Opel Speedster

Opel Speedster
Overview
Manufacturer	Lotus
Also called	Opel Speedster Turbo (2004–2005) Vauxhall VX220 (United Kingdom) Vauxhall VX220 Turbo (2004–2005) Daewoo Speedster
Production	2001–2005
Assembly	Hethel, Norfolk, England
Designer	Niels Loeb and Martin Smith (exterior) Steven Crijns (interior)[1]
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door roadster
Layout	Transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Platform	Lotus Elise Series 2 platform
Related	Lotus Elise Lynx GT[2] Tesla Roadster
Powertrain
Engine	2.2 L Ecotec Z22SE I4 2.0 L Z20LET turbo I4
Transmission	5-speed Getrag F23 manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	91.7 in (2,329 mm)[3]
Length	149.2 in (3,790 mm)[3]
Width	67.2 in (1,707 mm)[3]
Height	43.8 in (1,113 mm)[3]
Kerb weight	Speedster: 870 kg (1,918 lb) Speedster Turbo: 930 kg (2,050 lb)
Chronology
Successor	Opel GT (European Union) Vauxhall Monaro VXR (United Kingdom)

The Opel Speedster is a British built mid-engined, targa-topped, two seat sports car sold by the German automaker Opel, introduced in July 2000.^[4] It was built in both RHD and LHD versions, at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999.

It was sold as the Vauxhall VX220 in the United Kingdom and shared much in common with the Lotus Elise, although Opel claimed few parts were interchangeable.

Design and development

Due to the changes in European crash safety regulations for the 2000MY, Lotus needed to replace the original Elise. In October 1999, they struck a deal with General Motors in order to have sufficient investment for a new car.^[5] As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to develop and produce the Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 on the new Series 2 Elise chassis.^[5] The first Speedster concept car was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.^[5]

Whilst the new Elise would use a 1.8 litre Toyota engine, similar to that found in the Toyota Celica, the Speedster was designed to use a 2.2 litre GM Ecotec engine from the Opel Astra.^[6] Neither engine had been used in the original Elise, which was fitted with a 1.8 litre Rover K-Series engine.^[6]

In order to accommodate the production of the new cars, Lotus expanded its Hethel factory to a capacity of 10,000 cars, with around 3,500 slots allocated to Speedster production. The first Speedster left the factory in Hethel.

Production of the Speedster commenced in March 2001.^[5] The Speedster utilizes an aluminium chassis tub that weighs only 72 kg (159 lb). The car also features bodywork made entirely of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). The entire car weighs only 875 kg (1,929 lb), which made it 100 kg (220 lb) lighter than the similarly sized Toyota MR2. At launch, the Speedster's all aluminium alloy 2.2 L Z22SE engine produced 145 hp (147 PS; 108 kW), making the Speedster considerably more powerful than the Elise was at launch.

As an answer to calls for a more powerful version of the Speedster, Opel introduced a new two litre turbocharged version of the Ecotec engine, which produced 200 hp (203 PS; 149 kW), but also weighed slightly more, at 930 kg (2,050 lb).

Moreover, in 2004, a limited run of sixty track focused Speedsters were produced for the United Kingdom. The cars, badged Vauxhall VXR220, were equipped with larger brakes, upgraded tyres and lowered suspension, and tuned to produce 220 hp (223 PS; 164 kW). Other features included more performance oriented seats and unique Speedline alloy wheels. Calypso Red was the only available exterior colour.^[7]

• 
  Rear view
• 
  Vauxhall VX220 (United Kingdom)
• 
  Interior

Production

A Speedster that has been retrofitted with a jet engine

The turbo version was able to reach a top speed of 242 km/h (150 mph) and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds.

The car was hailed by the motoring press as a great drivers' car and won several accolades, including Top Gear's Car of the Year in 2003. The 2.2 NA (naturally aspirated) version was considered the easier drive of the two standard variants, and some journalists recommended that the Opel/Vauxhall car was better value for money than the Lotus (such as Jeremy Clarkson in his 2003 DVD Shoot Out).

Speedsters were displayed with the Daewoo badge, although only one was built to be used for marketing purposes. A final version, the track oriented Speedster, based on the turbo model, was tuned to give around 220 hp (164 kW; 223 PS) and used 16 in (406 mm) front wheels that allowed the fitting of smaller front tyres to give sharper handling.

Production ended on 22 July 2005, with no direct successor. It was not until February 2007, when GM Europe adopted the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky into the Opel GT, that GM Europe had a replacement sector product, with no RHD version for the United Kingdom. The final production number of the Speedster was only 7,207.

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Opel ECO Speedster

Opel ECO Speedster
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel (General Motors)
Production	2002 (Concept car)
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door coupé
Layout	Transverse rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Doors	Gullwing doors
Related	Opel GT
Powertrain
Engine	1.3 L CDTI I4[8]
Transmission	5-speed Easytronic semi-automatic

The Opel ECO Speedster is a concept car made by Opel in 2002. The OPEL ECO Speedster is related to the production Opel Speedster and the Opel GT, and it is a two-door coupe with two seats and gullwing doors without any driving mirrors. It was shown at the 2002 Paris Motor Show.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220.

• Opel Eco-Speedster Article