Opel Officially Reveals 2012 Astra GTC, High-Po OPC Coming Next Year

This is General Motors’ brand new Opel Astra GTC revealed more than two months ahead of its world premiere at the 64th International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany, in mid-September. The newest member of Opel’s ever-growing Astra family will go on sale across Europe including the United Kingdom where it will be available as a Vauxhall later this year. Recent reports also suggest it may come to the States under the Buick brand.

GM’s European subsidiary is confident about its new Astra GTC with Vauxhall going as far as to claim that it will “lay down the gauntlet to VW’s Scirocco and Renault’s Megane Coupe with a heady mix of dynamic excellence, dramatic design features and competitive pricing".

The production version of last year’s Paris Motor Show concept GTC sports a far more athletic appearance than the rest of the Astra range thanks to the uniquely designed body that includes a more rakish roofline. According to Opel, the only elements the GTC shares with its five-door and estate siblings are the door handles and roof aerial as even the wheelbase and tracks are different.

Compared to the five-door Astra, the ride height of the GTC is lowered by 15 mm while the wheelbase grows by 10 mm, from 2,685 to 2,695 mm and both tracks are wider, at 1,584 mm (+ 40 mm) in front and 1,588 mm (+ 30 mm) in the rear.

Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall say the Astra GTC is a more driver’s car than the five-door model as the company’s engineers having made several changes to the chassis including the adoption of the HiPerStrut (High Performance Strut) setup used on the 325HP Insignia OPC / VXR instead of the standard McPherson suspension.

At the rear, the GTC continues to use a Watt’s link axle, while as an option, Opel offers the fully-adaptive FlexRide chassis control system with a choice of three settings - Standard, Tour or Sport.

Moving on to the available lineup at launch, the Astra GTC can be ordered now with a choice of four engines. However, Opel said more powertrains will be offered around its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show adding that the sportiest versions including the future high-performance OPC model will follow in 2012.

For now, diesel options are limited to a 2.0-liter CDTI common-rail turbo unit delivering 165HP and 380 Nm of torque in overboost function. It is fitted with a diesel particulate filter and a six-speed manual transmission, plus a new Start/Stop system. With this engine, the GTC can reach 100 km/h (62mph) in 8.9 seconds en route to a top speed of 210 km/h (131 mph), while returning a combined fuel consumption of 4.9 lt/ 100 km (48 mpg US or 57.7 mpg UK) with corresponding CO2 emissions of 129 g/km.

The most powerful engine is a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline unit with 180-horses linked to a six-speed manual gearbox offering the GTC a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph). A 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine available with 120HP and 140HP completes the petrol lineup.

In Britain, buyers can place their order now for the Astra GTC with prices ranging from £18,495 for the 120HP Sport 1.4 Turbo to £22,430 for the 165PS SRi 2.0 CDTi. For more details on UK pricing, check out the list below.

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2012 OPEL ASTRA GTC

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2012 VAUXHALL ASTRA GTC

Volkswagen Announces Super Efficient 68.9mpg Passat BlueMotion for the UK

Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, the new generation of Volkswagen’s fuel-efficient Passat BlueMotion is available to order now in the United Kingdom, with first examples scheduled to hit showrooms towards the end of July. The BlueMotion version of the seventh-generation Passat (not to be confused with the US model), itself launched in Europe in January, is offered in both sedan and Estate formats with prices starting at £19,875 and £21,180 respectively.

The Passat BlueMotion is powered by a modified version of Volkswagen’s 1.6-litre common rail diesel engine developing 105-horses, connected to a six-speed manual gearbox. To improve fuel economy, Volkswagen’s engineers fitted the car with Stop/Start and battery regeneration systems and also revised aerodynamics to reduce drag through the use of rolling resistance tyres, a 15mm lower suspension at the front and 7.5 mm at the rear, a different radiator grille and underbody panels.

The saloon is also fitted with a compact rear spoiler, while both body styles are equipped with lightweight and aerodynamic 16-inch steel rims as standard, with 17-inch ‘Buenos Aires’ alloy wheels available as an option.

Together, these measures result in a combined fuel consumption of 68.9 mpg UK (57.3 mpg US or 4.1 lt / 100km) for the saloon and 65.7 mpg (54.7 mpg US or 4.3 lt / 100km) for the Estate, and CO2 emissions of 109 g/km and 113 g/km respectively.

Standard features on all BlueMotion variants include curtain airbags, ESP, ‘Climatic’ air conditioning, electric windows, electronic parking brake, RCD 310 radio / CD player and Multi Device Interface (MDI) with iPod connectivity.

