Forgotten Wonders: Vauxhall SRV

The Vauxhall SRV, the Styling Research Vehicle, was a concept car designed in 1970 and exhibited in London in October 1970. Designed by Wayne Cherry and Chris Field for Vauxhall Motors in the UK, the car featured a transversely mid mounted engine and the car was constructed in GRP (glass reinforced plastic). The SRV featured an aerofoil nose, to help aerodynamics, an electric levelling system at the rear, and a pump to distribute fuel around the car's various fuel tanks. Although the car appeared to have 2 doors, infact in had 4 doors and 4 seats. The cars controls were mounted in the driver's door. Never intended for production, the car was an attempt to raise Vauxhall's profile and image, while providing a platform for researching some unusual design concepts.

The car's exterior design was inspired by the short-nosed, long-tailed Le Mans racers of the time, but was able to seat four adults in comfort, despite being just 41 inches (104 cm) high. Unusually, the design featured fixed front seats, but with all of the driver controls adjustable for position, angle and reach. The car also featured four doors, with the rear doors being handle-less and largely disguised - this feature is only now being incorporated into real production cars over thirty years later.
Ahead-of-time thinkingThe car could change its aerodynamic profile using an adjustable aerofoil located in the nose section. The SRV also had electrically adjusted suspension leveling at the rear, and the car could redistribute fuel to different tanks to adjust handling. The instruments were fixed to a pod hinged to the drivers door.

Engine
The engine was a 2.3 litre mid-mounted transverse version of the Slant Four, but featuring fuel injection. The engine fitted to the SRV was a mock-up, and the car was unable to run under its own power, and the necessary transverse transmission was never developed for the vehicle.
 
Text and images: Lotusespritturbo.com and Wikipedia