Velour heaven! 1980 Vauxhall Royale Coupe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ส.ค. 2020
- Sure, it's an Opel Monza with Vauxhall badges, but that doesn't stop this Royale from delivering on the road. With the 2.8-litre cam-in-head six, allied to a three-speed automatic gearbox, this car is all about the waft. The Monza/Royale are based on the Senator, itself based on the Opel Rekord E. You'll note more than a passing resemblance to the Holden Commodore VB too.
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Velour needs to make a comeback.
True - but only in colder climate countries ;-)
velour rules the world! i had a mk1 carlton with a brown velour interior and it was fabulous . i drive new luxury cars for a living and nothing comes close to the velour
Yes,it barely wears and is more comfortable than anything else.Why cant one brand start making comfortable cars again?Seats like a 70s landyacht,good ride and engine built for motorway.
This looks like the bastard child of a VB Commodore and a UC Torana hatchback. Older Aussies will get this.
I haven’t thought about a UC in decades 😊
I was thinking the same with the former. The front of a VB Model Holden Commodore
@@johnwatters840 Wasn't that the SUNBIRD thing ..it came with a hatch tent as an extra from memory.
@@planestrainsdogsncars4336 Ah! The Torana hatch hutch! Anyone seen one in the wild?
Got to wonder what would have happened if Holden went with this? How many would've been chopped as utes??
It might just be that I'm a bit weird, but there's nothing in life quite so glorious as ginger velour. It's absolutely fabulous. Bring back 80s Vauxhalls.
The ONE interesting feature in my otherwise extremely average 2010 Honda Accord is the ginger velour interior. Honda must have been one of the last manufacturers to make interiors in that style; by that time, other carmakers had already decided to give you either plain fabric or synthetic leather in your choice of black, black, black or black, if you didn't want to buy the premium interior package.
My mate's dad had a green Monza 3 litre GSE with dark green interior, I lusted after that car so much, it sounded so good...
A Royaaaale with Cheeeese.
Love the design on this one.
lol nice one
I remember these; they didn't sell well as Royales. The differences from the Opel versions extended to the interior as only the Vauxhall had the slab of wood veneer in front of the passengers because British people were considered a bit old fashioned and liked wood everywhere. The Vauxhalls only came with the 2.8 carb engine so were definitely aimed at an older, more sedate market.
On a different note, I agree with you about velour; I wish they'd bring it back, it's much more comfortable than leather and all those scratchy fabrics they fit nowadays.
The 3 litre engine with fuel injection was an optional extra on the Royale but standard on the Monza. This option was probably worth it because the 2.8 with its twin choke carburettor had pretty horrendous fuel consumption. You're spot on with the dashboard I always preferred the more German Opel version.
One of my absolute favourite cars, both the Royale and later Monza.
Monza GSe for many years was a car I really wanted and to fit the 24v GSi Carlton engine to..... although the dream was to fit the Lotus Carlton engine to one.
Pretty sure the Monza had a rear wiper.
It was the rear lights and rear panel on the Monza that really did it for me. Makes me quiver just thinking about it!
A few of us lads as teens really liked this car and would have loved to own one. The styling was just so cool as you say the rear end is the best part! Rare now so it's still a pipe dream!
Mine too pal,I can remember seeing a brand new b plate Monza in black and I'm sure my jaw really did drop,loved everything about it the gse sticker on the bonnet and yes that rear panel made it stick out from the royale.
Yes they had the rear wiper and the black pinstripe blaze accross the back lights
Always recall travelling in a friend's wealthyish grandparents gold Royale. The thickest and softest orange velour I have ever experienced.
Interestingly, a quick Google search revealed that this exact car sold last November for the princely sum of £970!
Wow. Sure it needs some work and it's not actually a great car, but that's a real head turner for not much money.
What a bargain.
With a few exceptions such as the Granada (Ford scene tax again!), big 70s and 80s barges remain criminally undervalued compared to sportier stuff. A pity given that far too many examples (that would be restoration candidates if they were hot hatches or 2-seater MGs) are *still* ending their days turning left on a dirt oval.
