Opel screwed to the chassis

Rüsselsheim, Germany, 24 November 2016

Opel cuts off before the official presentation of the new insignia in the March 2017 at the Geneva Auto show a further slice of salami and submits them to us. This time it's about news to the weight and the suspension. Tested? On the Northern loop of the Nürburgring. Where else?

Less weight, other dimensions

The new features do the mid-size sedan from Rüsselsheim of especially "dynamic and driving active". By a new platform, the new model will up to 175 kg depending on version of easier than its predecessor. To join the new dimensions: happen over nine centimeters at the wheelbase, the car is 5.5 centimeters in length and well one centimeter wide. The height is shrinking, however, to less than three centimeters. At the same time the overhangs have been shortened significantly at both ends. We expect together and come to the following values: 4.90 meters length, 1.47 meters height, 1.87-meter-wide and 2.83 m wheelbase.

Advanced chassis

We come to the chassis: it is the further development of the "FlexRide chassis". It adapted the shock absorbers based on the choice of modes "Standard", "Sports" and "Tour" 500 times per second electro-hydraulically. "The heart of the Adaptive suspension is the new Central drive mode control software." This evaluates permanently all sensors, as well as settings and recognizes the individual driving style. Then the individual systems for best traction and roadholding are optimized", explains chief engineer Andreas Zipser.

Detailed mode customer

Each of the modes change also the Steering, the gas pedal curve, and the switching points for automatic transmissions. Describes how Opel driving programme? "The automatic controller, which always chooses the best set up according to the information of the vehicle sensors" is "Standard". "Tour" describes the "Comfortable suspension design and low consumption drive settings". "Sport" is, however, for the mode in which the "immersed the brakes of less insignia, leans the body during fast cornering much lower and the Steering provides a better feedback about the State of the road".

Last vote rides

For the last test drives, the team led by Chief Engineer Zipser is now traveled with still camouflaged prototypes to at the Nürburgring. On the 21-kilometre Nordschleife, the developers are looking to the last percentage points on the way to the perfectly tuned vehicle. Which fruits this work is, we will see then when the production model. We are anyway, already looking forward to our first test drive. How many slices of salami until then still be cut? We don't know, expected for early December 2016 but the first official photos. (ml)

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