SPY PICS: Holden's next Commodore SS?

Opel is working hard on a high-output variant of its next-generation Insignia, which moves up in size from the current model Insignia Holden is struggling to sell here in meaningful numbers.

The Insignia Holden is currently selling in Australia – 117 sales for the first four months of this year – is available in just one variant, the VXR. That's a rebadged version of the car known overseas as the Opel Insignia OPC. In Australia, the Insignia VXR is overlooked in the showroom as prospective buyers rush past it in the stampede for the remaining V8-engined Commodores.

But come 2017, Holden will cease to build the Commodore (or any product) in Australia, which means Holden buyers in the market for a large, high-performance sedan will have to look elsewhere.

Hence the importance of the car in these spy photos. Holden is believed to be planning for the next-generation Insignia – a car much closer in size to the current VF II Commodore – to replace the car built here, and still carry the Commodore name. Most of the post-2017 Commodores will likely be front-wheel drive variants, but the OPC will be all-wheel drive, if the current Insignia OPC/VXR is any guide.

You won't get a V8 in the OPC/VXR/SS – whatever the next firebrand Commodore variant is to be called – but it should deliver performance in the same ballpark. And with all-wheel drive it has the traction to match the engine output – making it a serious rival to Ford's Mustang GT, potentially.

Holden is yet to admit that the Insignia, badged 'Commodore', will replace the current rear-wheel drive VF II models built in South Australia, let alone indicating the Insignia VXR will replace Commodore SS. The loss of the V8 and rear-wheel drive leaves the way open for Holden to retire the SS badge, if it should so choose. There's a chance that the all-wheel drive Commodore will be badged Commodore VXR, or perhaps something that draws on the past but also acknowledges the new model's forced-induction technology, such as Commodore SV6T, for instance.

The subject of these spy photos is described as a 'mule', but the only visible components on the car that aren't standard Opel fittings are reportedly Cadillac brake callipers and large-diameter alloy wheels. Proportions, overhangs and the sloping roofline clearly indicate this is the new Insignia in the sheet metal.

Opel will introduce the new Insignia at this year's Paris Motor Show in October. The car will be based on the same E2XX platform as the Chevrolet Malibu, which has already made its debut in North America.

One design element that sets the stylish Malibu apart from the upcoming Insignia is the Chev's conventional boot lid and three-box sedan format (although the rakish C pillars conceal that). In contrast, the Opel will be a lift-back sedan – and Holden may strike buyer resistance with a 'Commodore' that isn't a sedan. It will be also available as a wagon, which will be easier to sell...

Like the Malibu, the Insignia will be much lighter than the current model, despite being significantly larger. It will feature an advanced infotainment system and will be built at Opel's plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany from 2017.