@@rich_edwards79 I know. Nearly all the Chrysler 180s got scrapped and now there's about 2 left, it's terrible. My Avenger is worth a fraction of what a similar Escort would be worth, but it's much rarer and handles better.
@@video99couk Mmm...Chrysler 180/2 Litre.... lovely car... :)
Royale/Monza/Senator - love those cars. The managing director of SGB kindly allowed the use of his car to take us to the church when the wife and I got married, a dark grey 3.0 Vauxhall Senator - reg plate SGB 1 and it came with his chauffeur too, a lovely chap called Harry.
Bring back velour upholstery, who needs leather with that sort of luxury can certainly see vb Commodore in that front end
I do wish they would bring velour back, loved that material.
That velour - not beige, but gold! I'm in heaven! 🥰
I reckon if it's really of its era the velour was originally cream and it's been stained by cigarette smoke! 😉
@Paulie Gualtieri Or TABAC
I had both the Royale Coupe and the Monza - absolutely loved those cars!
In the day if you had one of these,you were the man.
I remember my uncle buying one of these as it was the only car to fit his 7ft 2 frame comfortably..... It was a 3 litre wheeled sofa... In this curious pinky red they did, with tarts boudoir red velour interior.... A lovely car tho and it was equipped with a bidet (trade term haha)
The monza gse he had after that was much more me.....
Ah this is giving me memories from a little one riding in my grandparents VB commodore. Surprising to see how similar GMH kept the car to the Vauxhall/Opel
One of the most beautiful interiors ever made. Love the colour of the interior and the velour. Beautiful exterior too
Reminds me of the lovely Senator 'A' i had in metallic green. Beautiful green velour inside. 3.0l, lovely sound.
I think you are being a bit harsh about the build quality! Look at the roof lining, parcel self and the seats! Amazing condition for the age.
Swap all the badges to Holden variants and take it to a Holden collectors meeting then sit back with a beer while they stare in confusion.
Didn’t Peter Brock import one of these and shoved an Aussie 5 litre in it. Was going to sell them as HDT cars.
Even better, get the bonnet's chrome strip (with Vauxhall griffin) and other badging to make a Vauxhall Commodore. All those Chev-badged SSs can meet their match!
Richard Neal Peter brock tried to convince Holden to import it to Australia and put a V8 in it, but with no luck...
@@paulsz6194 Yeah, it worked out it was going to be far too expensive. The going rate was expected to be around 50 grand per car. Considering an SS Commodore at the time was less than half that, they (probably correctly) concluded that they wouldn't sell enough of them to make it worth doing. The one that did get built still exists too. I saw it in the flesh once years ago, it was really nice, but 50 grand was just too much to ask. I think Brocky had visions of making it a proper GT car which was worth the money, but the fact was the original build quality just wasn't there so it couldn't be justified. Too much work had to be put in to bring the build quality up to scratch, and pretty much nobody was going to buy a carburettor V8 Opel Monza for more than what a new BMW cost. Sad but true. GM Europe built some okay cars over the years, but Brocky got a bit carried away with that one.
@@woopimagpie Thanks for the extra info, didn't know that it would be that expensive...Could have bought a 2bed apartment for that much. So, uderstandably , there would have been literally a hand full of die-hard, cashed-up , Holden/Brock fanatics who would have paid such crazy amount for a 3dr commodore coupe. You could import one now from the UK though, if you really wanted one...
My brother had a late model Monza GSE with 5 spd manual and digital dash. It also had Recaro front seats rather than the velour armchairs. Lovely car, great for mile munching. Brings back fond memories of the annual trips from Aberdeen to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Love these in metallic red with red velour.
The red interior looked amazing!
You know the level of quality when the window gets a "well done" 🙂
Lovely old car. I see shades of my old B reg Vauxhall Senator in this, unsurprisingly. I remember loving that old beast, 3 litre straight 6, with the nicest black velour interior - my favourite interior of all the cars I've owned. That Senator (1982 was it? Can't remember my reg years) had 4 speeds and lock-up in top, which came in with a "clunk" at around 50mph. She drank like a fish though, lock-up or not! My Senator had the column stalk on the right, and the mad digital dashboard, with the huge digital speedo that got stuck on kilometres (until I took it apart & fixed it, eventually).
