This is according to Opel Astra chief engineer Marc Schmidt who has revealed it’s a smaller 1600cc and not a 2,0-litre turbo that will do duty in the next Astra OPC model.
The main issue appears to be one of packaging and given the Astra’s small engine bay (one of the reasons the new Astra is 50 mmm shorter than its predecessor), this would be the largest capacity engine they could use.
It’s going to take some black magic to beat the 206 kW/400 N.m that the current three-door Astra GTC’s 2,0-litre powerplant puts out, but then again with the new Astra claiming to be up to 200 kg lighter (read our driving impression of it here), an improved power-to-weight ratio could help even things out.
Although nothing has been confirmed, unlike the current GTC, it’s likely that the next OPC will be a five-door hatch. Three-door hatches are far and few between these days and Renault have also confirmed that their next-generation Renault Sport Megane will only be a five-door derivative.
Schmidt did however hint that they might do something different for a “really special project” telling Aussie website CarAdvice “You can always do something really special for something really special, but this time the something special would have to really bind itself into the architecture so that the basic efficiency is not compromised from the get-go, so it’s a slightly different philosophy.”
The new Astra OPC is likely to see production in 2017.
