EQUIPMENT
IN THE WORLD OF MOTORS
The column materials were prepared by Mikhail GZOVSKIY, Dmitry POSTNIKOV
OPEL-AIDSSTER
Opel Speedster
The last Geneva Motor Show, as always, could not do without interesting new products. One of the most notable, of course, was the Opel Speedster concept roadster. “This year, Opel celebrates its centenary,” Robert Henry, the head of the Adam Opel company, told reporters. “The Speedster reflects our heritage and carries the spirit of sports cars of the past like the Opel GT, and at the same time opens the curtain on the future plans of our company. And although according to Robert Henry it can be assumed that Speedster was not planned to be mass-produced, at least in the near future, the lively reaction of Geneva 99 visitors to the novelty prompted Opel to decisive action. Roadster production will begin next year at the Lotus factory in the UK. The most impatient car was promised by the summer of 2000 at a price of about 43 thousand dollars. The estimated production volume of Speedster is 2, 000 cars per year, and if successful it will be increased to 3, 000.
For Speedster, the Lotus-Elise aluminum chassis was reconstructed, to which plastic body parts are attached. The mass of the car does not exceed 800 kg. For the first time, the idea of creating a lightweight body using composite materials was tested by Opel two years ago in the Signum concept car, and now the company's engineers decided to implement it in a production car. The Speedster layout was also inherited from the Elise model - both cars have a central engine layout and the drive wheels are rear. However, the Speedster should implement a slightly different sales strategy: at almost the same price, the Germans plan to equip a much richer English car in order to make it more attractive for everyday use. In particular, there are airbags, seats with lots of adjustments and power mirrors. However, they did not bend the stick: the roadster will not have a power steering, ABS and other attributes that are not characteristic of “true” sports models.