Opel Astra

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Opel Astra

Manufacturer	General Motors
Also called	Chevrolet Astra Holden Astra Vauxhall Astra Saturn Astra
Production	1991–present
Predecessor	Opel Kadett
Class	Small family car
Similar	Ford Focus Nissan Tiida Volkswagen Golf

See also Vauxhall Astra and Holden Astra for the usage of the nameplate by other General Motors subsidiaries.

The Opel Astra is a small family car designed and manufactured by Opel, the European subsidiary of General Motors.

It is branded as an Opel in continental Europe, Japan, the Republic of Ireland, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and India, as Vauxhall in the United Kingdom, as Holden in Australasia, and as Chevrolet in Latin America. In Russia, it is sold as both an Opel and Chevrolet. Starting in mid-2007, the vehicle will be exported to the United States and Canada, and be sold through Saturn dealers.

The Astra is now built in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, India, Poland and Russia, as well as being assembled in CKD kits in other countries.

1 Naming convention
2 Astra F/A
3 Astra G/B
- 3.1 Astra DTM
- 3.2 Astra XTreme
4 Astra H/C
- 4.1 Astra OPC/VXR
5 External links

[edit] Naming convention

As of 2006, there have been three generations of the vehicle. In a fashion typical for Opel models, they are designated with subsequent letters of the Latin alphabet. Opel's official convention is to continue the Opel Kadett lineage, thus referring to the first generation of Opel Astra as the Astra F (the last Opel Kadett was the Kadett E). Another convention used by GM starts with Astra A, adopting the notion that the Astra is a separate model. Models sold as Vauxhall, Holden or Chevrolet have different generation designations reflecting the history of those nameplates in their home markets and their naming conventions.

[edit] Astra F/A

Astra F/A

Also called	Vauxhall Astra Opel Astra Classic Holden Astra Chevrolet Astra Chevrolet Optima Opel Kadett (South Africa, hatchback only) Opel Astra II (Denmark, 1998-99)^{[citation needed]}
Production	1991–1997
Body style	2-door convertible 3-door hatchback 4-door saloon 5-door estate 5-door hatchback
Platform	FF T-body

The Astra F debuted in 1991. With the Kadett E's successor, Opel adopted the Astra nameplate, which was already used by Vauxhall for the Kadett D and E (see Vauxhall Astra). It was offered as a three or five-door hatchback, a saloon (sedan), and an estate (wagon), known as the Caravan. A cabriolet was also offered, designed and built by Bertone in Italy.

The model was launched in South Africa in 1992, where it was produced under licence by Delta. However, the Kadett name was retained for the Astra hatchback until 1999, which included a variant with a 2.0 L turbocharged engine called the 200TS, unique to that market. Sedan and station wagon models were offered under the Astra name. Controversially, the Kadett and Astra in South Africa won the title of 'Car of the Year' in two consecutive years (1992 and 1993) even though they were versions of the same car. South African nomenclature was denoted in decilitres, so the Astra and Kadett ranges featured 140, 160i, 180i and 200i models.

The Astra also became available in Australasia badged as a Holden, first in New Zealand in 1995, and then Australia in 1996. The first models were imported from the UK, but the current model is imported from Belgium. The original Holden Astra was originally a rebadged Nissan Pulsar, first sold to Ronan in the mid-1980s.

The Astra F consisted of two main revisions and was revised in 1995, with the launch of Opel's new Ecotec engine. For a short period, a submodel which consisted of parts from both revisions was produced. The submodel used all the new Ecotec running gear, but many parts from the previous revision were used in order to use up leftover parts. Other main changes included mildly-altered exterior styling, and availability of new specification models.^{[citation needed]}

Aside from the South Africa-only 200TS, the lead model was the GSi - a 2.0l 16v petrol injected model with 147bhp, available as a 3-door only. It also featured sports bodykit and interior. The GSi too was updated in 1997, with the engine being replaced for a lower-powered but more modern 'Ecotec' version.

