is a British full-size car which was produced by Vauxhall from 1954 to 1972. The Cresta was introduced in 1954 as an upmarket version of the Vauxhall Velox, itself a six-cylinder version of the Vauxhall Wyvern. The Cresta m ...
. In addition to superior equipment levels, the Cresta was distinguished by a two tone paint finish. The 1954 VELOX also differed from the 1953 which had a side opening bonnet, by having a front opening bonnet
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
was by now favouring annual facelifts, and Vauxhall reflected that trend, announcing further facelifts for 1956 (wind-up windows, larger rear window, wider grille slats, separate amber rear flashing indicator lights replacing US-style red units incorporated into the brake/tail light lens, new instrument graphics) and again for 1957 (electric wipers, larger tail lights, new grille, new 'magic ribbon' AC speedo) in line with the Wyvern model. Technically, however, there were no further changes until the arrival of a completely new Velox in October 1957. In Australia,
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
built a quantity of utilities (pickup trucks) as well as the 2-door Vagabond Convertible based on the EIP Velox. These had a separate chassis - prefixed EBP - with the Australian bodies fitted to them. The Velox was also assembled at the General Motors
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
plant in
Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in Pe ...
, north of Wellington, through to and including the PC Cresta of the late 1960s, by which time buyer favour had turned to the similarly sized GM-dealer stablemate from Australia, the
Holden Belmont Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three ...
/Kingswood. File:Vauxhall Velox - Flickr - foshie.jpg, Vauxhall Velox EIP or EIPV Saloon, pre 1954 facelift File:Vauxhall Velox EBP Coupe Utility.jpg, Australian Vauxhall Velox (EBP) Coupe Utility 1954 File:Vauxhall Velox EIP Convertible.jpg, Australian Vauxhall Velox Vagabond (EBP) Tourer File:Vauxhall Velox first registered UK 1992 built UK 1956 ca 2300 cc.jpg, Vauxhall Velox EIPV Saloon 1956 File:Vauxhall Velox 1956 03.jpg, Vauxhall Velox EIPV 1956 front view File:Vauxhall Velox ca 1953 in Hertfordshire.jpg, Vauxhall Velox EIPV Saloon 1957 File:Vauxhall Velox Stationwagon 1957 (15510823475).jpg, Velox EIPV Grosvenor estate by Grosvenor Carriage Co 1957 File:Vauxhall Velox Coupe Utility 1957.jpg, Australian Vauxhall Velox (EBP) Coupe Utility 1957


Velox PA (1957–62)


Velox PA S (1957–59)

At the 1957
London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O Ev ...
Vauxhall presented radically new Velox and Cresta models: these would come to be known as the PA versions, being the first of the P series. Particularly eye catching was the new wrap-around windscreen; combined with a three part rear window it created an airy passenger cabin providing exceptional all round visibility, Like the Cresta on which it was based, the PA Velox took styling cues from the 1957
Buick Special The Buick Special was an automobile produced by Buick. It was usually Buick's lowest-priced model, starting out as a full-size car in 1936 and returning in 1961 (after a two-year hiatus) as a mid-size. The Special was built for several decades and ...
. The back of the Velox was graced by tail fins, a
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
inspired trend already taken up by the car's Ford rival, and which would in the next two years be followed also by UK rival BMC, and such European competitors as
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
, and
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
. On the inside the new Velox also followed US practice of combining a front bench seat with a column-shift gear lever, continuing a trend that dates back to the first Velox models of 1948. Velox models were also assembled at the General Motors Holden plants throughout Australia, and the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone, north of Wellington. The Wyvern was replaced by the new Victor model line which was also built in the New Zealand plant. Specially engineered versions of the Velox were built for use by the NZ Traffic Police. Minor modifications to the car's six-cylinder engine raised power output to 83 bhp (61 kW). As before, the Cresta was distinguished from the Velox model by superior levels of equipment and also a two-tone paint finish.


