09 Apr 09
This year, credit crunch or not, is shaping up to be a bumper year for car enthusiasts.
Cars like the incredible Ford Focus RS (2009-), the storming Fiat 500 Abarth and insane 670bhp Ferrari-baiting Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series are stealing the headlines and winning accolades, if not respect.
All have been created by in-house tuners completely separately from those developing the standard car. They are a band of passionate and sometimes even renegade engineers. Here are the best of the 'tuners' in the business.
VXR
The VX Racing team has enjoyed huge amounts of success in the British Touring Car Championship with Vauxhall, and as such the manufacturer decided to use that to its advantage, using the team name for its performance arm.
Then Vauxhall went into a VXR frenzy and that's why automotive atrocities like the Meriva VXR have occurred.
Best car: Vauxhall Astra VXR
With 237bhp under the bonnet, the first VXR was as unruly as it was fast. It was also huge amounts of fun.
What were they thinking: Vauxhall Meriva VXR
To drive the mini-MPV isn't horrific, but we do think it brings the whole VXR franchise into disrepute.
