Next-level Vauxhall Corsa VXR for sale

Your kids probably won't have heard of Courtenay Sport - time to educate them on the finer things?

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 21 October 2025 / Loading comments

The Corsa VXR always existed in a curious space in the hot hatch hierarchy. Not quite as polished as a Fiesta ST, not quite as talented as the Clio RS - yet not so distant from either that it didn’t deserve an enthusiastic fanbase. Which is precisely what it got. Most hot Vauxhalls are so rewarded, doubly so when we’re talking about a slightly unhinged, boost-happy little rocket that prioritised excitement over finesse. The model was a descendant of the Nova, after all, one of those cars that functions as a wellhead of middle-aged reminiscence, alongside Two Dogs lemonade and hearing ’Slide Away’ on the radio.

By the time the Corsa had made it to its E generation in 2014, it was a world away from those modest beginnings - but some things had not changed. Among them was the tuning input of Courtenay Sport, a firm that once graced the pages of Max Power almost as frequently as top-heavy teenagers from provincial towns. Vauxhall may have spent the last decade extending its brilliantly memorable performance car aspirations to arm’s length, but the internet suggests that Courtenay is still going strong and doing what it did best.

This, we’re happy to hear, much as we’re delighted by the prospect of an apparently well-kept Corsa VXR that has benefitted from what we surmise to be the Stage 2 tuning pack. At any rate, there’s an uprated exhaust, intake and apparently a dyno report that testifies to the gains made via an ECU remap. The vendor does not indicate what the printout actually says, though Courtenay’s website suggests that the alterations ought to have unlocked around 240hp and 245lb ft of torque - plenty enough to be getting along with in a supermini.

Of course, it would not be unusual for such tweaking to be accompanied by a laissez-faire attitude to servicing as the car moves between owners - but this VXR has only accrued 47k miles at the hands of three keepers, all of whom seemed to have understood the importance of maintaining a full Vauxhall service history. More generally, it looks in genuinely good nick, and someone has even gone to the trouble of installing Apple CarPlay, which is a nice touch.

It still looks the part, too, in Mineral Black - vaguely menacing on 18-inch alloys, but without the obvious look-at-me excess of Vauxhall’s more garish colours. But the real reason for considering the VXR is no different to the ST or RS: save for the latest Mini Cooper JCW, there is no modern-day equivalent of the pocket rocket - or not one powered by combustion anyway. And there are few better ways of getting your rocks off on the public road than by giving a front-drive supermini death via an oversized petrol engine.

Especially one with the soundtrack courtesy of Piper. A grin machine if ever there was one, and yours for a fiver less than a bag. Fairly pricey for a VXR, we’ll grant you - it’s certainly possible to get a decent one for a couple of grand less - though clearly the dealer thinks the car’s condition, add-ons and history speak for themselves. Given the number of alternatives, especially in the Ford camp, they might be waiting a while for the right hot hatch buyer. But that’s always been part of the VXR’s charm. Eventually, someone will go home very happy.

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