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2017 Opel Ampera-e Heading to Paris, 150 KM/H Top Speed

After the slow-selling Ampera, the European arm of General Motors is having another go at electrification with the all-new Ampera-e. Slated to make its public debut on September 29 during the Paris Motor Show, the Opel / Vauxhall Ampera-e promises a lot.
2017 Opel Ampera-e / 2017 Vauxhall Ampera-e 15 photos
Photo: Opel
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Before anything, I must highlight something which doesn’t sound right to me. Opel tells that the Ampera-e “also offers a significantly longer range than most other electric cars.” I’m sorry, but come again? An “in this segment” is much needed in there to eliminate any type of confusion, at least until Tesla Motors finishes research & development on the hottest EV of the moment.

Now let’s focus on what makes the Chevy Bolt Opel Ampera-e great. As you can see in the adjacent video, the Ampera-e outaccelerates the Corsa OPC, Insignia OPC, Adam RS, and the Astra TCR in a 30-meter (100-foot) drag race. Better still, the compact EV hits 50 km/h (31 mph) in 3.2 seconds, which means that the Ampera-e has the edge in traffic-light-to-traffic-light sprints.

Top speed is limited to 150 km/h (93.2 mph), which is more than enough if you’re living anywhere else but that country with the unrestricted autobahns. Another impressive detail regarding the Ampera-e is how this car picks up speed from 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph). All it takes is 4.5 seconds, so yes, the Opel Ampera-e can handle its own during high-speed overtakes.

The German manufacturer also reiterates that the electric powertrain is good for 150 kW or 204 PS (201 horsepower in U.S. money). The 360 Nm (265 lb-ft) of torque also come in handy, especially when you consider that the Opel Astra 1.6 BiTurbo CDTI is 10 newton meters short on the Ampera-e.

What the peeps at Opel fail to mention, though, is the NEDC-rated range of this heavily-anticipated electric runabout. In the case of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt, we're expecting more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) of juice.

Oh, and by the way, don’t get your hopes up for adaptive cruise control.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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