Velox PA SY (1959–60)

The Velox PA received its first facelift in October 1959 when the front grill was enlarged and the three-piece rear window was replaced by a single wrap-around window. Technical improvements had to await the 1960 facelift, however.


Velox PA SX (1960–62)

The October 1960 facelift for 1961 was marked by further modifications to the trim, new rear lights with modified tail fins (no longer with indicators built in), combined front park/indicator lamps and a new dashboard with the two round dials replaced by a rectangular cluster with "magic ribbon" speedometer – the strip indicating speed changed from green to amber at 30 mph and to red at 60 mph. There was also a new engine, still of six cylinders, but now increased in capacity to 2651 cc, and delivering . The UK had recently embarked on its first programme of
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
building, and the Velox now boasted a straight line maximum speed of . Velox models were also assembled at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone with special versions again built for local traffic police. PA five-door estate models, converted by Friary of Basingstoke, were also available. In their 1961–62 forms, the Velox and its Cresta sibling continued without further significant changes until replaced towards the end of 1962. For 1962, the painted dashboard gave way to simulated wood, the ashtray was moved from an in-dash drawer to the dashtop, wipers were lengthened to overlap slightly, a horn ring was added to the Velox steering wheel and there were minor instrument cluster changes to increase the size of warning lights. VauxhallVelox-front.jpg, S saloon VauxhallVelox-rear.jpg, S saloon rear view File:'60-'62 Vauxhall Velox Sedan (Hudson).JPG, Vauxhall Velox PA SY Saloon Vauxhall Velox PA estate ca 1959.jpg, SY estate / wagon 1959 File:1962 Vauxhall Velox PA SX (19951674888).jpg, Vauxhall Velox PA SX Saloon File:1962 Vauxhall Velox PA SX (19517177324).jpg, Vauxhall Velox PA SX Saloon


Velox PB (1962–65)

The final version of the Velox, launched along with the Cresta PB at the
London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O Ev ...
in October 1962, was well over four and a half metres long: it was the largest Velox ever built, longer and wider than the benchmark
Ford Zephyr The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their r ...
with which it competed in the UK. Taking its cues from the Victor FB introduced the previous year (and sharing the doors of the smaller car), the new car was stylistically more restrained than its flamboyant predecessor, the removal of vertical fins emphasizing the car's width. Power output was increased to . In October 1964 the Velox PB became available with a more powerful 3294 cc engine.Vauxhall PB - Velox & Cresta, vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com
Retrieved 16 November 2015
This made it one of the fastest European saloons of its day. The 2.6 was retained for some export markets in which government tax thresholds penalised buyers and users of cars with engine sizes above 2800 cc. The update also included a new full-width grille, new tail lights incorporating optional reversing lights, twin rear exhaust pipes, 120 mph speedometer (was 110), new interior trim and, towards the end of the run, a switch from three-speed
Hydramatic Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...
(PNDSLR selector) to two-speed
Powerglide The Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed by General Motors. It was available primarily on Chevrolet from January 1950 through 1973, although some Pontiac models also used this automatic transmission after the fire at the Hyd ...
(PRNDL). PB Velox models were again assembled at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone and special versions were again built for local traffic police. The 3.3 was particularly popular with these government customers. October 1965 saw the introduction of the Vauxhall Cresta PC, equipped with that same 3294 cc engine. This time no Velox version was offered. Rather, the Cresta itself became the base model, with two headlights, complemented by the more luxurious Cresta Deluxe, with four headlights, and the vinyl roof
Vauxhall Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries, a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
with more luxurious trim and power windows. File:1964 Vauxhall Velox PB (10962962843).jpg, Vauxhall Velox PB Saloon (1962–64) File:1965 Vauxhall Velox (14697732238).jpg, Vauxhall Velox PB Saloon (1964–65)


References

{{Vauxhall timeline 1945 to 1979 Velox Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Station wagons 1950s cars 1960s cars Cars introduced in 1948 Police vehicles Executive cars