Opel reveals all-new ADAM

Opel has revealed full official images and details of its all-new premium compact car, the ADAM, just days after it was spotted being filmed for a TV commercial.

Aimed directly at the likes of the Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, Citroen DS3 and Audi A1, the pint-size three-door hatchback is not confirmed for release in Australia, where Opel will be introduced as a stand-alone brand by GM Holden in September.

Opel Australia says the ADAM – which bears the same name as company founder Adam Opel and was styled under chief designer Mark Adams – remains under study for potential release here alongside the light-size Corsa hatch, small Astra hatch and wagon, and mid-size Insignia sedan and wagon.

But it has warned that the limited market for premium-priced small cars in Australia and the complexity involved in landing the wide variety of personalised model variants in which it will be available in Europe could prevent the ADAM ever being sold here.

Despite being smaller than the Corsa upon which it is based, the more upmarket ADAM will be closer in price to the Astra, which in the UK starts at £12,995 ($A19,660). With an estimated starting price of about £11,000 ($A16,545) in the UK – where it will be badged as a Vauxhall - the ADAM will therefore be more expensive than the Corsa, which starts at £9495 ($A14,370) in the UK.

If sold here, the ADAM would likely be priced in line with premium small car rivals like the 500 (from $24,990), MINI ($25,500), A1 ($26,500) and DS3 ($26,990), meaning it would also compete in the same price bracket as Opel’s own Astra, which is expected to be the German brand’s volume-selling model here – perhaps at the expense of some Cruze sales.

Exact pricing will not be revealed until September’s Paris Motor Show, where the ADAM will make its formal public debut before opening for European orders. First deliveries will take place in Germany and the UK next January.

Like the 500, A1, DS3 and MINI, the ADAM will be available with a plethora of customising options, including a contrasting-coloured 'floating' roof, and will come in three variants with names designed to attract a young, trendy audience: fashionable/colourful Jam, elegant/sophisticated Glam and racy/sporty Slam.

Opel says all three variants will form the basis for customers to personalise their own unique vehicle, with more than a million colour and trim options said to become available.

“No other car in this segment can be individualised as much as ADAM because we are offering virtually unlimited exterior/interior colour, fabric and kit combination choices,” said Opel Vice-President of Design Mark Adams, a Briton who will head up Cadillac and Buick design within General Motors from August 1.

“It’s very unlikely that you’ll find two identical Adams out there.”

Like the A1, the ADAM features a chromed roofline design feature that arcs between the A and C-pillars, and will be available with a range of wheel sizes up to 18-inch in diameter.

Other options will include lowered sports suspension, satellite-navigation via a seven-inch colour touch-screen, multiple smart phone connectivity options, a ‘city mode’ that lightens the weighting of the electric steering system, an automated parking system and, in a first for the class, a heated steering wheel.

Unlike the retro-styled 500 and MINI, however, the three-door four-seat ADAM is not inspired by any previous model and presents an all-new styling direction for GM’s loss-making European brand that appears to have little in common with any existing Opel model.

Riding on MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension, Opel’s first “fashionable urban car” is 3700mm long, making it longer than the three-door 500 (3546mm) and five-door Barina Spark (3595mm) but shorter than the three-door Corsa hatch (3990mm).

In fact, the ADAM is similar in length to the MINI (3723mm), but is almost 40mm wider at 1720mm, falling just 20mm short of the A1 (1740mm). However, it’s much shorter overall than the 3954mm Audi, while its 2311mm wheelbase is slightly longer than the 500’s (2300mm) but well short of the Mini’s (2467mm).

In an unexpected move, there will be no diesel option within the all-manual ADAM’s Corsa-sourced engine line-up, which comprises 1.2 and 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol powerplants from launch.

Opel said they will be joined by an all-new small petrol engine featuring direct injection and forced induction. Expected to be a turbocharged three-cylinder, the ADAM’s third engine option is likely to herald a whole new family of downsized force-fed petrol engines from GM, designed to compete with conceptually similar engines from Ford, Fiat, VW and BMW.

Opel Australia told motoring.com.au its July 30 media launch was unaffected by a five-year business plan announced late last month by the Adam Opel AG supervisory board in Germany.

“We don't comment on global operational matters, however, I can say that nothing being reported internationally has any impact on our launch here,” said Opel Australia Head of Marketing and Public Relations, Michelle Lang. “We're all on track for launch.”

GM said it remains committed to its loss-making Opel/Vauxhall division, saying that the new business strategy involving expanded export programs to markets including Australia, investment in new products, a revised brand strategy, a new industrial alliance with PSA Peugeot-Citroen and further cost cutting will lead to “sustained profitability”.

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