An expert’s view
GARY CONWAY, OWNER, GCAP PERFORMANCE
“The Corsa VXR’s biggest problem is failure of piston four. It’s a cooling issue that causes the ringlands, where the piston rings sit, to crack. Basically, the piston casting is poor. If it’s down on power, misfires and smokes at idle, it’s likely to be piston four. Catch it early and have all the pistons modified before it breaks and destroys the engine. Otherwise, the Corsa is a tough little thing. My demo car is a Nürburgring VXR with a forged engine, custom camshafts, a Garrett GTX30 turbo, an uprated swirl pot and large 875cc fuel injectors. It makes about 500bhp. I’ve changed the diff to a Wavetrac to help keep it on the road.”
Buyer beware
ENGINE
Low power, noisy acceleration,…