UK’s rarest cars: 1965 Vauxhall VX 4/90, one of only 44 FC-series left on British roads

Fifty-five years ago Vauxhall marketed its FC-series VX 4/90, as “a blend of virility and luxury, power and richness”. Better still, its performance was akin to “a steady jet”.

The VX cost £893 12s 11d, although any owner worth his or her expense account would have almost certainly invested an extra £26 1s 5d for the “pull-out portable radio”. After all, with the 4/90, you were entering “Club Exclusive” –according to the advertisements, at least.

The first incarnation of the VX 4/90 debuted in 1961 as the sporting flagship for the new Victor FB range. Three years later, the FC featured distinctive curved side-window glass – a first for Vauxhall. The range was also known as the 101 as part of Luton’s short-lived plans to identify future Victors via code numbers. 

The latest VX boasted uprated suspension and twin Zenith carburettors for the 1,594cc engine. A floor-mounted lever operated the four-speed, all-synchromesh transmission, and the top speed was a respectable 93mph. An elaborate radiator grille and a side-flash further differentiated the 4/90 from lesser Victors.

The VX’s standard equipment included a heater,  windscreen washers, pile carpets, a built-in cup tray in the glovebox lid and an elaborate array of black-on-white instruments set in a jukebox-like facia. The seats were upholstered in “modern Ambla” which was apparently “more resilient, easier to clean” than leather. The message was clear; what truly “with-it” type still needs hide trim these days? 

The “Coke bottle-styled” FD-series replaced the FC in August 1967, and today just 44 remain on the road. Vauxhall’s publicity of the 1960s extolled the virtues of the ‘Magic Mirror’ acrylic paint finish and their seven-stage rust-prevention process. However, many owners thought their VX was actually biodegrading after just a few years.

Michael Taylor came by his unrestored 1965 example in July 2019 – he was attracted by its “condition and scarcity. The previous owner had owned the car for 14 years, and prior to that it was in a collection in Essex”.  Taylor finds his VX “very nice to drive;  maybe a little soft on the suspension”.

Unlike the Victors, the 4/90 came with power-assisted front disc brakes and Taylor remarks, faintly tongue-in-cheek; “it needed them to handle all the power it pushed out!”. Later models boasted a ‘Super-Traction’ limited-slip differential, but Vauxhall never intended the 4/90 as an out-and-out sports saloon.

Autocar regarded the VX as “a well-equipped comfortable five-seater with plenty of luggage space”. It was also more flamboyant than the Ford Corsair GT or the Singer Vogue and definitely more contemporary in appeal than the MG or Riley-badged BMC ‘Farina’.

Today, the public responds to the Storm Grey Vauxhall with “lots of comments and waves” , for it is a genuinely charismatic machine. A VX 4/90 FC was perfect for the sort of motorist who was never another Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James and whose Vauxhall complemented  Steak Diane every Friday and affecting an implausible mid-Atlantic accent.

And who would try to emulate the brochure’s vision of motorway driving: “Now to overtake. A fingertip touch on the headlamps. Good for him, he’s moved over. People do move over for a VX 4/90.” 

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