Vauxhall is axing its mighty Aussie-based Monaro after just two years. The move is the result of fellow GM company Holden halting production of the super-saloon Down Under. Supply of Vauxhall versions will stop next spring.

Holden is parent firm GM's leading rear-wheel-drive chassis developer, and the factory space currently occupied by the Monaro production line is needed for other, more profitable projects.

More than 400 of the V8 sports saloons have been sold in Britain since the car's launch in March 2004. Initially, only the 354bhp 5.7-litre version was available, but a 382bhp 6.0-litre VXR flagship followed shortly after.

A Vauxhall spokesman said: "The introduction of the Monaro was designed to kick-start the VXR brand."

Only 500 Monaros leave Australia bound for the UK each year, and there is said to be enough in the pipeline to cope with demand until next April. However, any bargain hunters are likely to be disappointed: due to the limited availability, prices are set to remain at £29,895 for the standard model and £36,995 for the VXR version.

A total of 400 Monaros are still due to arrive here, 350 of which will be the hot performance model. Vauxhall has hinted that a replacement for the Monaro may eventually come from the current Holden line-up. This is likely to be another V8-powered, sporty saloon, such as the Calais or Commodore SS. These feature the same 5.7-litre engine as the outgoing car, but at the moment they remain available only in Australia.

Motoring enthusiasts across Britain mourned the passing of the Monaro. The only Australian-built car to be sold in the UK offered raw and exciting performance thanks to its 6.0-liter V8 and rear-wheel drive set up.

But the thunder from down under hasn’t stopped yet – in fact it’s only going to get louder. Vauxhall has announced the arrival of a new Aussie musclecar – the VXR8 – and it’s more powerful and exciting than even the legendary Monaro.

The dramatic-looking new saloon is powered by the same 6.0-liter V8 as the outgoing Monaro VXR, but revisions to the engine have made it even more efficient. It now develops a massive 420 bhp and 406 lb-ft of torque, giving it enough grunt to sprint from 0-60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. No other supercar offers this sort of power for anywhere near the VXR8’s price.

Yet the VXR8, based on Australia ’s Holden HSV Clubsport R8, offers more in the way of practicality than the outgoing Monaro, with four doors and space for all the family.

Although practical, with a spacious boot, comfortable, long-legged cruising ability and luxuries such as climate control and leather trim, the VXR8 is certainly no softie. Driver aids such as the stability system and traction control can be turned off at the flick of a switch – perfect for drivers who want to hone their skills on a track day.

And VXR8 goes as well as it stops, too, with powerful 365mm front disc brakes that slow the car down from 60 mph to a standstill faster than a Lamborghini Murcielago or BMW M5.

In response to customer demand, the VXR8 will also be the first VXR model to be offered with an automatic gearbox. In order to maintain the control which VXR buyers require, the optional £1,400 self-shifter has a manual override and a sport setting which ensure the performance isn’t blunted – in fact the auto is only half a second slower to 60 mph than the manual.

Satellite navigation and 20-inch wheels will be offered as options for those who want to make their VXR8 look more distinctive and help find their way to the best driving roads. Even with all the option boxes ticked however, the VXR8 is still around half the price of other cars with comparable performance.

Vauxhall's gloriously unreconstructed VXR8 is set to get even lairier with the introduction a supercharger kit, boosting the power of the six-litre V8 up to - ready for this? - 540bhp and some 526lb ft of torque. Yowch.

That's up some 129bhp on the standard VXR8's 411bhp, which hardly felt underpowered itself.

There's no word on what the supercharger will do to the VXR8's performance figures, but bear in mind that without the supercharger it'll hit 60mph in just under five seconds. Low fours is a serious possibility.

The supercharger kit will set you back just under seven grand, bringing the total cost of the VXR8 to just over £40,000 - a veritable bargain for 540 horses. You might want to put a few grand to one side for replacement tyres, though...

Put simply the Vauxhall VXR8 is a re-badged version of the HSV Clubsport developed by Holden Special Vehicles. So it comes as little surprise to see the UK version get the new 6.2-litre LS3 V8 engine which was first used in the 2008 Corvette before finding its way down under to the HSV range.

Replacing the outgoing LS2 unit, the LS3 increases its power by 14hp to 431hp, acceleration from 0-60mph now lies at 4.9 seconds (previously 5 seconds flat). Although the price has now increased by £485 to £35,695.

Vauxhall's already powerful VXR8 sedan has gotten rave reviews for providing tons of power at an affordable price but now the company has decided to take things to the next level by introducing the VXR8 Bathurst S Edition.

The special edition is outfitted with a Walkinshaw Performance 122 Supercharger that cranks up the standard car's 431 horsepower to an earth shattering 560 horsepower. Horsepower isn't the only big change as the new supercharger also increases the LS3 V8 engine's torque output from 550Nm to a diesel-like 715Nm. Vauxhall insists that they could have gotten even more power out of the supercharger but for drivability and durability reasons, the company decided against it.

As part of the supercharger package Vauxhall added a large capacity intercooler, high-flow fuel injectors, a separate cold air intake and Walkinshaw-developed ECU map. They also had to modify the transmission in order to handle the increased engine output by adding a high-torque capacity clutch.

Other performance changes include the addition of six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers, stiffer height-adjustable springs, and a Walkinshaw-developed coil-over dampners which have 15 separate valve settings and independent corner adjustment. An optional £1600 stainless steel bi-modal exhaust adds 10PS and features two noise settings, in street mode it emits up to 92dbA while in optimum it screams out 102dbA.

Pricing for the Bathurst S starts at £44,995 while the naturally aspirated Bathurst costs £37,995.

715Nm torque