A big wagon with twin exhaust pipes that you can stuff a watermelon into? Yes, please. Volkswagen, Ford, Skoda and SEAT offer such a thing. But even though Opel had the bright idea of making the Insignia OPC as a tourer, it hasn't done the same thing with the Astra.
In fact, the hot Astra remains a 3-door affair, just like the Megane RS. We're pretty sure that's going to change this generation, as there's really no point in having a hot car if you can't share it with other people.
However, the Astra Tourer OPC may be a stretch of our imagination too far. Opel isn't Volkswagen; it can't share the burdon of such a car with two sister brands. But let's imagine that the power wagon got approved. What would it look like, and what may hide under its hood?
The world seems obsessed with downsizing these days. It might work out alright on a Porsche 911, but it's not such a great idea with hot hatchbacks. The Peugeot 308 GTI is not the icon of French fun everybody thought it would be, and even Hyundai is using a big 2-liter in the i30 R.
Despite what the manufacturers will tell you, the all-new 2016 Megane and Astra Tourer are not featherweights. So an OPC wagon model would weigh about 1.5 tons. Opel has stopped developing the 2-liter turbo any further, but the one they currently have is still great, producing 280 horsepower.
Like a painter, squinting his eyes to get a broad view of the image, we too squinted at this rendering made by Virtuel Car. It has big wheels and huge exhaust pipes, but is it beautiful? In a word, no. The Leon Cupra ST remains our favorite power wagon in the "I'm not rich" class, followed by things like the RS6 and the E63. The Astra hasn't got that extra layer of crispness to make it hot.
However, the Astra Tourer OPC may be a stretch of our imagination too far. Opel isn't Volkswagen; it can't share the burdon of such a car with two sister brands. But let's imagine that the power wagon got approved. What would it look like, and what may hide under its hood?
The world seems obsessed with downsizing these days. It might work out alright on a Porsche 911, but it's not such a great idea with hot hatchbacks. The Peugeot 308 GTI is not the icon of French fun everybody thought it would be, and even Hyundai is using a big 2-liter in the i30 R.
Despite what the manufacturers will tell you, the all-new 2016 Megane and Astra Tourer are not featherweights. So an OPC wagon model would weigh about 1.5 tons. Opel has stopped developing the 2-liter turbo any further, but the one they currently have is still great, producing 280 horsepower.
Like a painter, squinting his eyes to get a broad view of the image, we too squinted at this rendering made by Virtuel Car. It has big wheels and huge exhaust pipes, but is it beautiful? In a word, no. The Leon Cupra ST remains our favorite power wagon in the "I'm not rich" class, followed by things like the RS6 and the E63. The Astra hasn't got that extra layer of crispness to make it hot.