Photo: autocar
Now that drifting has finally become popular, the next carmaker to jump the sideways bandwagon is Opel, along with its British sister company Vauxhall. It seems that the future Insignia range-topper will be fitted with serious slide-friendly hardware similar to that featured on the 2016 Ford Focus RS.
No, the two rival brands haven't suddenly become friends. However, the all-wheel-drive hardware on the Blue Oval compact comes from GKN and, as autocar writes, the supplied has already developed a current-generation OPC/VXR fitted with such hardware. And you can check out the prototype in the photo we have here - the images in the gallery show the factory VXR, albeit with a Holden badge.
Nevertheless, while the front axle still has an open diff, albeit with electronic brake control simulating a limited slip one, the rear trick is at the back. That's where the twin clutch pack that helped us drift the Mk III Focus RS comes into play. This not only allows for a seriously rear-biased torque distribution, but, thanks to its active torque vectoring feature, can also send up to 100 percent of the torque to any of the rear wheels.
So, how does the said prototype drive? Well, according to the Brits, there are plenty of chances for decent slip angles: "Initial impressions on the handling track [Aldenhoven, Germany] confirmed the Twinster system improves throttle adjustability by increasing yaw angle under heavy mid-corner acceleration, but the car’s less active front drive system meant it still naturally pushed into slight understeer,"
And while the argument for that understeer's minimisation is an expected 440 lbs (200 kg) weight loss brought by the new-generation model, we're convinced that it should be the weight distribution, not the scale footprint itself, that has a stronger influence on how the car behaves through the twists.
Keep in mind that we still don't have any official confirmation on the matter, but with handling being an Achille's Heel for the hot Insignia, we don't see any reason for which the story wouldn't become a showroom tale.
Safety advocates have no reason to fret, though. Yes, more and more carmakers are taking the AWD-with-drift-mode path (AMG has already confirmed it, remember?), but, at least when it came to the Focus RS, the car needed serious hooning before it would be convinced to let go. So, button pushing aside, you'll never end up drifting by accident, simply because the setup isn't aggressive enough to allow that.
Nevertheless, while the front axle still has an open diff, albeit with electronic brake control simulating a limited slip one, the rear trick is at the back. That's where the twin clutch pack that helped us drift the Mk III Focus RS comes into play. This not only allows for a seriously rear-biased torque distribution, but, thanks to its active torque vectoring feature, can also send up to 100 percent of the torque to any of the rear wheels.
So, how does the said prototype drive? Well, according to the Brits, there are plenty of chances for decent slip angles: "Initial impressions on the handling track [Aldenhoven, Germany] confirmed the Twinster system improves throttle adjustability by increasing yaw angle under heavy mid-corner acceleration, but the car’s less active front drive system meant it still naturally pushed into slight understeer,"
And while the argument for that understeer's minimisation is an expected 440 lbs (200 kg) weight loss brought by the new-generation model, we're convinced that it should be the weight distribution, not the scale footprint itself, that has a stronger influence on how the car behaves through the twists.
Keep in mind that we still don't have any official confirmation on the matter, but with handling being an Achille's Heel for the hot Insignia, we don't see any reason for which the story wouldn't become a showroom tale.
Safety advocates have no reason to fret, though. Yes, more and more carmakers are taking the AWD-with-drift-mode path (AMG has already confirmed it, remember?), but, at least when it came to the Focus RS, the car needed serious hooning before it would be convinced to let go. So, button pushing aside, you'll never end up drifting by accident, simply because the setup isn't aggressive enough to allow that.
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