1984... 4 speeds and LCD.
I really want the A2 variant of the Opel Monza / Senator, it's so strongly similar to the lovely Holden VL Commodore
I love the styling of the A2 / VL, especially by the rear with those rear lamps going the whole width of the rear
I was offered one of these for free about 7 years ago. The 6 cylinder version. The auto box needed a refurb and 4 new tyres.
I turned it down... and have kicked myself every day since.
Another great video. :)
(Reason I turned it down....... it wouldn't fit in my garage! It was about 2 inches too long........ like the classic Rover 800 advert when Rover gave you 30 days no quibble return on any new car purchased)
When I worked for a VW/AUDI main dealer in the early 90s one of the mechanics had one in dark red metallic. He loved it and it was immaculate.
Ah. The early 90s. When VW and Audi still made decent cars.
@@amarith1972 Yes they were decent enough cars back then but most of the mechanics and bodyshop workers drove other makes.
Peter Ferguson ah yes...the Audi RS6 and R8... terrible, dull cars. I must say I struggle to get into my A5 cabriolet sometimes... How I yearn for the 1986 Polo saloon that was my first car. Those were thrilling times. 😉
Peter Ferguson still better then fords and shitty Vauxhall’s
I drive. 93 golf GTI btw
@@kells77 Ooooh, get you, Bradley!!!
Takes me back! These and their saloon counterparts were unsurprisingly quite common here in Bedfordshire when I was growing up. Lots of Monzas about too - The GSE was the dog's wotsits back in the day. Amazing how modern they looked against the earlier Royales despite being fundamentally the same car.
My late Father had this exact model from new. Such lovely memories seeing this Royale. I miss this car and my Dad even more.
VB Commodore for sure, we were conned by GMH when they proclaimed the VB as an all new Australian car.
In about 1984 Peter Brock imported a Monza into Australia to give it the HDT treatment (worked 5.0l V8, PBR brakes, upgraded suspension, etc.), with a view to selling them to the public. In the end, development of the first one took so long that it was the superseded model by the time it was ready. Most of the holdup involved the RHD conversion and sourcing controls with English graphics. If he'd started with one of these, he just might have pulled it off. "HDT Royale" might have even worked as the name for it.
The problems that Peter Brock had with bringing the Monza/Royale (same car, different name) into Australia had nothing to do with RHD conversion or English-language controls - Opel had already developed these things for the UK market. Also, PB built the HDT Monza prototype in 1983 (he showed it off to the local car magazines in early 1984 after Holden had said no to doing a production version), and Opel were still building them through to late-1986, so a model run concurrent with the VK and VL Commodores was possible.
The big problem was that building them using the fully-imported Opel bodyshells was uneconomical due to unfavourable exchange rates at the time. IIRC, a HDT-spec Monza was likely to end up with a showroom price of something like $45-50K (in 1984 dollars), when a VK Commodore SL (the base model 6-cylinder automatic) was about $14-15K on the road, and the SS Group A (the 'Blue Meanie') came in at about $30K. Also, Holden did not want to cover the warranty work like they did with the HDT Commodores.
Why Holden didn't do their own version of the coupe using imported doors, roof and rear quarter panels (in a reversal of the process used to build Vauxhall Cavalier wagons (the UK version of the Holden Camira)) is a bit of a mystery - they certainly had the production capacity available. I have heard an argument that Holden didn't think there was enough of a market to develop a coupe, but this doesn't really make sense when you consider that the main development work had already been done by Opel, and most of the work to make it satisfy ADR's would have been carried over from the sedans and wagons.
What might have been...
I used to lust after these. I haven't actually seen one for about thirty years.
I remember being driven down the M40 in pouring rain at over 100 mph by a crazy colleague in a metallic green one of these back in the 80s - although his was the 3-litre fuel injection version. I have *never* been so scared...
My father had one of these a 3 litre injection , 5 speed manual . lovely car
Had the Royale in saloon version back in the day in blue,with a sea of blue velour inside....very thirsty beast.
