THE early 1960s were immensely influential in automotive development, especially in the family saloon sector. At that time the fleet market had not really taken off and the focus really was on what was best to be proud of in the driveway and polish every weekend. Vauxhall was a front runner in this field but was hampered by the fact that its American-styled Victor F was getting very long in the tooth and was suffering from rust problems. Consequently a replacement had to be found that could give the company a boost. So in drove the Victor FB with a completely new look. Vauxhall did away with the wrap-around screens and tailfins of the old model and in came more sober styling. Retained was the old and very durable 1,507cc engine, but enhanced by pressure cooling. Another lingering 1950s feature was the outdated three-speed column gear change but it was possible to specify a four-speed floor mounted gearbox. The FB had an early setback because its export sales to the USA ended after 1961 when Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick came up with home-grown compact models of their own. This was a major factor in the FB only achieving sales of 328,640 vehicles by the time it was replaced in 1964. But another body blow was the rise of its arch enemy the Ford Cortina which hit the road running and clocked up over a million sales in its first generation. In September 1963 the Victor's engine was enlarged from 1,508 to 1,594cc and front disc brakes with larger 14-inch wheels became an option. Models with the larger engine had a revised frontal treatment with a block style grille element and revised parking lights at either lower extreme of the grille. A Vynide covered bench front seat was standard on the basic model and Super Victor but individual seats were standard on the De Luxe and optional on the lower priced cars. Other options included the heater, fog lamps, radio, screen washers, reversing light and seat belts. Performance was good with 78-94mph being in the car's sights and fuel consumption was not bad for the day at 32.2mpg. At the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show a Victor could set you back £744 but the next year the Cortina drove in at £639 – not good news for Vauxhall. A sporty derivative, the VX4/90 was also available with twin carburettor, high compression, engine giving 71bhp and servo assisted brakes. Externally the car could be distinguished from the standard car by a coloured stripe down the side, revised grille and larger tail-light clusters. But Ford moved in with the very fast Lotus Cortina and the Victor and VX4/90 had to scrabble for sales in an immensely competitive environment. True, the FB was a major advance on the original Victor but its rather characterless styling and sloping turtle deck rear did not earn it the majority vote. | 
