The FE, initially christened the “Transcontinental” in early publicity material, was launched in February 1972. Mechanically the FE was a development of the FD, with larger capacity slant-four power units, and beefier, more refined suspension. The body, however, was completely new, bigger with a far larger glass area and offering more interior space and a more airy feel. Although it shared its floorpan with the Opel Rekord, the FE series was the last Vauxhall to be designed independently of Opel, and featured a different bodyshell, its own suspension and rack-and-pinion steering as opposed to the Rekord’s recirculating ball unit.

The FE range included Victor 1800 and 2300 saloons and estates, Victor 3300SL Estate (re-badged as the Ventora Estate for 1974), a VX4/90 saloon and Ventora saloon. Early Deluxe models had a bench seat in front with an umbrella style handbrake located under the dashboard, but from 1973 these were replaced with twin front seats and a conventional handbrake. Various limited edition FE’s were available such as the Ventora VIP, Transcontinental ES saloon, and 2300S saloon, before production ended in 1975 to make way for the revised VX Series.