I remember neighbours of ours back in 1982 had a gold Royale and a gold Seneter. As a kid I used to love that velour, which my dad had in his MK1 Granada Ghia. Happy memories!
My mum had an Opel Senator with a 4.1 V8 looked really similar - beautiful car very luxurious...
Went to a car show back in 1979/80 inside the recently opened Milton Keynes shopping centre and remember these Vauxhalls on display. they had the Royale, Viceroy and Carlton. Even then the velour interiors were something else. Thick green, red and tan crushed velour seats. Mates Mum at the time had a VX4/90.
What a great looking car. Has hints of the MK2 cavalier! The front and rear lights. I'd love a classic like this
Great cars in the day. my mate had a silver 2.8 saloon in the early 80's. It had deep maroon Velour interior, which at that time we thought looked fabulous! however the car was a superb long distance cruiser that ate up the miles while giving us supreme comfort. The coupe Monza was the best though and you didn't see many on the roads even then!
I can confirm, having just looked up an old photo of my 1979 Royale coupe (same colour as this one) that it should have a rear windscreen wiper!
Clicked on it thinking it was a Holden Commodore 👍
I had one of the last fe2300 estates on a t plate 78. That had a velour interior in beige. That was the best thing about the car. I was working nights , and slept in the car. No need to put the seats down. It was wide enough.
With regard to the 70s dash , it reminds me of the 1970s pye radiogram my parents had complete with the big knobs on the radio. All you need is a record player in the dash to slide out.
My granddad owned a Vauxhall/Opel dealership and garage until the early 1980’s, and I have faint memories of him owning some of the top spec Opel models of that period. This reminds me of him 😃👍
Remember sitting in a new one in a showroom when my dad went to pick up his vx.At the time it was the coolest car in the world to me(I was 7 in 1978).
Ah, yes, the Monza, which would come in green with lime interior.
I think They matched the interieur colour with the body colour in many cases.
I had a silver Monza with blue interior for a short while when they were bangers and worthless - fabulous car. Loved it
Yeah, I remember metallic red ones with dark red velour. Great looking cars
@@CherylCold I very nearly bought a red version 3.0 auto by rust scared me.
There was one of these lived in Chester with the plate ‘8K’ on it, same colour too! Adore these - so 70s kitsch with the wood and acres of beige velour 😍 that 6cyl engine sounds utterly delicious 😋 Great test Ian!
That’s made my day seeing you review one of these. I’ve lusted after them since I was a kid. I had a later Senator with the 4 speed auto, and it made it such an effortless cruiser.
Velour Central! Quality issues aside (age may very well be a factor there, it is 40 years old this year after all), this is a darn good mile muncher. A car that's very much of it's time, which I like. Top review as ever, Ian.
Thanks HubNut. The world is definitely worse off without the luxo barge.
Really enjoyed this one.
Can't get enough of this era, slight yank influences, cosseted, extra chrome trimmed, top of the line-age feel motors. Obsessed over a silver 3.0 gse parked outside my primary school in the 90s. Gorgeous.
I remember these, very smooth and comfy, love the horn buttons that resemble gear shift paddles 😆
How wonderfully retro! Great video, thanks.
Owned one of these way back late 80's early 90's. It was silver with a gorgeous dark red velour interior. Okay I was not much of a petrol head back in the day but this car would fly. It was almost Rolls like to sit in and a real head turner with the friends and neighbours. A superb relaxing drive on the open road eating up the miles in total relaxation. It was also a 2.8. Loved it.
An uncle had the 3.0 Senator with burgundy red velour, lovely and comfortable. I loved it!
Wholesome Velour! 🤣 You Sir have a particularly unique way with words 😁
I have had three Monza A2's. 1x 2.5i, 2x 3.0i. I can only applaude this wonderful footage.
someone needs to drop in a 253 Holden V8 into that!
For less performance and higher fuel use
Just bought a mk3 cavilier 1.8i classic as my first car because of your channel, i thought i was the only one that loved old basic cars till i found the hubnut cominity keep it up ian.
