OPC – a trio of initial letters to look out for. You already know what to expect when you see the letters HSV or FPV. Now here’s another trio to keep an eye out for: OPC, standing for Opel Performance Centre. This is Opel’s equivalent – the high-performance sports line of Opel vehicles that have been tested and made to jump through the rings before being launched onto the motoring world. The ring in question that they’ve jumped through is, of course, the famous Nürburgring. And anything that does well in that testing ground of fire is bound to be fantastic.

The OPC vehicle that’s most likely to be popular here in Australia is the Opel Astra OPC. This snazzy sports hatch will have all the features that make OPC what it is. To be eligible to wear the OPC title and entitled to the OPC-exclusive 19-inch alloy wheels, Opels have to have certain standards and features. On every single OPC, which includes, of course, the Opel Astra OPC, you’ll see the super-sporty styling that combines aerodynamic efficiency with high visual appeal. Every part of the Opel Astra OPC looks good, from the assertive front air dam to the trapezoid dual chrome exhausts and the roof spoiler at the rear. You’ll feel the road like never before through the responsive OPC tuning via the sensitive and comfortable sports steering wheel as you sit in the specially styled sports seat (in Nappa leather) that have been made to give you optimum lateral and lumbar support even as you go around the curves.

The Opel Astra OPC is classified as a sports hatchback, but it’s so curvilinear in style on the outside and so tailored for sporting performance and comfort in the cabin that you’d swear that this was something other than a hatchback – a coupé or roadster, for example. But a three-door sports hatch it is. Smaller cars are said to be more fun, but few of them could possibly be as fun as the Opel Astra OPC. Who said that a peppy performance vehicle had to be an imposing in-your-face monster?

A David to the muscle car Goliaths, the Opel Astra OPC has a few surprises. At first glance, you might not think that a car this size could have so much power. But the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine does: a very impressive 206 kW of it, while the torque is truly giant-slaying as it peaks at 400 Nm. All that power can be reined in with the specially painted Brembo 4-piston front brake callipers, while the OPC FlexRide chassis with HiPerStrut front suspension makes the on-road handling something that has to be felt (and driven) to be believed. At the time of writing, details are still hazy about what sort of transmission (and how many gears you’ll get) but we can pretty much guarantee that it will be something that any red-blooded driver will enjoy.

The HiPerStrut front suspension is a car that is designed for driver enjoyment, so everything in the cabin is laid out for the driver’s convenience, from the superbly comfortable and supportive bucket seats (which were designed with input from back health specialists) to the tastefully appointed dashboard layout. Pride of place in the dashboard (apart from the multifunction leather-wrapped steering wheel) is the 7″ colour information display which is your interface with the satellite navigation part of the Navi900 infotainment system, which also includes USB input with iPod connectivity. No matter how hot the performance of the Opel Astra OPC gets, the dual-zone climate control will keep you cool – no sweat! Rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlamps, hill start assist and an electric park brake also make the Opel Astra OPC experience thoroughly enjoyable.

Current model series include:

• Opel Astra OPC

For any more information on the Opel Astra OPC, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Opel dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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