THE name Vauxhall Velox was once synonymous with affordable, large car six-cylinder motoring .

After the Second World War the Velox name was carried by some Americanised styles, but the one with the real wow factor was the Velox PA of 1957.

This appeared at a time when there was some rapid and directional thinking in car design and the old Velox of 1948 and its jukebox inspired successor of 1951 looked positively archaic when compared to the PA.

This Velox, with its more upmarket Cresta version was on a mission and that was to steal business from Ford

At the 1957 London Motor Show it was the talk of the stands because of its powerful performance figures and its looks which features massive rear light clusters, fins, a new wrap around windscreen and a huge three part rear window to create an airy and light passenger compartment.

Inside was a front bench seat with a column mounted gearchange which was one of the best in the business and under the bonnet was a smooth six-cylinder engine with lots of punch.

On the Vauxhall stand at the 1961 show was a Velox with a larger engine of 2.6-litres which endowed the car with a 96mph maximum speed and a relaxed cruise of 75-80mph.

It was born for open road driving and ate up the miles at a prodigious rate. Fuel consumpion for this 113bhp beauty was around 20-25mpg which was not bad for a big six then, but would be laughed out of court now.

To cope with the revised car's effortless hill-climbing and cruising the clutch was made stronger and front brakes were larger to cope with the improved performance.

Other changes were to front springs and lights and a better interior.

In 1961 a Velox would have cost £929 including purchase tax, cheaper than arch rival Ford Zodiac but more expensive than the Zephyr.

But the problem with Vauxhalls in those days was rust. The Victor suffered badly and the Velox followed suit.

There were a number of water traps and it was not that long until the pride of the driveway started to develop automotive acne with brown, weeping raised rust spots marring the once beautiful lines of the car.

The Velox PA soon lost its street cred and became the the wheels of the second hand buyer to eke oui t its  days until the red menace consigned most of them to thecrusher.

But the fact remains that it was a stunner to drive. The punch in the back acceleration of this car had to be experienced to be believed, and even by today's standards it would be a sparkling drive.