HOT
A CAR THAT TRANSCENDS EVERYDAY EXPECTATIONS
What's your definition of a good car? One that looks a million dollars, goes well and has the capacity to entertain, even when you're on the Friday night chip-shop run? Words by Mike Askew, pictures by Vauxhall
Optional 18-inch alloy wheels fit the flared arches to the millimetre, while the centre-exit exhaust is finished with a simple yet aerodynamically effective triangular tailpipe. Extended door sills further emphasise the meaty flanks and give the whole car a wonderfully solid feel.
The Corsa's appearance is more than just window-dressing. Thanks to Vauxhall's involvement at the sharp end of the British Touring Car Championship, our engineers know what makes a car stick to the road. Under floor venturi controls the behaviour of the air moving underneath the car, while door mirrors with an aerodynamic opening at the bottom aid air-flow along the flanks of the car. Evidently, the Corsa
VXR has been designed by engineers with a passion rather than accountants with an eye on the balance sheet.
While the car's handling appears to defy physics, you are seated in some of the sexiest and most supportive chairs money can buy. Twin Recaros come as standard and feature full-shell frames to improve rigidity and save weight. All Corsa VXRs are also fitted with side airbags, ones used by a well-known supercar!
The VXR cabin is equally intriguing. The centre console is finished in luxurious piano black trim while the chunky three-spoke steering wheel has a rally-style stitched strip at the top of the wheel to tell you when the wheels are pointing in a straight line.
The Corsa VXR's 1.6-litre turbo engine gives 189bhp (192PS) and, with over-boost, a staggering 260+Nm of torque. It's this latter figure that makes the difference when you want to get from A to B in a hurry. Torque is what makes those on/off overtaking manoeuvres a breeze. Thanks to a clever over-boosting system that temporarily gives extra torque under full throttle, the VXR delivers great slugs of power throughout the rev range.
THE SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED 1.6-LITRE TURBO ENGINE GENERATES 192PS AND, WITH OVER-BOOST, A STAGGERING 260+NM OF TORQUE…