Vauxhall GSi is a name well known for hot hatchbacks and sports saloons and whilst not quite as mean and powerful as their VXR counterparts, they have produced some impressive additions to Vauxhall’s line up over the years. With the market focused on sustainability, plans have been announced to ensure their sporty legacy doesn’t disappear in an electrified future.
Athletic Looks & Bold Design
Vauxhall has announced GSe, their new performance sub-brand to be offered with electric power trains. With a commitment to electric-only from 2028, Vauxhall will also be offering an electric version of all vehicle models by 2024. Since 2021, Vauxhall have offered fully electric options on all van models so there is a good reason to be optimistic for their move to only electric power trains.
Grand Sport electric, or GSe as it will be known will offer ‘athletic’ looks on top of their Bold & Pure design philosophy. A high-performance, electrified drive train will work in tandem with a driver-focused chassis set-up complementing each other to produce vehicles centred around sports handling and design.
Vauxhall’s Acting Managing Director, James Taylor said – ‘Gse will offer sports handling and looks combined with the performance and responsibility of electrified powertrains. Sitting atop the newly simplified Vauxhall range, the GSe name is both a nod to GSi performance models from our heritage as well as being a complement to the GS versions in our line-up today. Vauxhall is committed to electrifying Britain and GSe shows that performance and driving pleasure are set to be part of our electric future.’
Past Meets Present As Electric Takes Over
With an extensive lineup of electric vehicles already available, Vauxhall are well on their way to their target. They’re even on track to beating the government’s deadline by an impressive 7 years. Electric models currently comprise the Corsa Electric, Mokka Electric, Combo Life Electric and Vivaro Electric. With a new Astra model only recently released, the Astra Electric and Astra Sports Tourer Electric will be joining the line up soon.
Further details on the GSe sub-brand will be announced in due course but with an already substantial foothold in electric powertrains, it’s exciting to see what Vauxhall have up its sleeve. Coupled with the stylish designs of the Corsa and Astra, sporty GSe models could fill a gap in the market of electric hot hatchbacks that is yet to be exploited.
