Hotter Opel Astra OPC coming

If 206kW isn’t enough power for you, be consoled - Opel’s Astra OPC hot hatch could get a performance boost.

Launched this month in Australia alongside the larger Insignia OPC, with the smaller Corsa OPC headed our way in April, the Astra OPC already produces more power than any of its direct rivals.

But with the power and performance war always escalating, the managing director of OPC – which stands for Opel Performance Centre – Volker Strycek has hinted an uprated Astra OPC is under consideration.

“It could be that we will have in the current Astra a special-edition in the near future,” Mr Strycek told motoring.com.au while in Australia for the local OPC launch.

“We launched our car with 280hp,” he added, “and it is readable now that Volkswagen will come with 290 for the (Golf) R. Ford will come with maybe 350 hp with the new (Focus) RS. So you can see if one is doing the next step the others will follow.”

A limited edition of the 2.0-litre turbocharged Astra OPC would certainly not surprise, as the company currently has a ‘Nurburgring Edition’ version of the Corsa on sale in Europe with power punched up from 141kW to 152kW, as well as a speed-derestricted Insignia Supersport.

Established in 1997, OPC is to Opel what Holden is to HSV and MD Mr Strycek, a DTM championship winner in the 1980s, is responsible for the engineering direction of the company. Australia is OPC’s first market outside Europe, launching six months after GM’s German subsidiary arrived in Australia.

Australia’s higher-performance OPC models are expected to contribute between 10 and 30 per cent of the 1500 total Opel sales forecast here this year, accounting for just 150-450 of  OPC’s 10,000 global target in 2013.

OPC makes quite a big deal out of its peak horsepower figures, claiming both the Corsa and Astra are the most powerful hot hatches in their classes, while the 239kW turbocharged V6-powered Insignia OPC all-wheel drive is the most powerful production model Opel has ever built.

Mr Strycek stressed that whatever models OPC builds down the track, peak power would not be the only consideration. More performance might be extracted by weight reduction, improved aerodynamics and hybrid assistance rather than just bolting on a bigger turbo.

Engines would also likely downsize in OPCs, reflecting the trend of its parent company and the automotive world globally. Turbocharging would be necessary in all OPC models, he predicted.

“We are developing a lot of intelligent ideas for the next generation of turbocharged engines – double charger, combined with compressors and so on,” he said.

“We will have in the next future interesting developments especially in this type of engine – low capacity with high turbocharging range - and you will see how many horsepowers we will achieve in the future from 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre engines.

“You need not only powertrain,” he added. “You need very good aerodynamics, you need weight distribution, centre of gravity, all these things are important for performance cars and performance driving. I am sure the future will be exactly in this direction – weight reduction and aerodynamic changes and downsizing.”

Mr Strycek said another form of technology being investigated by OPC in partnership with Opel was electric turbocharging, which disengages turbo speed from exhaust gas flow to allow better response at low engine revs. He predicted it would take five years to resolve current issues and bring the technology to market.

“You need a really high power pack to control the electrical turbocharger and that is at the moment not easy to handle,” he explained.

Mr Strycek confirmed that OPC was currently in the process of developing its version of the next-generation Corsa (due in 2014), Insignia (facelift this year, new generation in 2016) and Astra, which should appear in 2018 or 2019.

He said an OPC version of the Adam mini-car was yet to be approved, while neither the Cascada convertible or Mokka mini-SUV were expected to get the OPC treatment.

“It was the plan to do it, but now no-one is talking about it (Cascada)… Maybe we will have to wait to see how successful the car will be in the market.”

The third-generation Zafira people-mover is also a ‘wait and see’ prospect, despite OPC successfully developing hot versions of the first two generations. He said the Opel version of GM’s range-extended Volt hybrid, the Ampera, was also a possibility.

“For sure we have to think about hybrid systems and electronic or electrical systems. We have the very successful Ampera, so yes, the technology is there to combine it with an OPC car. We have to think about that and we have to say never no.”

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