[edit] Astra G/B

Astra G/B

Also called	Chevrolet Astra Chevrolet Viva Opel Astra Classic Holden Astra Holden Astra Classic Vauxhall Astra
Production	1998–2003
Body style	2-door convertible 2-door coupé 3-door hatchback 4-door saloon 5-door hatchback 5-door estate
Platform	FF T-body
Related	Opel Zafira

The Astra was launched in Europe in 1998. It was available as a 3 and 5-door hatchback, 4-door saloon and two special versions: the Astra Coupé and the Astra Cabrio, both of them designed and built by Bertone. The Astra G/B saw the introduction of a natural gas-powered engine. Its chassis was tuned by Lotus and formed the base of a seven-seater compact MPV, the Opel Zafira.

The manufacturing of Astra G/B continued at GM's Gliwice plant in Poland after the debut of the next-generation Astra H/C, with the older model being branded as Astra Classic in a similar fashion to its predecessor, catering to the lower end of the market. Apart from European markets, these models were sold in Australia and New Zealand as Holden Astra Classic, until they were replaced by the Holden Viva in 2006.

The Astra G/B continues as the locally-built Chevrolet Astra in Brazil and several other South American countries. A taxi version of the Brazilian sourced model, powered with diesel is sold in Chile as the Chevy Taxi, and a gasoline powered one as the Chevy Urban.^{[citation needed]} In 2004, GM's Russian joint venture, GM-AvtoVAZ, launched the Chevrolet Viva, a four-door version of the Astra G/B. It is sold through Chevrolet dealers in Russia, while Opel dealers sell the newer Opel Astra H/C.

[edit] Astra DTM

The Astra G series was also the basis for the Astra touring car, raced in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series. Although several cars were entered in the races, only one, driven by Manuel Reuter, placed significantly; it took second in 2000. The car's bodywork featured gull-wing doors that were each supported by two gas struts. The race cars were mostly powered by 4.0L V-8 engines with nearly 500 horsepower.

[edit] Astra XTreme

The Astra XTreme, a concept presented at the 2001 Geneva motor show, was a single-production V8 powered Astra based on the G-series Astra DTM. Like the DTM race car, it featured a 4.0L V8 engine, producing 444 horsepower, gull-wing doors supported by gas struts., carbon fiber panels, and race-specification interior with five-point seatbelts.

[edit] Astra H/C

Astra H/C

Also called	Saturn Astra
Production	2004-present
Body style	2-door coupé convertible 3-door hatchback 4-door sedan 5-door estate 5-door hatchback
Platform	FF Delta^{[citation needed]}
Related	Opel Zafira

GM Europe launched Astra H/C in March 2004. Based on the then-new Delta platform,^{[citation needed]} its size was increased compared to the previous version. Each engine is provided with its own Lotus-tuned suspension settings.^{[citation needed]}

The Astra H/C was first launched as a five-door hatchback, which by the end of 2004 was joined by a five-door Caravan estate and a sporty three-door hatchback, designated the GTC for European markets, Sport Hatch in the UK and the Coupé in Australia. The GTC has the option of a panoramic windscreen (unique for a production car at the time of its launch) which extends into the roof area.

Chevrolet do Brazil did not launch the Astra H/C production, keeping the previous model as Chevrolet Astra sold in many South American countries (yet the newer model is sold as Chevrolet Astra in Mexico and from 2006 in Chile), but it has developed a 4-door sedan based on the Astra H/C, which has been launched it as the Chevrolet Vectra in 2005. On 19 October 2006 at the international auto show in Istanbul, Turkey, the Opel version of the sedan was launched, to be manufactured in Gliwice as an Opel for several Eurasian markets. At that time, a 3-door van variant of the wagon was introduced by Vauxhall in Britain.

A first for any major European car is the availability of digital radio on some versions of the new Astra, while for the Astra product class first are electronic Continuous Damping Control (CDC) and AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting). In 2005, the new Opel Astra Diesel Hybrid appeared. By the end of 2005, estate and coupé versions were also launched. there is a mk4 owned by bogroll which is the best 1 made

[edit] Astra OPC/VXR

During 2005 Opel introduced the OPC version of the Astra GTC (Astra VXR in the UK) which is powered by an updated version of the 2.0L turbo ecotec engine producing 240PS(177kW) and 320Nm of torque. Standard features of the OPC version include sports bodykit and interior, a six-speed manual gearbox, xenon headlamps and 18" alloys wheels amongst others.