In the early 1970s Vauxhall knew of no better way to inject a little flair into its drab range of passenger cars than to build and market a high-performance version of the Firenza two-door coupe. The HP Firenza ‘Droopsnoot’ - a reference to the car’s restyled aerodynamic nose - was spectacular to look at and breathtaking to drive, it being the very first road-going Vauxhall that was capable of hitting 60mph in less than 10 seconds. The car was expertly judged and quite brilliantly executed, except that it arrived in 1973 and was therefore doomed from the outset to be an unmitigated sales disaster.
Classic First Drive: Vauxhall HP Firenza
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Apart from giving the HP Firenza a much improved coefficient of drag, the drooping snoot that was moulded out of fibreglass also made the car look not unlike a Ferrari Daytona (designer Wayne Cherry was said to be a fan). But what really set the HP Firenza apart from the rest of the line-up - which had been renamed Magnum - was the uprated 2.3-litre Slant Four engine. High-lift cams, a freer flowing exhaust system and hand-finished combustion chambers and inlet tracts lifted power to 131bhp. Drive was sent rearwards via a five-speed gearbox - a first for Vauxhall.
The HP Firenza needed only 9.4 seconds to reach 60mph from standstill, and when allowed to stretch its legs it’d run all the way to 120mph. By modern standards the car is neither quick on paper nor out on the road, but the snorty engine is characterful and, although it labours through exceptionally long gear ratios, it does feel urgent and energetic in its upper reaches. The gearshift, meanwhile, is tight and mechanical, but the array of whines and rattles emanate from the stubby gearlever are enough to make you reach for your earplugs.
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The HP Firenza would certainly not be a better car if it were a more powerful one. With a relatively modest 131bhp, what power it does have is well-matched to the grip generated by the four skinny tyres. Even at unambitious entry speeds the car will tend to slide a little in corners, particularly at the rear end, so you learn to drive the Droopsnoot right on the brink of oversteer. And that’s on modern tyres that hold the road much more resiliently than early Seventies rubber would ever have done.
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In the face of the 1973 oil crisis the HP Firenza - well executed though it undoubtedly was - stood little chance of being a commercial success. The original business case for the Droopsnoot reckoned on 1000 units being sold each year, but during a two-year lifespan no more than 204 were ever built. What that means, of course, is that Vauxhall’s pretty little coupe is now a very rare machine, one that’s become highly sought-after. Those factors are only now being reflected in values; having traded hands for four-figure sums for so long, tidy Droopsnoots today command close to £20,000.
Stat Attack
Price: from £18,000
Engine: 2.3-litre slant four
Transmission: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power/torque: 131bhp/144lb ft
0-60mph: 9.4 sec
Top speed: 120mph
Kerb weight: 1015kg
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