Opel Insignia Sports Tourer Heading for Paris Show

These are the first official shots of Opel’s new Insignia estate, which will premiere at the Paris Auto Salon on October 2nd. The third variant to join the Insignia range after the 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback models will be called the Sports Tourer and it will be available in European markets in spring 2009 with a choice of seven different powerplants.

Compared to the sedan versions, all the bodywork after the B-pillars is unique and although less dynamic than its two other siblings, the Sports Tourer is one of the first Opel station wagon models that you may actually buy for its styling. While the Insignia station wagon has retained an identical wheelbase of 2.74 meters with the sedan models, Opel’s designers added around 80 mm to its length for an overall 4.91 meters. According to Opel, the luggage compartment offers a volume of 540 liters. -Continued

Opel isn’t releasing any details, but the German carmaker said that alongside the existing line up of three petrol and two diesel units that are already available from launch of the sedan models, the new Insignia Sports Tourer will debut two new engines, a downsized gasoline turbo engine and a new turbo diesel. Moreover, Opel is also working on an, an ecoFLEX variant with low fuel consumption and CO₂ emission levels that will be added to the range in the near future.

As with the rest of the Insignia range, the Sports Tourer will be available with all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, while buyers will also be able to opt for the new FlexRide mechatronic system which raises stability and provides real time, electronically controlled damping.

Buick Gets Opel Insignia... in China

These spy photos from the Chinese website Autohome seem to confirm earlier reports that GM’s joint venture with China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) will indeed produce the all-new Opel Insignia locally under the Buick brand name. From what we can tell by looking at the scoop pictures, the only visible differences with the Opel Insignia concern the Buick grille and the new fog lights. The new Opel Insignia, that was introduced to the public for the first time at the London Motor Show in July, will go on sale in Europe this fall where it will be available in both sedan and fastback versions. -More pics after the jump

Via: Autohome

Opel / Vauxhall Insignia Photos from London Show

One of the key debuts at this year’s British Motor Show in London was the all-new Opel - Vauxhall Insignia that was present in both sedan and hatchback forms. Seeing the new Insignia makes the outgoing Vectra look even more boring that we thought. If anything else, Opel’s design team hit the spot with the new mid-size model. Hopefully the company’s engineers will have performed the same magic to the car’s driving dynamics. –High res photos from the show after the jump

New Opel Insignia Drops in on London – Literally…

As part of a promotional event, Opel’s UK subsidiary Vauxhall unveiled the all-new Insignia to Londoners for the first time by suspending its mid-size sedan on a crane high above Potters Fields Park that sits alongside the Thames, beside Tower Bridge and City Hall in Central London. More than 300 guests were on hand to watch the new Insignia plunge 45 meters to earth in just six seconds.

Alain Visser, Chief Marketing Officer for GM Europe, who drove the Insignia onto the stage after it landed safely on the ground, said: “We wanted to highlight the attention to detail and high focus on precision that went into developing the new Vauxhall Insignia. Just like the Insignia, this event had to be meticulously coordinated – right down to the last minute details”. -Continued

The Insignia will make its debut tomorrow, July 22, at the British International Motor Show, where Vauxhall will announce the vehicle’s price in the UK. Sales begin immediately in the UK market for both the hatchback and notchback versions.

Opel Insignia Hatchback: First Official Images

These are the first official images of the 5door hatchback version of Opel’s highly anticipated mid-size model. As you can see for yourselves in the pictures we’ve added after the jump, even when placed side-by-side, it is hard to tell apart the sedan from the hatchback variant of the Insignia. In any case, both models look the part and if GM execs have any sense left in them, they’ll find a way to bring the Insignia ASAP into the U.S. market.

The length of both the sedan and hatchback, at 4,830 mm, and the wheelbase of 2,737 mm remain the same, but obviously the 5door version will be a tad more practical than its 4door sibling. From the beginning, the Insignia will offer seven engines coupled with six-speed transmissions while some versions will also be available with a new 4x4 system. -Continued

The four gasoline engines range from a four-cylinder 115hp unit to a V6 with 260 hp while the three new direct-injection turbo-diesels feature a displacement of 2.0 liters and power outputs ranging from 110 to 160 hp.

According to Opel, prices for the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be announced on July 22 during the Insignia’s global debut at the British Motor Show in London and cars will hit German dealerships before the end of the year. Opel expects both models to sell in about equal numbers.

Opel Insignia Gets Camera System that Reads Signs and Alerts Drivers

The new Opel Insignia that’s set to go on sale in Europe later this year will be offered with an optional dual-function camera that not only reads speed limit and no-overtaking signs and displays them on the instrument panel, but also alerts drivers when they unintentionally veer out of their lane.

Called “Front Camera System”, it utilizes a front mounted high-resolution camera located between the windscreen and the rear-view mirror that can take 30 pictures per second along with two signal processors that filter and read the photos. -Continued

Depending on light conditions, the system’s Traffic Sign Recognition function begins to repeatedly read signs at 100 metres. When a match is found in the car’s software, the sign is displayed in the instrument panel; it will even prioritise a no-overtaking sign over a speed limit warning sign.

When the Lane Departure Warning function is turned on, the system uses a second signal processor and software to read traffic lanes and record a driver’s normal lane-changing behaviour, taking into account steering input and indicator usage. If the system detects any deviation from the road, then an audible and visual warning is sent from the instrument panel in order to prevent preventing any hazardous situations.

First Official Pics of Opel Insignia’s Interior

These are the very first official shots of the soon-to-be-launched Opel Insignia’s interior, or to be precise, the UK market Insignia that bears the Vauxhall logo. While we had the chance to get a glimpse of the mid-size sedan’s interior in a series of leaked (low-res) images back in April, these official pictures from Vauxhall allow us to see the cabin in high-resolution detail.

The Insignia, which could come to the States as a Saturn, features a relatively sporty wrap around interior design that has nothing in common with the Vectra’s ultra conservative cabin. Highlights include chronometer-inspired instruments and a unique instrument cluster lighting which is illuminated white, but on pressing the ‘Sport’ button, the lighting turns red to match the surrounding illumination. -Continued

“This is a paradigm shift for Vauxhall,” says John Puskar, Executive Director of Interior Design at GM Europe. “We wanted to create interior environments for all our future vehicles that are warm, inviting and sporty. The Insignia is the first evidence of this philosophy.”

“Every detail was meticulously thought through,” says Jochen Werner, Insignia’s Assistant Chief Interior Designer. “We even tipped the infotainment centre at a 30 degree angle to allow the centre console to flow and give the car’s cabin a greater feeling of spaciousness.”

Along with the official high-res interior pics, Vauxhall also released new exterior images of the Insignia in a lusty black colour.