Looks nicer than the modern jelly molds and so distinctive.
Carburetors are easier to fix than fuel injection.
Imagine how much cheaper these old cars would be to make today, compared to to modern starship's.
Depends. Modern cars are designed to include as many automated construction steps as possible. An older car can very easily cost more, because more construction steps have to be executed manually.
One of the reasons the (very simple) 2cv went out of production, is because its design has been optimized for many manual production steps, costing a lot in labor. Production cost was comparatively high.
If you would re-design an older car and optimize it for modern production technology, you may be right - that's what they do in China. But to current standards, those cars are death traps safety wise. One of the reasons modern cars cost quite a lot, is highly advanced metallurgy to keep a car's weight down but still be crash safe.
Love this car! Those gold velour seats are much missed today, just oozes class and I’m sure they hid the nicotine stains really well too. You can almost smell the Brut! Great vid as always Ian. Thank you. 👍🏼
Love the shots at the end of the video!
A car from late 70's/ early 80's. Thank You.
The allure of velour
Discretion is the better part of velour. 😂 We've now realised this, luckily. 👍👍
You know what they call, you know, Opel Monzas in Britain?
They don't call 'em Opel Monzas?
Nah, they call 'em Vauxhall Royale!
Vauxhall Royale! What they call a Calibra?
Calibra is a Calibra but it's a Vauxhall Calibra
Vauxhall Calibra. :D
Called Calibras here too! There was opels and vauxhalls running around UK, some had opel badges but were listed as vauxhalls and others were proper opels I don't know how the hell that happened! I did hear people that worked in military brought them from Germany as they worked over there, but had ordered them as right hand drive, but it couldn't have been many. Vx dealers used to be vx/opel so did sell a % of opel models like manta.
Is that because of the metric system?
For a long time all Vauxhall’s ended with the letter a
Nova - Astra - I mean I could go on.
@@vanillacoffee Cavalia ...
@@vanillacoffee cavalia, Carltona, Belmonta
Bring back crushed velour! Please Ian, test drive a Granada Ghia Mk 1 and 2 for us.
A coupe. The ford's had a shorter pile on the seat velour, I think they called it a crushed velour
Always loved these cars as a youngster .
a friend of mine had one in the early 80s what an absolute rocket and so comfy
Brought back memories of owning a 1979 opel rekord e1 ... same color velour interior except that it was a 4-door saloon ... if only parts were easily available in my country, i would have kept it ... really love that car.
As an Aussie I've got to smile when hubnut calls a 2.6 a big 6. The smallest we had in the commodore was a 202 (3.3), then a 4.2 v8 and a 5.0 v8. The falcon equivalent had a 3.3 litre 6, a 4.1 litre 6, a 4.9 litre v8 and a 5.8 (351) v8.
Ahh those little British 6s.
Commodore in Aus came with a 1.9 4 in VC & VH
SIERRACOS yeah, that's right, haha, the povo pack 4s. Didn't last though.
What an incredible machine. I have a real soft spot for these 70's luxury barges. Would love to own one myself someday.
Owned two C plate Senators back in the early 90’s; 3.0i and the 3.0 CDi, fantastic cars with that glorious straight six engine.
As a kid I remember a neighbour had a Royale saloon, same colour with burgundy velour seats that looked as squishy as a mattress, I loved it.
I remember the Royale being introduced - we had a VX series estate at the time, and although I loved the VX, the Royale felt like a real leap into the future. Luxury cars, back when luxury meant better materials and build, rather than lots of gadgets. Very handsome styling in both saloon and coupe form.
When I was a kid and my dad had a Cavalier Mk I, I thought these looked amazing. Love the huge velour seats.
I had a VB Commodore with a 253 V8 motor,a good car served me well for years.
I remember as a young ladmuch younger than today. I went on holiday to the lakes the caravan park had a garage.... And in the show room was a royale and a Monza! All I can say they were gorgeous! I wanted both so much!
