There’s been a lot of buzz over Vauxhall’s latest reveal, the Astra VXR Extreme. Love it or hate it, this Astra is anything but bland. Born from last year’s Astra Cup race car that competed in the Nürburing Endurance Championship, this Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme is a one-off, production ready concept car, due to be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. If it elicits a good reaction from the world’s automotive press, Vauxhall have said that they are planning a very low volume production – I suspect that these will be tricky to get your hands on.

If stats are your things, here’s some for you – this car kicks out a ridiculous 297bhp – meaning that if it goes into production it’ll overtake both the Seat Leon Cupra and Golf R to become the fastest front-wheel drive street legal car. Official acceleration times and top speeds have yet to be released, but if the standard VXR’s 0-62mph time of 5.9 seconds is anything to go by, you can guarantee it’ll be impressive. Speaking of the standard VXR, the Extreme model is in fact 100kg lighter, thanks to a myriad of it’s panels being made out of that most lusted after material, carbon fibre.

The inside is worth a mention as well, with the back seats having been completely ripped out and replaced with a roll bar (which I suspect will be necessary for some of it’s future drivers). The front seats have been replaced with Recaro bucket seats and a six-point safety harness in true sport style. Did I mention that even the steering wheel is reinforced with carbon fibre? Because it is.

Of course a car this fast needs brakes to match – and Vauxhall haven’t skimped. The VXR Extreme has got a Brembo six-piston brake system, including huge 370mm diameter brake discs. As if that wasn’t enough, Vauxhall are also boasting about their ultra high performance 19″ tyres that they claim can match the performance of professional race tyres, with an adjustable damper to boot.

Enough chat though, it’s time for the pictures. This car is loud, knows what it is and you know what? I love it.