General Motors Europe’s Vauxhall unit has released ‘official’ preview pictures of the very stylish Insignia, which replaces the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra later this year.
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Numerous ‘scoop’ photos of prototypes, with diminishing amounts of disguise, have been published in enthusiast media in recent weeks.
As with GME’s redesigned Corsa in 2006, Vauxhall will stage the global launch at the British international motor show in London in July.
The new five-seater will initially be available in hatchback and sedan form; the current Vectra is also offered as a wagon and there was also a stretched hatchback version called the Signum.
“We’ve re-defined our design vocabulary,” said GME design chief Mark Adams. “The Insignia is muscular, but lithe and curvaceous. Our aim was to develop a confident look which reinforced the car’s superb driving dynamics, but also one that made it clear that this was a premium product, albeit still at a highly competitive price in its class.”
The dashboard’s top-pad wraps around from the instrument panel to the door, creating a unique wing-shape and embracing the occupants. Ambient lighting is also used. Much emphasis has also been put into the development of the seats, which set the highest standards in ergonomics, comfort and safety, GME said.
The Insignia will be offered with the latest generation adaptive forward lighting (AFL) system. Nine different light beam settings automatically adjust themselves to cater for various driving conditions.
The new model will be offered with front-wheel and all-wheel drive. The new ‘adaptive 4X4’ system’s proactive, instantaneous torque distribution ensures optimal traction and enhances dynamic handling performance, GME said.
The range will be launched with five Euro5-compliant engines with either manual or automatic six-speed transmissions.
The three petrol engines range from a four-cylinder 140ps unit to a 260ps V6. Two new 2.0-litre direct-injection diesel engines will be offered with power outputs of either 130ps or 160ps. Coming later is an EcoFLEX version with low CO2 emissions and other, more powerful, variants.
The Insignia was developed by GM Europe with a “significant” contribution from Vauxhall’s engineering centre at Millbrook in Bedfordshire.
