Rumour Mill: Next Astra OPC/VXR to be reaching 300bhp target

[AudiV6]

I just found that quite Rumorish but interesting news on autoevolution.com;

The German Power war is officially over, but it seems that the hp conflict has generated a new (world) war, which is taking place in the compact vehicle segment. We are talking about the world of hot hatches, which has seen its soldiers gain more and more power & torque in the last few years.

The beefiest of them are now assaulting the roads with as much as 300 hp, a figure which threatens proper sportscars.

The most powerful (series production) hot hatch is currently the Ford Focus RS, which sends 300 hp to the road via its front wheels. Opel is planing to challenge that status with the upcoming OPC version of the new Astra also expected to offer a power figure somewhere in the 300 hp area, as autocar reports.

The move would bring the Astra OPC to another level, as the outgoing generation of the vehicle has a power rating of 237 hp, which makes it a contender for the Focus RS? smaller brother, the 225 hp Focus ST.

The new Astra OPC is expected to follow the current efficiency trend, so the car will most likely use a turbocharged 2.0 liter four cylinder engine.

The interesting fact is that Opel?s fantasy hatch is expected to send its power to the front axle. The current OPC already has some a problem with putting its power to the road, an issue known as ?torque steering?, so we expect Opel to develop new solutions in order to address that. The German company might offer an electronic differential, or even an innovative front suspension for the OPC.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/300hp-fwd-opel-astra-opc-coming-21365.html

sounds cute somehow.

 

[Posmo]

Why the hell spend all the development time and money on trying to make fwd a feasible option, when you could just take a 4wd drivetrain and be done with it?

 

[Buba]

Weight? Fuel consumption?

Also: The "power war" is useless. The OPC/Ford RS variants never match the manufacturer 0-60 claims, at least in the magazines I read... VW + BMW ftw...

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I prefer my hatchbacks French. And mad.

 

[Arctor]

Weight? Fuel consumption?

Also: The "power war" is useless. The OPC/Ford RS variants never match the manufacturer 0-60 claims, at least in the magazines I read... VW + BMW ftw...

Well it takes a ridiculously good driver to get the most out of a high-horsepower FWD car, and most magazine test drivers are not experienced enough with said driving to do so.

 

[ahpadt]

Why the hell spend all the development time and money on trying to make fwd a feasible option, when you could just take a 4wd drivetrain and be done with it?

Heavier, thirstier, more expensive...

 

[SchumacherM]

Looks like a Brera. I like it.

 

[2Billion]

In other news, the value of homes around the corner from Opel and Vauxhall dealers has plummeted.

Because this is going to be a monster to actually navigate around corners with, and I predict they'll be driving into things like they're driven by George Michael.

 

[edkwon]

They decided the cars dont have enough torque steer...

 

[AudiV6]

As far as I know, the new Astra's floorpan has been made AWD attachable, so why don't use it when they can? I think they will. I doubt they will copy Ford's Revo knuckle achsle system.

 

[Posmo]

Heavier, thirstier, more expensive...

You can add slightly to the front of all adjectives, and then add one more:

A lot better.

 

[ahpadt]

You can add slightly to the front of all adjectives, and then add one more:

A lot better.

So the Focus RS and Megane RS engineers are wrong and you're right?

The only AWD hatches I can think of right now is the Audi S3 and Golf R. Both are fairly... ordinary.

 

[AudiV6]

So the Focus RS and Megane RS engineers are wrong and you're right?

The only AWD hatches I can think of right now is the Audi S3 and Golf R. Both are fairly... ordinary.

except...

 

[ahpadt]

I can't seem to find any cars there from 2010?

 

[Arctor]

I can't seem to find any cars there from 2010?

Exactly. With the amount of weight cars have to carry now, AWD puts a huge penalty on hatches.

 

[AudiV6]

Exactly. With the amount of weight cars have to carry now, AWD puts a huge penalty on hatches.

Still the Golf R manages somehow to be called "sporty" and "nimble" by the press, even more than the R32 (heavy VR6 engine on the front)


The new Astra is allready a quite enormous Hatch as it is nearly as big as the old Signum, so trying to make it feel like a small hothatch is allready impossible, for that occasion, the Corsa could do the job. But to take costumers off of the Golf R, they have to do something equal to, for taking on the GTI, there will be an GSI version.

 

[p0w3r]

You can add slightly to the front of all adjectives, and then add one more:

A lot better.

Actually it would be a lot more. I think a good example is the Mazdaspeed 3 vs a WRX.

The Mazdaspeed 3 has similar power to the WRX, but of course is only front wheel drive. It MSRPs for about 23k. A WRX BASE MSRPs for about 25k. that 2k difference is probably due to bit stronger engine and better turbo but also a lot due to the all wheel drive powertrain.

Also you then need to consider that a base WRX has no equipment compared to a Mazdaspeed 3. In order to have a similarly equipped WRX you would need to get a premium WRX, which is about 27.5k. So then there really is a 4.5k difference to get an all wheel drive powertrain.

I know the wrx is a much faster car overall but then one can argue that the Mazdaspeed is a better built car with better interior and better paint (look up subaru's infamous thin paint). I dont know how strong the Mazda transmission is but historically, the WRX transmission has always been seen as a weak point.

Then after you buy the car, the maintenance costs for a wrx is higher since you have to change diff oils and all that stuff every 30k miles.