Cannot imagine theyd be many around now in that state!
oooooohhh, headlight wipers. Quality informative video Mr Seabrook. Many thanks
I had an opal version in the late 80s it was a 1979 3 L E and I’ve got to say to this day and I had some cars probably one of the best vehicles I’ve ever had a real nice barged to cruise around in.Definitely one of the classic car Wish List
Always loved this car.
When a Commodore & Torana Hatch get jiggy..
My nan had a '79 royale saloon same colour as that in the late 90s. It had two black wings and was crusty but it was wonderful to ride around in!! Happy days👍
I noticed on my Dad's '80 Rekord and my '78 Cavalier that the front wings would rot out at the top, that was due to no wheel arch liners so the mud would collect up there from the front wheels and rot them from underneath. The wings were changed on the Opel and I welded patches to the top of the Cavalier's and blended them in.
My dad had a Monza 3.0.E auto. Lovely smooth performer. Super comfy seats. Succumbed to the rust bug before they became a classic item.
Had a saloon version, Silver with dark red velour. Complete pimp mobile!😁
That velour looks wonderfully comfy
Superb ! I used to dream of owning a Royale ! 😊👍
I remember the T- bar shifter for the auto in the early Holden Commodores looks the same as this one. A common method for securing the vehicle when parked, was to put a large standard padlock on the gear lever - between the handle and the pull up lever. This would prevent a car thief from being able to move the shifter out of the Park position.
I had a V reg burgundy Opel Senator...great car , that was very burgundy ie the paint, the velour seats, the carpets and all of the dashboard and fittings.😁
Peter Brock tried to bring one out in Australia with the Holden V8. Sadly nothing came of this.
My dad bought a new VC SLE commodore 4.2 L V8, to me back then was unbelievable experience to drive compared to the older fords, holden and valiants i was used to, what reminded me of that car was the front of this car and the headlight wipers
I bought a rotten one of these when I was just 16 to practice welding and stuff on. They were famous for rotten strut towers. Interior was lovely though, blue crushed velour, if I knew what I knew today and with the skills I gained over the years I could have fixed it up in no time, would have been a beezer to run around in!
My dads car(i should say company Car) in the 80s the most comfortable car I ever went anywhere in (not the coupe) it was just bliss the whole family loved it, metallic blue 😊 enjoy seeing that video Ian 👌👍
This was one of the cars I actually wanted as a kid (of 12 years old) but definitely the six cylinder coupe in metallic red.
I think my devotion was triggered by my older brother going to the 1978 motor show (possibly the first one at The N.E.C.) and me inheriting some of the car company 'freebies' including the Royale brochure.
Later I considered buying one but got side tracked by the thought of a Vauxhall Viceroy and eventually settled for the series of Talbots which concluded with my Tagora SX.
Later still, the only time I ever came across a Royale was in a scrap yard and although I was still impressed by the amount of velour in the cabin, I was never quite crazy enough to try and ressurect one from the it's rusty grave.
Thinking back about them i'm very happy that at least one Royale has survived all this time and made it into a 'HubNut' video.
Thanks Ian.
A friend's dad had a Royale saloon in about 1981/1982. I remember it was so effortless, supremely comfortable and smooth. Lovely car, gorgeous shape with great all round visibility.
I drove one of these as a company car in the early 1980s and I really enjoyed it. It felt powerful for the time and quite the GT tourer.
Reminds me of my friends Vauxhall viceroy that he had back in the early 90s ! That was pure velour heaven a deep red interior if I remember correctly!
3-speed automatic gearbox builds on a character....you keep the revs up in the band, hear the engine growling. It sounds great and I would enjoy it too probably.
Those big 70's seats will never ever be outperformed in comfort...
Good old german cars.
In the mid-90s I went to Skegness with my then-girlfriend, in the back of a T-plate Royale saloon belonging to a friend of her family. At the time my dad owned a Y-reg Morris Ital 1.7SLX. In comparison, the Royale was like spacecraft built from alien technology beyond my comprehension - smooth, quiet, powerful, and all that fake woodgrain and velour! To top it all off, he couldn't find a parking space when we got there, so he left it parked in the police station car park all day and somehow got away with it.
Never seen one of these before, so intresting to learn about this Vauxhall