Opel names new convertible 'Cascada'

Opel has released two teaser images of its replacement for the Astra Twin Top, which will be known simply as ‘Cascada’ – the Spanish word for waterfall.

The images show the top half of the new four-seater cabriolet with and without its roof in place, formally confirming what recent spy shots had already revealed – that the Astra-based convertible will eschew the discontinued Twin Top’s folding hard-top roof for a retractable fabric soft-top.

Opel – GM Europe’s German brand - says the full-size soft-top can be opened or closed at the push of a button at speeds of up to 50km/h. Under consideration to join the born-again Astra hatch, coupe and wagon line-up recently introduced in Australia under the stand-alone Opel brand, the Cascada is now not expected to make its global public debut until the Geneva Motor Show next March, when it goes on sale in Europe.

Opel has confirmed it will reserve its fanfare at next month’s Paris Motor Show for the all-new Adam city-car, the second additional Opel nameplate to be launched this year after the all-new Mokka compact crossover – both of which are also expected to eventually join the Corsa, Astra and Insignia on sale Down Under.

The only other information released by Opel at this stage is that the Cascada will measure 4.7 metres long overall, making it a full 225mm longer than the Astra Twin Top that ceased production in 2010 and more than 70mm longer than Audi’s A5 Cabriolet.

The Cascada will therefore be significantly larger than both the third-generation AH Astra Twin Top last sold here in March 2010 and the latest Astra hatch just released here. It is therefore expected to offer more interior and luggage space than the Astra Twin Top, which it should also undercut in terms of kerb weight.

As we’ve reported, the new Opel cabrio is likely to be launched in Europe with new direct-injection 1.6-litre turbo-petrol ‘Family 3’ powerplants that are said to minimise consumption and emissions. The most powerful version will crank out 147kW and 300Nm from just 1700rpm and, while 1.6-litre turbodiesel options will also be offered in Europe, expect a dual-clutch automatic transmission and an even more powerful OPC version to eventually join the Cascada line-up.

Opel says it will release more information on the Cascada soon, but motoring.com.au understands the Cascada is based closely on the current Astra, but also employs hardware from the mid-size Insignia.

Apart from hinting at the upmarket aspirations it has for its new convertible, the German maker claims the Cascada will be its first mid-size (rather than small) convertible since the open-top Kapitan and Rekord models of the 1950s and ‘60s.

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