Holden's new Commodore will soon be spreading its Ostrich wings and taking flight to markets around the world. It'll make the journey Stateside as the new Chevy SS, and will, in all likelihood, hit the UK as the next Vauxhall VXR8. But before it does, GM's British division has announced one more variant to see it off. On top of the sedan, the Commodore is offered as a pickup ute and a wagon. And it's the latter which Vauxhall is now offering in the UK as well. But this is no mere wagon: it's the most powerful in Vauxhall's 110-year history.

That's because the new Vauxhall VXR8 Tourer packs a 6.2-liter V8 with 425 horsepower driving six speeds (either manually or automatically) to the rear wheels. 0-60 comes in just 4.9 seconds, with a top speed limited to 155 mph. (Vauxhall's engineering is done, after all, by Opel in Germany.) Still think this is an ordinary station wagon for soccer moms? It's got 20-inch wheels and friggin' launch control, for crying out loud. And an EDI telematics system built into the dashboard to monitor lap times, G-force loading, engine output and drift angle. All that and it can hold 2,000 liters of stuff with the rear seats folded. Yours for only £49,500.