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.

Join our motorsport community
Get closer to motorsport at Goodwood! Join the GRRC Fellowship to be first in the queue for event tickets, to attend the GRRC-only Members' Meeting and to enjoy year-round, exclusive benefits.