Opel Performance Center Takes Astra to the Extreme

10 years, 1 month ago - 5 March 2014, Autoblog
Opel Performance Center Takes Astra to the Extreme
If hot hatches are your thing, this year's Geneva Motor Show is the place to be. Seat used the occasion to reveal its Ring-running Leon Cupra.

Not to be outdone, Honda showed up with its Civic Type R concept. VW has got the new Scirocco R and Golf GTE to show off, Audi finally bestowed the new S1 upon us and Abarth transformed the Fiat 500 into the bonkers 695 Biposto. Even Alfa Romeo got in on the action with the latest QV edition MiTo and Giulietta. But the lineup wouldn't be complete without the Opel Astra OPC Extreme.

Arguably the ultimate expression from the Opel Performance Center, the Astra Extreme packs a 2.0-liter turbo four with 300 horsepower, a six-speed stick and limited-slip differential underneath the most outlandishly extreme aero kit this side of a DTM racer. Everything's made of carbon fiber and the cabin's stripped out for business to make it 220 pounds lighter than the standard Astra OPC/VXR and closer in spirit and appearance to the Astra OPC Cup that challenges the VLN series at the Nürburgring.

It's a beast of a hot hatch if there ever was one, but at the moment, the press release below describes it as a "study for low-volume production." We just hope Opel and its British sister Vauxhall will actually make it, but even then, it's not likely to ever find its way across the Atlantic, even with those giant wings. Indulge in the Opel madness with the video below.