Super Sport Car Evolution: Opel Insignia

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Opel Insignia

The Opel Insignia is a large family car engineered and produced by Opel, the German subsidiary of General Motors (GM) since 2008, replacing the Opel Vectra. Launched at the 2008 British International Motor Show in London as the Vauxhall Insignia, the United Kingdom market name, the Opel Insignia name is used throughout continental Europe and Ireland, with North American and Chinese-market versions badged Buick Regal. The Buick Regal will also be available in North America from late 2010. In Chile, the Insignia will retain the Chevrolet Vectra name as used by the previous Vectra model. Insignia is also the first production car to feature a dual-function frontal camera with traffic sign recognition. The Insignia was voted 2009 European Car of the YearThe Insignia offers 30 millimetres (1.2 in) more knee room than the Vectra. Both body variants have identical 4,830 millimetres (190.2 in) length and share the same wheelbase of 2,737 millimetres (107.8 in).In early 2009, Opel revealed the Insignia OPC, a high-performance variant of the Insignia. Like the preceding Vectra OPC, it is powered by a 2.8 litre turbocharged V6. The updated engine makes 239 kilowatts (321 hp) and 435 newton metres (321 ft�lbf). Of this 435, 400 newton metres (300 ft�lbf) is available from 2,000 rpm. It will be paired with a six-speed manual transmission and Saab's active all-wheel drive system. Also standard is an electronic limited slip differential for the rear wheels and Opel's FlexRide adaptive suspension, which has three settings the driver may choose. An OPC version of the Insignia Sports Tourer wagon has also been unveiled and is currently on sale.

From launch, the Insignia offered a 1.6 litre Family 1 straight-four engine producing 85 kilowatts (116 PS; 114 hp), a 1.8 litre version producing 103 kilowatts (138 hp), a 2.0 litre Family II straight-four direct injection turbocharged petrol producing 162 kilowatts (217 hp), a Holden-built 2.8 litre High Feature turbo petrol V6 engine producing 191 kilowatts (256 hp), and three turbocharged 2.0 litre "CDTi" straight-four diesel engines, producing 81 kilowatts (109 hp), 96 kilowatts (129 hp) and 118 kilowatts (158 hp). These CDTi diesels are derived from the Fiat/Opel JTD engine. The engine lineup was expanded in early-mid 2009 with a 1.6 litre turbo petrol producing 132 kilowatts (177 hp) as well as a fourth variation to the 2.0 litre "CDTi" diesel, producing 140 kilowatts (190 hp) in twin-turbo form. All nine engines meet Euro 5 emissions standards, and all are offered with in front-wheel drive configuration; exceptions are the 2.8 petrol turbo and 2.0 litre twin-turbo diesel which are offered with Saab XWD all-wheel drive by default. With the 2.0 litre turbo, both propulsion forms are available. Six-speed manual or automatic transmissions are fitted throughout the range, although five-speed automatics are used on the 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol engines as well as the base diesel. Also starting in 2009, a low-emissions 2.0 litre ecoFLEX diesel variant is scheduled to commence sales. Using altered aerodynamics and motor control, the model's carbon dioxide emission will be below 140 g/km, which corresponds to about 5.0 L/100 km. Power outputs is rated at 118 kilowatts (158 hp), however this engine and transmission deletes the opportunity to specify "FlexRide" as an option in some markets. Later on in 2009, a high-performance version of the 2.8 litre V6 in turbo form will be fitted to the Opel Performance Center (OPC) and VXR variants delivering 239 kilowatts (321 hp). From September 2010, the 2.0 CDTi Diesel variant is now available with Adaptive 4x4 (4-wheel drive). This is currently only found on the 2.0 and 2.8 litre Petrol Turbo variants, and is an a addition to the line-up.