The Opel Astra OPC aka the small but powerfull racing machine

The Astra OPC has a four-cylinder in-line 2 liter engine with direct injection. It has 206kW (280PS) and 400Nm. It is equipped with an  two-stage TwinScroll turbocharger. The six gears are elected manually. The acceleration from 0 to 100km/h needs 6,0 seconds and from 80 to 120km/h in fifth gear need 6,5 seconds. The maximum speed is electrically resticted to 250km/h.

It has 20 inch BiColor OPC- rims and a Brembo brake system, with 18 inch perforated ventilated-disks. The rear axle is build by WattLink and it has a limited slip differential at the front axle. The suspension struts are made by HiPerStrut and it equipped with electrically adjustable dampers (Flex-Ride).

The heatable sport steering wheel has a diameter of 360mm. The sport seats are 18-times ajustable. The seat shell is made of a composite material (polyamide-fibreglass), which makes the seat very light.

Impressions:

The feeling starts by sitting in these 18-times ajustable sport seat. They fit perfectly. The heatable steering wheel feels enjoyable. There is nothing rattling. The interior is made of plastic, but it looks and feels very valuable. The chassis handles the power of the car easyly. The dampers in standard mode are pleasant on long trips. Also the sound isn´t to loud while cruising.

The Engine feels very powerfull and it also sounds powerfull when you are on then throttle. The only (small) penatly is the front-wheel drive, because it´s understeering when you accelerate at the exit of the bend. But that´s not declining the fun and it´s easy to handle, so in our opinion that´s not a big deal. The breaks associated with the tires are a big safety advantage and they just make fun. The gear change is straight and with the clutch it´s easy to change gears fast.

Like the Insignia OPC, the Astra has two faces. On one hand it´s the car  to cruise, go shopping and you can also drive ecological in relation to the power. On the other hand, when you push the OPC button and put the pedal to the metal, you will have much fun on street and even on the race track.

It starts with about 35.000€ and the configuration we drove is about 40.000€. We think thats a good pirce for the power, the look (which is a matter of taste, but we like it) and the haptic.

The Numbers:

1998cc, 4cyl, FWD, 206kW(280hp), 400Nm, 8.1L/100km, 189g/km CO2, 0-100km/h in 6.0secs,  250km/h V_max

The Price:

ca. $55.000 ~ 40.000€ (for this configuration)

Sources:

www.opel.de

Our impressions