A fresh report out of Europe claims the new-generation Opel Astra will be revealed towards the end of 2021.
According to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the sixth-generation Astra (which is set to feature the “L” designation, following on from the outgoing “K” series) will be launched in the final few months of the year.
The new hatchback is set to switch to a tweaked version of the PSA Group’s EMP2 platform, shared with the likes of the Peugeot 308 and Opel’s own Grandland X.
The L-generation Astra is expected to adopt the Rüsselsheim-based firm’s latest family face (as seen in the German publication’s rendering above), which we’ve already seen on the new Mokka and Crossland. Inside, Auto Motor und Sport says the new midsize hatch will boast a little more space than the current model, plus yet more digital interfaces.
And under the bonnet? Well, the report suggests conventional combustion engines are still on the cards (likely the PSA Group’s turbocharged 1,2-litre petrol and 1,5-litre turbodiesel mills), along with plug-in hybrid options.
There’s also talk of an OPC-badged hot hatch version of the new Astra, complete with all-wheel drive. Lining up neatly with an earlier report out of the United Kingdom, Auto Motor und Sport says we can expect the rumoured Astra OPC to be powered by a turbocharged 1,6-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors, with a total system output of 221 kW.
For the record, this powertrain already exists in the Grandland X Hybrid4 derivative, where it combines a 147 kW turbocharged 1,6-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with a pair of electric motors (an 81 kW item up front and an 83 kW at the rear) and a 13,2 kWh lithium-ion battery.
