STYLISH
A small island affair...
The Isle of Man has a currency and stamps of its own. It's a compact island, fringed by 100 miles of stunning coastline and its dramatic mountains and wooded glens create some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain - forty per cent of which is described as 'uninhabited'. Words by Brian Laban. Pictures by John Brooks.
But this is where our story really starts - the Isle of Man has some 600 miles of wonderful roads, very little traffic for all but a few weeks of the year, and they drive on the left. Which makes it a perfect venue for our new Astra TwinTop. Because what the TwinTop is about is enjoyable driving, and a distinctive style. The freedom and independence allowed by the island's self-government under the parliament established in Norse times as Tynwald is also reflected in the Astra TwinTop's character; and like the Isle of Man, our car has something of a dual personality - always stylish, but sometimes racy.
The Astra TwinTop range offers four engines, including 105PS 1.6i 16v and 140PS 1.8i VVT
petrol versions and the strong 150PS 1.9 CDTi turbodiesel - plus, at the top of the range, our
sporty 200PS 2.0 Turbo petrol model. It also offers three well-equipped and attractively priced trim levels, topped again by our super stylish and fully loaded Design model.
The Astra TwinTop has another connection with the Isle of Man, linking Vauxhall's earliest
days with Man's reputation for welcoming the motoring fraternity - even when they weren't nearly so popular in other parts of the UK. In fact for more than a hundred years, Manx
government has opened the island to the world's motor sports community, on two wheels and four, allowing those superb roads to host some of the greatest motoring events in the world. But while the annual TT and Manx GP motor cycle road races are the most famous of all, the Isle of Man's four-wheel connections had started even before the 'bikes arrived, in 1905, and with one of our sporty Astra TwinTop's touring car ancestors on the entry list.
Back then, just two years after the Vauxhall company was founded, and a year before the first race ever to carry the title 'Grand Prix', the Isle of Man hosted an event that mainland Britain wouldn't allow - and because it was specifically for touring cars, it was known as the Tourist
Trophy. Which has further echoes of the TwinTop in its initials.
The 1905 cars had to carry 'all stores and equipment except water'; now we have more