WHEN you want to truly put the capabilities of a new vehicle to the test, it appears there is only one man to call.

So when Vauxhall wanted to show what its new Vivaro van could do, they phoned County Durham stunt driver, Paul Swift.

Swift, the man behind many of the greatest stunts performed on the BBC’s Top Gear programme, is the star of a new video filmed at Vauxhall’s factory in Luton, Bedfordshire.

In the film, Swift, who runs the Darlington-based Paul Swift Precision Driving company, grabs the keys to a Vivaro on the production line, before reversing at speed and performing a series of J-Turns, handbrake turns and even a pass on two wheels.

Finally, as he has done many times before with much smaller vehicles, he slides the Vivaro neatly back into its slot on the assembly line.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Vauxhall says the tests are designed to validate the agility, durability and safety of every new Vivaro van and are seen as commonplace among the 1,200-strong workforce.

Plant Director, Mike Wright, said: “As Britain’s largest LCV manufacturer, we want to ensure that every customer receives the very best van that we can produce, and that means putting it through the most demanding manoeuvres we can think of.”

Speaking after the video went out on YouTube, Swift said: "It was a very unique opportunity to perform inside the plant.

"We had a couple of rehearsals at Croft Circuit beforehand which helped us find out the capabilities of the Vivaro.

“Vauxhall have put a lot of development into the handling characteristics. It was surprisingly agile and performed a lot like many current cars I've driven.”

To see Paul in action visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r5FyzPX3W8