Memories from Chaul End test track

I have just finished reading your article on the Viva GT in the September issue. I was born and grew up in Dunstable where dad worked in the Bedford factory and a lot of neighbours worked for Vauxhall/Bedford. While reading this it occurred to me that, at that moment, it would have been ‘Vauxhall Fortnight’, where the area would be deserted while the workforce were away on holiday.

You mentioned the Viva at Milbrook Test Track. In the mid- Sixties the HB would have been tested at the Chaul End Test track before Millbrook was completed. This test track was a short cycle ride from home and I would often go there to watch the cars over the fence in the late Sixties, including the amazing XVR concept car. Another time we visited the track when Vauxhall Motors Recreation Club organised a sprint meeting. It was a hallowed place.

XVR concept car that blew young Paul away at Chaul End the Sixties.