The Vauxhall Manta will return in 2025 as an electric car

By topgear, 04 March 2022

Confirmation that last year’s show car was no one-off: the Manta is BACK

In the year 2028, Vauxhall is aiming to become a fully electric brand, like so much of the car world. Before that though, we’ll see an icon of its past resurrected as a full-blown production car.

And so, to the slightly more weather-beaten readers of TopGear.com to whom this’ll no doubt delight, the Manta is making a comeback. By 2025, Vauxhall is promising a brand-new battery-powered production car.

“A Manta, befitting the times we live in – emissions free, versatile and a car that will appeal to the heart and mind,” explains Vauxhall. “New Manta is set to be a fascinating and astoundingly spacious new interpretation of a classic.” 'Astoundingly spacious'? Uh oh...

Anyway, we saw a preview of this philosophy last year when Opel rolled out the delightful rear-drive Manta GSe ElektroMOD. That restomod ditched the original car’s 1.9-litre four-pot for a 134bhp e-motor powered by a 31kWh battery, promising a range of 120miles. Same four-speed gearbox, mind.

Though as part of today’s new announcement, Vauxhall is planning on more. “In the near future, this will include driving ranges of between 310 miles (500km) and 497 miles (800km) and a best-in-class rapid-charging capability of 20 miles (32km) per minute,” says Vauxhall.

No doubt this’ll come via the 'Automotive Cells Company', a joint venture between Vauxhall-Opel, its overlord Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Total/Saft. The plan is to boost the ACC’s German base – turning it into a ‘gigafactory’ – so it’s better able to churn out “high performance batteries for the automotive industry”. ‘High performance’. ‘New Manta’. These are Good Signs.

But why the Manta, you might reasonably ask? “People don’t just like the Manta, they love it,” Vauxhall’s design boss Mark Adams told Top Gear last year on the launch of the ElektroMOD. “And when you use that world it’s sort of stepping over the edge a bit, isn’t it?

“The original Manta was central to what we’re building towards for the future: it was bold and pure,” said Adams. “I was intrigued to see how the modern interpretation could be put back on the original. That’s never been done before.”

Outside of the Manta EV, Vauxhall confirmed the next-generation Crossland and Insignia will also be battery-electric, while the electric Astra and Astra Sport Tourer will be available by 2023.

You're not here for electric Astras and Insignias though, you're here for a new version of this...

Main images: Philipp Rupprecht