ACTIVE

But the district is laced with other great driving roads too - including a small but spectacular one which bisects the Cumbrian mountains and goes on towards the rugged Irish Sea coast at Ravenglass after pushing through two more of the most dramatic passes in Britain: the Wrynose and Hard Knott. It's not a route for anyone in a hurry in a car less capable than the Corsa VXR. Much of the road is single-track, and as vertiginous and twisting as ever, with one section forming one of the two steepest roads in England (Rosedale Chimney in North Yorkshire is the other), with a gradient of 1 in 3. By any standards that's severe, but yet again the Corsa VXR flies up it with puppy-dog enthusiasm - and remarkable power and agility for a car with an on-the-road price of just £15,625.

Wrynose is part of a Roan road that served troops stationed at Hard Knott Fort, the remains of which can still be seen nearby. From here you can gaze across the sea to the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Latin for 'pass of the stallion', as the steep gradients favoured a well-muscled horse. Or nowadays, the well-muscled Corsa VXR.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO
WWW.VAUXHALL.CO.UK/VXR

OR CALL 0845 600 1500