There’s no denying that the all-new Opel Astra OPC three-door hatch is one hot-looking vehicle. And with a turbo-charged four-banger making 280 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque under the hood of what weighs no more than 3,300 pounds, coupled with GM’s HiPer Strut suspension setup, we can’t imagine it not being fun to drive. This much we already knew. What we didn’t know were the ways in which this special 2.0 Ecotec in this car was different from the one buyers could already find in the larger Opel Insignia, where it makes 220 horses… until today.
For starters, the 1998 cm3 all-aluminum unit delivers its 295 pound-feet of torque at a respectable 2,450 RPM all the way to just under 5,000 RPM — providing a wide range of peak performance for a variety of piloting situations. To accomplish this, the turbocharging system was fortified to endure an increased amount of charge air pressure, which begins to build at 1,400 RPM. GM engineers increased the maximum charge pressure to 1.5 bar, — a 25 percent boost compared to what’s used in the Insignia. Additionally, the tuned 2.0 uses an all-new cutting-edge air intake setup developed to feed Hurculean amounts of air into the turbo unit.
All this results in the most power-dense engine of its size on the market and a sound note that’s masculine and powerful. In fact, the mill was tuned by acoustic engineers whose goal was to create a jet-like sound in the interior of the Astra, which Opel says is particularly prominent when shifting from third to fourth gear under hard acceleration. Couple that with the recently-announced Opel OPC PowerApp, and you have one ridiculously amusing ride.
The GM Authority Take
“That’s great and all”, thought Alex as he sipped his favorite lager. “Now is it really that cost-prohibitive to put this wonderful engine into the Chevy Cruze? Could it be that GM simply likes getting beat by Hyundai and Volkwagen?” He sighed a solemn breath of sorrow and headed outside for a hot lap in his friend’s VW GTI.
Comments
Put that on the Cruze and Verano!!
Forget the Verano, let it be a silent luxury machine. This thing belongs in a high-po Cruze.
or also put it on the Sonic
agree VIC
I agree. The Sonic is supposed to be sporty. They need a hot hatch!! Ford will have the Focus ST. Since no Cruze hatch, GM needs something! Come on!
opel is set to sell cars in AUS second half of the year, I hope they bring the OPC !! 😉
Alex: This motor in a US Cruze – Definition of a fat chance. They can’t make up their corporate mind on a US hatchback because they seem to think there is a limited market. This is even a smaller niche.
I think it all comes down to profitability for them. Several remarks from The General’s top execs, especially Akerson, give the impression that the company is chasing higher profitability numbers, possibly to appease investors. Of course, variance on the production line decreases profitability but increases volume, which in turn can increase long-term profitability. But I’m sure they have their calculation on that front.
Now, I hope that once their investor-appeasing-chase is over, they can once again focus on appeasing the enthusiasts profitably. Somehow, Honda, Mazda, Ford, Nissan, Dodge, and Hyundai have made business cases for it.
This has to put the fear of god in VW and Ford . Their 2.0 turbos don’t produce tge outputs this puppy does.
But will GM USA buy into this engine or will it remain a Euro only engine?
come on GM have some cojones and bring this engine to here!! esp on Cruze!!! or Sonic!!
You think I can put this in my Saturn SC2 ? hahahahaha sign
“Jet like sound in the interior.” Sounds like what most of current GS owners were originally hoping for in it.
Looks like Opel has done a better job of “reading” the automotive youth market than mothership Global-GM has ever done. Maybe I’ll get that surrogate “Opel GT” soon that I never was able to get back in the day(s)?
I didn’t think you could put more then 270 horsepower in a front wheel drive car unless this is due to the HiPer Strut suspension hmmm
You could, but over 300hp in a fwd car will actually hurt the car in performance and driving dynamics and be rather useless.
Babersher: really? How come?
Well, I think too much power messes with the steering feel, and traction really suffers due to the weight imbalance, just my personal opinion, im sure there is a fwd 300+ hp car that handles great, but I have yet to drive it.
I don’t know man; with today’s suspension and traction control systems, that may no longer apply.
As you mentioned, my example is the 2011 Lexus ES350 that I drove for almost 2 years. 270 hp to the fronts was just fine. It didn’t pull or jerk me around or try to drive me into a ditch at full trottle… it was literally, just right. And that’s, of course, without GM’s excellent HiPer Struts.
Is this engine the LHU ? It has the same hp and torque numbers. The LHU is supposed to be the replacement for the LNF. The LNF with the factory turbo kit,which included new MAP sensors had torque numbers in the 340lbs ft range.I wonder why GM isn’t generating similar numbers with the LHU.The LNF kit was GM engineered with plenty or reliability.It turned the HHR SS,Cobalt SS and SKY/Solstis into real screamers.
Yupp, this is the LHU:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/guides/engines/
Daniel maybe in an AWD car….
I wish the architecture for the Sonic and Cruze supported AWD but that’s just me muahhahahahha!
Funny thing is, the Sonic/Aveo platform does support AWD… but only on the Gamma Plus used for the Mokka/Encore. With a bit of work, I bet the Delta could as well.
In other words, it’s all about how much effort they want to put into serving customer demand.
If the consumer demand is large enough, which I doubt it is for the sonic.
I’m smelling social media to do this….
We’re heading towards the magic 300hp figure. Get there already and then we will have some real bragging rights!
I think the reason they haven’t put it in the Cruze is cost, plus adapting the HiPer strut to the Cruze probably will take some time.
HiPer strut is already in the Opel GTC, which shares a lot with the Cruze. So in that regard, it’s already in the platform and was engineered to be there from the get-go.
I think this engine needs 100 RON fuel to have its full power. That stuff is not even common in all european countries. But I am not shure about the US.
Many people don’t even know they bought a hatchback until the guy at the box store shows them how they can take home their new washer (along with some 2x4s) in their car.
How mutch is the 2.0ltr turbo engen