FERRARI . . .Maserati . . . Aston Martin . . . Jaguar . . . they've two things in common: exciting driving and an expensive price tag.

The two often go together but occasionally, a less-opulent maker remembers that there's a middle ground, and comes up with a car that offers similar excitement for 'the masses'.

Vauxhall has just done that, putting extra performance into one of Britain's best-selling cars, the Astra.

In fairness, the company has done it all before remember the Calibra of around five years ago, which took the competent but mundane Cavalier platform and added performance and glamour.

More recently it's the smaller Astra which has been given the sporty coupe treatment to carry the sporting banner for Vauxhall.

Now the Luton maker has taken it further, with the latest Astra Coupe 888 call it the Triple Eight, named after the home of Vauxhall's BTCC race team, Triple Eight Engineering.

The lucky 100 buyers who take delivery of this limited-edition stunner now on sale at £20,995 will find that a range of modifications has been made to the standard Coupe's interior, exterior bodywork and chassis.

But the Coupe's turbo-charged engine is unchanged which means the power of 192PS from the smooth, 2.0-litre 16-valve unit.

If statistic impress you, it gives 250Nm of torque between 1,950 and 5,300 rpm. No official performance figures have yet been released, but they don't matter . . .

The driving sensation is wonderful!

To focus the already sharp handling the 888 has been lowered, sitting on Eibach springs and dampers. The 17-inch 'OZ Racing' alloy wheels are shod with wider Michelin Sport tyres and the brakes feature an uprated Ferodo brake pad material, which even works its way through to the pedal feel.

Right from the start, the car's style and stance create the right mood. Pedals also take on the sporty appearance of bare metal and drilled holes, and the rest of the Coupe's standard interior has had quite a makeover.

All 888s will be finished in bright metallic blue, and inside blue joins the conventional black decor. Black and bright blue are the colours of the 'Sparco' front seats, the two-tone steering wheel and the gaiters for handbrake and gearshift. Even the centre console which houses a multi-function information display, ventilation controls and audio system, is colour-coded to match.

Put them all together and you have a purposeful cockpit and seats which set the right mood, putting you in control for some enjoyable driving.

Sports machines are not known for their convenience, but finding the right sitting position in this sort of car is important, so it's a shame that adjusting the driving seat isn't easy. Vauxhall provides ribbed wheels at the base of the seat back, but the space is limited by the door.

Once inside there's no doubting that this is a capable car, with instant response.The designers have built in the traditional sporting characteristics a little bouncy, definitely in touch with the road.

Undoubtedly you get a feeling that you are driving a performance car that's nothing to do with speed; it's there even at a modest 40mph.

Sports cars are built to give the sensation of speed which doesn't rely on pure performance. It's partly the harder ride, the low-down position on the road, the feel through the steering wheel . . . a mixture of everything. But this is a true performance car, as you find out when you occasionally get the chance to take full advantage of it, driving it hard but safely on happy country roads.

And if being a desirable and rewarding car wasn't enough, the limited-run 888 will celebrate the Astra's domination in the British Touring Car Championship, when the Astra won 25 out of the 26 rounds.

Vauxhall will return to defend its BTCC title next year, again with the Astra Coupe. This 888 lets you know what it's all about.