MEET THE OWNER – GRAHAM BULL AND HIS VAUXHALL VICTOR 2300SL FE ESTATE

“You just know that this is the car for the man with fawn flared slacks and Yardley Black Label – ‘for the man who sets the pace’ – aftershave”. I wrote this description of Graham Bull’s 2300SL FE Estate in 2017, a memorable day with Practical Classics celebrating the Victor’s 60th birthday.

What was also immediately apparent was how Vauxhall had created a unique vehicle from the British motor industry of the 1970s – a largish, five-seater, five-door fastback. That said, Graham observes: “I have been complimented on ‘such a lovely Cortina’ on many occasions they are always shocked when they realise it is a Vauxhall”.

And the FE deserves to be better remembered. It made its bow in February 1972, and Vauxhall boasted the station wagon was “for people who want the usefulness of an estate with the styling of a car”. It is an undeniably striking-looking machine with a sleekness lacking in the estate versions of the Ford Granada and the Triumph 2000 Mk. II. As for Car magazine’s comment that the single headlamps apparently gave it “a curiously surprised look, almost if it had been rushed from behind by a randy polecat” - the 1970s now seem (mercifully) distant. Autocar’s review was more balanced, finding the Estate “a spacious and practical vehicle”.

The latest Victor Estate came in two forms – the 1800 De Luxe for £1,343.13 and the 2300SL for £1,460.63. The latter, as well as offering more power from its 2,279cc ‘Slant 4’ engine, had luxuries beyond the dreams of the average travelling sales representative. Just imagine the impact of Graham’s FE at the A32 branch of Little Chef. “Wow!”, the other customers would exclaim. “Anyone who drives a Victor SL with individual body-shaped front seats, wood-grained instrument panel and wall-to-wall thick pile carpeting throughout clearly belongs to the social elite!”.

By 1976 Vauxhall dispensed with the Victor name for the FE, rebadging the facelifted version as the VX. The Carlton replaced it in 1978, and by the 1990s, the last of the Victors was becoming an unusual sight. Graham found his Estate in 1998 when he was looking for a Ford Consul - “The Victor just spoke to me!”. At that time, the 2300SL had been off the road for 20 years, and mice were nesting behind the radiator. Incredibly, Graham returned the mighty Vauxhall to the road after just three months. The lack of power steering does not concern him, and he revels in Victor ownership.

This is understandable, as the FE is an important car in Vauxhall history. Although partially based on the German Rekord D, it was their last major project before a future of adapting Opel designs. It was also their final car with consciously mid-Atlantic styling, reflecting the needs of their primary Canadian export market. Ironically, by 1972, Vauxhall’s days in this sales territory were very numbered.

Perhaps best of all, the FE Estate displays how, even amid their well-documented problems of the early ‘seventies, Vauxhall could still create a rather stunning-looking car. One brochure described it as “the beautiful Victor Estate” - and that was far from hyperbole.

With Thanks To: Graham Bull and https://www.facebook.com/groups/330336020316798