Durban - If you're an Opel fan and you're old enough to remember Group N racing (or you wonder what the old toppies keep going on about!) you're in for a treat at the Top Gear Festival in Durban this weekend.
One of the original Group N Kadett Superboss racers will be out on the street circuit, showing a whole new generation just how it got its name in the rough-and-tumble world of saloon-car racing in the early 1990s, often described as 'stock cars on steroids'.
The Group N Kadett was developed in South Africa from the road-going Kadett GSi ('the Boss') and carved itself a serious reputation in the hands of drivers such Mike Briggs, Grant McCleery and Farouk Dangor, the owner of this particular car, which is still in its original livery.
But in order to race in Group N, homologation regulations required that a certain number of similar cars be made available for the street.
The Superboss - built in very limited numbers purely for the South African market, was the road-going iteration of the manic racing car, with bespoke modifications including Irmscher springs, more aggressive camshafts, revised intake and exhaust manifolds, a revised air cleaner for better induction, uprated engine management make the most of the upgrades, a locally-developed limited-slip differential and special alloy rims.
At the time, the road-going Superboss' modified two-litre GSi four held the world record for the most torque per litre - 228Nm, to be precise! - from a naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which was only surpassed very recently.
THE PASSION IS STILL THERE
Head office took note, and the Superboss paved the way for later performance models such as the Kadett and Astra 200TS models and today's Astra OPC - but the Superboss came first, and this weekend Dangor will be showing off its wild side to a new generation of petrolheads.
“It's a big thrill to bring out this fantastic racing car once again," he said. "The Superboss still sets South African motorsport enthusiasts' tongues wagging, and the passion that created it is still there in today's Opel performance cars - and in the fans as well!"