Nowadays, the sporty version of a compact family car would be labelled a hot hatch, but in 1968 the term had yet to be coined and the original VW Golf GTI was still seven years away. The Vauxhall Viva GT was no more a hot hatch than it was a spaceship - for one thing it had a saloon boot rather than a hatch - but it was born out of exactly the same set of principles that would spawn the likes of the Golf GTI and Peugeot 205 GTi a few years later.
Classic First Drive: Vauxhall Viva GT
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Just like those celebrated hot hatches that would follow in its tyre tracks, the Viva GT borrowed an engine from further up its maker’s model range (in this case from the Vauxhall Victor). The 1,975cc four-cylinder unit was rated at 112bhp, which was hardly an earth-shattering figure even in its day but sufficient nonetheless to slash the entry-level Viva’s 0-60mph time in half, from a yawning 20 seconds to just 10 for the GT.
Revised suspension settings for sharper handling and a number of styling tweaks not only completed the GT makeover; they also further defined the blueprint by which generations of hot hatch would be conceived. Cars such as the Viva GT and sportier versions of the Ford Escort really did pave the way for the hot hatches we know and love today.
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Drive the GT back-to-back with a base model Viva and you’ll doubt there’s any shared DNA whatsoever. Whereas the standard car is painfully lethargic in a straight line and equipped with steering of such ponderousness you hope it around a corner rather than guide it, the GT model is lively and responsive (all things being relative).
The Viva GT’s steering wheel rim is no thicker than your middle finger and - as is the way with cars of this era - visibility in every direction is superb. The car has decent brakes and the gearbox features synchromesh, which means that to simply operate the Viva GT you use exactly the same skill-set as you would to drive any modern compact Vauxhall. It is driving the car with some degree of enthusiasm that requires more attention and a different set of skills, because to stroke it quickly along a winding road you must be comfortable with it being in an almost perpetual four-wheel drift. Whereas a typical modern performance car is glued defiantly to the road, the Viva GT is not.
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That more expressive, free-form way of addressing the tarmac makes the Viva GT a lot more engaging than many of the cars we see on the road today. There’s little doubt that using one regularly would make a person a skilful driver. Fast Vauxhalls have as dedicated a following here in the UK as any other breed and the Viva GT has become a prized car with only a small number left in existence. They don’t come up for sale very often, but you should eventually find one for £8000 or so.
Stat attack
Price: from £8,000
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power/torque: 112bhp @ 5,600rpm/117lb ft at 3,400rpm
0-60mph: 10.0 seconds
Top speed: 101mph
Kerb weight: 925kg
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