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MINI Previews New Coupé, Publishes Information on Lineup and 131 Photos

We’re still more than three months away from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but the BMW Group has already begun dropping information and photos of the models it plans to introduce at the show. Following the presentation of the all-new 2012 BMW 1-Series hatchback during the weekend, today the Bavarian group unleashed specifications and a large gallery of photos of the MINI Coupé.

While the model seen in the official pictures is partially covered in the firm’s characteristic swirly camouflage, it’s clear that the production version has barely changed from the 2009 concept car. Pictured here in John Cooper Works (JCW) form, the top-end Coupé hangs on to the concept’s sportier aero package that includes modified front and rear bumpers, side skirts and extended wheel arches that leave room for larger alloy wheels. The Coupé is also the first MINI to get an active rear spoiler that extends automatically at 80 km/h (50 mph).

There are no pictures of the interior yet, but it’s safe to assume that minus the extravagant trim options, the concept’s interior design has been kept intact featuring a strict two-seater layout with extended stowage and loading capacity behind the driver and passenger seat.

Mini says it has fine tuned the chassis of the three-door hatchback model upon which the is based on. “The new car radiates the brand’s hallmark go-kart feeling with a whole new depth of intensity and achieves the best performance statistics ever recorded by a volume-produced MINI,” the company said in a statement.

The British automaker published information on the Coupé lineup, which will include the most potent petrol and diesel engines in the brand’s arsenal (depending of course on the market).

Sitting at the top of the range is the JCW model fitted with a 1.6-liter turbo petrol delivering 211HP, followed by the Cooper S with a 184HP version of the same engine. The third petrol model is the Cooper that gets a 122HP naturally aspirated 1.6-liter unit.

In Europe and other select markets Mini will also offer will the diesel-powered Cooper SD with a 143HP strong 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine returning 4.3lt/100km (54.7 mpg US or 65.7 mpg UK).

Sales of the new Mini Coupé are expected to start towards the end of the year or early 2012. A roadster model will be unveiled late next year.

Engine variants:

MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: Four-cylinder petrol engine with
twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection, plus numerous technological details carried over directly from motor sport.

• Displacement: 1,598 cc,
• Output: 155 kW/211 hp at 6,000 rpm,
• Max. Torque: 260 Nm/192 lb-ft at 1,850 – 5,600 rpm
• (280 Nm/207 lb-ft with Overboost at 1,700 – 4,500 rpm).
• Acceleration: 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 6.4 seconds,
• Top Speed: 240 km/h (149 mph).
• Average Fuel Consumption according to EU standard:
• 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres (39.8 mpg imp),
• Co2 Emissions: 165 g/km.

MINI Cooper S Coupé: Four-cylinder petrol engine with
twin-scroll turbocharger, direct injection and fully variable valve management based on the BMW Group’s VALVETRONIC technology.

• Displacement: 1,598 cc,
• Output: 135 kW/184 hp at 5,500 rpm,
• Max. Torque: 240 Nm/177 lb-ft at 1,600 – 5,000 rpm
• (260 Nm/192 lb-ft with Overboost at 1,700 – 4,500 rpm).
• Acceleration: 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 6.9 seconds,
• Top Speed: 230 km/h (143 mph).
• Average Fuel Consumption according to EU standard:
• 5.8 litres per 100 kilometres (48.7 mpg imp),
• Co2 Emissions: 136 g/km.

MINI Cooper Coupé: Four-cylinder petrol engine with fully variable valve management based on the BMW Group’s VALVETRONIC technology.

• Displacement: 1,598 cc,
• Output: 90 kW/122 hp at 6,000 rpm,
• Max. Torque: 160 Nm/118 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm,
• Acceleration: 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 9.0 seconds,
• Top Speed: 204 km/h (127 mph),
• Average Fuel Consumption according to EU standard:
• 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres (52.3 mpg imp),
• Co2 Emissions: 127 g/km.

MINI Cooper SD Coupé: Four-cylinder turbodiesel with aluminium crankcase, common-rail injection and variable turbine geometry.

• Displacement: 1,995 cc,
• Output: 105 kW/143 hp at 4,000 rpm,
• Max. Torque: 305 Nm/225 lb-ft at 1,750 – 2,700 rpm.
• Acceleration: 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 7.9 seconds,
• Top Speed: 216 km/h (134 mph).
• Average Fuel Consumption according to EU standard:
• 4.3 litres per 100 kilometres (65.7 mpg imp),
• Co2 Emissions: 114 g/km.

Exterior dimensions:

• Length: 3,728 millimetres (MINI Cooper S Coupé,
  MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: 3,734 millimetres)
  Width: 1,683 millimetres
  Height: 1,378 millimetres (MINI Cooper S Coupé,
  MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: 1,384 millimetres)
  Wheelbase: 2,467 millimetres

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