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Global Concepts (Part 1)
Opel Speedster
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The Opel Speedster is described by Robert W. Hendry, the company's Chairman and Managing Director, as a pure "fun car." With low weight and agile handling, the mid-engine study is powered by Opel's ECOTEC four-cylinder gasoline engine with counter-rotating balance shafts. Displacing
2.2 L and producing 108 kW (147 hp), it can be adapted to gasoline direct injection. The engine drives the Speedster's rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. The Speedster has a mass less than 800 kg (1760 lb), which helps towards an estimated sub-six-second 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) dash and fuel consumption of about 7.0 L/100 km (34 mpg). Opel and Lotus, whose own Elise two-seater follows a similar design philosophy of agility through low weight and a high power-to-weight ratio, jointly developed the car. The Speedster is based on the Elise platform, using a bonded aluminum chassis with double wishbone suspension at all wheels. Steering is unpowered, the body is made of composites, and the car's interior is relatively stark, with areas of unpainted aluminum.
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