MEET THE OWNER – MARTIN HUGHES AND HIS VAUXHALL CAVALIER SR

It is hard to believe that the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk. II is fast approaching its 40^th birthday, and even more difficult to appreciate how rare they now are. There are just two examples of the SR on the road and Martin Hughes’ 1982 four-door is believed to be the last Jamaica Yellow model in the UK.

The original Cavalier of 1975 proved crucial to Vauxhall’s fortunes, and the second-generation model was part of the General Motors “J-Car” programme. When it debuted in August 1981, the main talking points were its neat styling, a hatchback option and the engine layout. It was only the second FWD car to bear the Griffin badge, the first being the Astra Mk. I.

At a time when Ford remained loyal to RWD with the still vastly popular Ford Cortina Mk. V, the new Cavalier represented a considerable gamble but the motoring press greeted the Mk. II with much acclaim. Car magazine stated, ‘GM’s new J-Car sets standards which are bound to challenge every rival designer and engineer’.

The initial 15 model line-up ranged from the two-door 1300S “Base” for the junior sales representative to the four and five-door SR for the regional manager. The latter were intended to appeal to Manta and Capri owners who needed more room but were reluctant to put away their driving gloves. As befitting sporty cars with a dash of luxury, Vauxhall offered the SR in an array of two-tone paint finishes, the lower half of the body in “Anthracite Metallic”.

The SR specification included the 1.6-litre “S” engine, alloy wheels, firmer damping and springs. A driver could relax on the Recaro front seat and firmly grip the “sports” steering wheel as he/she sped towards the A32 branch of the Little Chef. Meanwhile, any Talbot Solara or Morris Ital owner would surely be mesmerised by that distinctive “Highland Check” upholstery.

In October 1982, Vauxhall introduced the 1.8-litre SRi, and by the mid-1990s, the SR was already an unusual sight. Martin’s example has covered ‘only 16,500 miles from new’. He believes that his example ‘sat in a coal yard for a good few years’, but today it looks as though it has just emerged from one of those early 1980s ‘Friendly Vauxhall-Opel Dealer’ commercials.

Martin finds THE SR ‘lovely’ to drive but notes the four-speed gearbox and the lack of power steering. He is a former Master Vauxhall Technician who worked on the Cavaliers when they were new, and so ‘it is a perfect car for me’.

The Hughes SR is also a scarce and very desirable example of a Vauxhall whose launch was perfectly timed. In late 1981, the Sierra’s debut was a year in the future, while a new Jamaica Yellow over Anthracite Metallic Cavalier made any Cortina look middle-aged. Not to mention the appeal of the ‘Anthracite-coloured mouldings’ and the ‘SR striping’.

With Thanks To: Martin Hughes and The Cavalier and Chevette Club

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