SPY PICS: Next Commodore spied in anger

We've spotted it testing on German roads and in the snow; now our spy shooters have snapped Opel's next-generation Insignia undergoing durability testing at the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife ahead of its expected debut at the Paris motor show in October.

What's the significance of this, you may well ask? Well, GM's new large European sedan – and the wagon version that will follow – has been confirmed to replace Australia's Commodore after Holden ceases local production at the end of next year.

As you can see from these latest pics, the 2018 Commodore sedan's radical new fastback-style design, which has drawn comparisons with the Audi A7 Sportback, remains heavily disguised on this pre-production prototype.

The cladding doesn't conceal its larger dimensions, however, with the new Insignia – which is due on sale a year earlier in Europe, in 2017 – and some reports insist it will be more than 100mm longer than the outgoing model, which would make it as big as a Skoda Super and, more importantly, the current VFII Commodore.

It will also be up to 100kg lighter than both the existing Insignia, which is currently sold by Holden only in top-shelf turbocharged V6 all-wheel drive VXR sports sedan form, and – more importantly – the final homegrown Commodore.

That's because it will ride on the same new front/all-wheel drive E2XX platform as the new Chevrolet Malibu, which almost certainly won't be sold here alongside the first imported Commodore.

Under the bonnet, expect four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines powering the front wheels, with an eventual VXR replacement – again likely to brandish AWD and turbo V6 power – charged with filling the void vacated by Holden’s popular Commodore SS V8.