THIS could be the new Holden Barina, should Holden decide to import it as a rival to the Ford Fiesta.
In Europe it’s called the Opel Corsa and this freshly updated version has just been revealed at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
Holden wouldn’t say if it’s considering the Corsa as a replacement for the Holden Barina, but one key Opel employee revealed it would.
Asked by Wheels if the Corsa would hit Aussie roads, Opel exterior design director Malcolm Ward said: “I can’t really tell you that, but, yeah, I think it is. I really think it is. I actually don’t know when, but we’re launching the Corsa in Europe now and I think it goes on sale towards the end of the year, so Australia and New Zealand will be pretty soon after that.”
The official line from Holden was: “We’ll look at every car that’s available to us from the GM portfolio and see what makes good business sense. At this stage our focus is on the three Opel models we’ve got coming next year.”
Holden has already confirmed it will import the Opel Astra GTC/VXR, Insignia VXR and Cascada convertible early next year, with the front-drive Insignia widely tipped to replace the Commodore as Holden’s large family sedan once local manufacturing ends.
The new-generation Corsa will be available in three-door and five-door body styles and is built on a heavily revised version of the current Corsa platform.
Every exterior panel is new, as is the interior, and among a five-strong engine range is a new 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine that produces up to 85kW/170Nm.
The new Corsa is lower, slightly longer and boasts new electric steering, while customers will be able to choose from two chassis tunes – comfort or sport, the latter riding on 15-20mm lower suspension and bigger 16 or 17-inch wheels.
Corsa also bristles with Opel’s latest safety technology, including lane-departure warning, sign-post recognition, high-beam assist and forward-collision warning as options.
Hard-core performance junkies will also get their fill, with a Corsa VXR already spotted undergoing testing at the Nurburgring.
Expect the VXR to ride on 18-inch wheels, sport an even more aggressive body kit, bigger brakes and produce about 150kW.
Click here to read the full range review of the Holden Barina
HOLDEN has revealed more than 30 percent of its future lineup will come from Opel’s European range of cars – including a possible Commodore replacement.
Holden has already confirmed the Astra VXR and GTC hot hatch duo, the current-generation Insignia mid-sizer, and the Cascada convertible will arrive in Holden dealerships in early 2015. That’s barely 18 months after those same cars, wearing Opel badges, were withdrawn from sale in Australia when Holden closed the Opel brand locally in August last year.
Wheels has also learned that the next-generation Insignia is in contention to replace the locally-built Holden Commodore when production ends here in 2017. Sedan, hatch and wagon versions of the Insignia are built by Opel in its Russelsheim factory in Germany, with petrol and diesel engines, and in front-drive and all-wheel drive configurations.
The next-generation Insignia is expected to be bigger than the current model, which is closer to a Subaru Liberty in size. But it’s still likely to be smaller than the VF Commodore. Holden is not saying whether the Insignia will carry the Commodore badge in Australia, but this seems unlikely.
The next Insignia is currently being designed by Australian Niels Loeb in Germany, with input from renowned Holden designer Richard Ferlazzo.
Speaking exclusively to Wheels, Loeb revealed Opel’s aspirations for the next-generation Insignia’s design and quality to rival that of established luxury brands BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
Another Opel model likely to hit Australian roads is the new Corsa light hatchback revealed at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. Holden could use this car either as a replacement for the Korean-sourced Barina, or to supplement it as a premium offering in its light hatchback range.
When asked by Wheels which was the more likely scenario, Holden managing director Gerry Dorizas declined to answer.
“We are absolutely committed to bringing the best possible products from GM’s global portfolio to Australian customers to support a strong and exciting future for Holden.”
Dorizas sees Opel as integral to his goal of returning Holden to the top of the Australian sales ladder by 2020. “Opel’s commitment to performance and quality aligns perfectly with Holden’s heritage and brand.”
All future Opel-sourced Holdens will be fine-tuned at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground to not only ensure they share common handling characteristics, but are tuned for Aussie conditions.
“We will make sure these cars are perfect for the Australian market,” said Karl-Thomas Neumann, Executive President of GM Europe. “I’m very excited about the role our great products will play in the resurgence of the Holden brand by being able to provide more than one-third of Holden’s future line-up.”
LAND Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division is going to war against tuning houses that feed on the British brand to create more luxury-laden or monstered versions of its products.
The luxury off-road specialist says the Range Rover Sport SVR, revealed earlier this year after SVO was created, is the first salvo in a battle that will target niche tuning houses that heavily modify buyers’ vehicles and reap profit from Land Rover products, the British car maker says.
“We need to get tougher with them,” Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern, speaking on the floor of the Paris Motor Show after the reveal of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, says.
“I find it frustrating that these companies set themselves up, take our vehicles, use 99.9 percent of our creative intellect for their own profit, and take our badge off and out their badge on it… they’re taking advantage of our brand equity.”
SVO will follow the structure of German luxury car go-fast division Mercedes-AMG as a “natural progression” of the company’s business, with a facility being built to prepare these models.
McGovern says he sees the personalisation of SVO applicable to the entire Land Rover and Range Rover line-up, yet SVO won’t pander to wild tastes.
“It needs to congruent with what that particular family is about… what we’re trying to do is give our customers more choice, but do it in a way that maintains the integrity of the brand.”
Strategic planning of such parts and features means that items suitable for a Defender, for instance, may not be offered on a Range Rover Sport. It’s all about taste, protecting the Land Rover brand image ‑ and cashing in on customer desire for something a little different.
“I do have a real issue with some of the companies we see… taking our cars,” McGovern says.
“In fairness to our customers, they buy these cars and they give them to these people to tune or whatever, ’cause we’re not necessarily giving them what they want.
“What they really want is something that’s a little different… and we need to go out there and give them that.”
Isn’t Volkswagen meant to be the sensible one?
Apparently it’s decided to let its hair down in Paris, with the surprise unveiling of the XL Sport at its traditional pre-show Group Night.
Based on the rather special XL1 eco-car, VW has added a MOTOR twist by adding the 147kW/134Nm 1199cc V2 from the Ducati Panigale V2.
Driving through a seven-speed DSG ‘box, it’s enough to shift the 890kg XL Sport to 100km/h in 5.7sec and on to a 269km/h top speed. Thank the super slippery 0.25Cd for that impressive Vmax.
There are also carbon-ceramic brakes and magnesium wheels with 205/40 tyres up front and 265/35 at the rear.
Sadly, VW says there is no plans for the XL Sport to reach production, which is a massive shame, as the thought of that V-twin screaming at 11,000rpm is enough to give us goosebumps.
The German manufacturers’ race to fill every possible niche shows no sign of reaching the chequered flag.
Audi’s offering at Paris is the utterly bizarre TT Sportback. Yes, a five-door version of Audi’s stylish new coupe.
It’s possibly the ultimate expression of the coupe-cum-sedan concept everybody seems so fond of now – Mercedes-Benz CLA and CLAS, BMW 4- and 6-Series Gran Coupe etc. – but appears somewhat redundant given Audi already offers such a car in the form of the A5 Sportback. Or A7 Sportback if you need something a bit bigger.
Of more interest to us is the 294kW/450Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder under the bonnet. This engine has already appeared in a couple of different guises, firstly in 309kW form in the Audi TT Ultra concept and then in the VW Golf R400 concept, which is expected to make production shortly.
However, with the forthcoming TT RS and RS3 expected to retain an updated version the 2.5-litre turbo five used currently, it’s currently unclear where in the Audi lineup this highly strung four-cylinder will make an appearance.
Let’s hope it’s not in the rather silly TT Sportback.
THE NEXT Holden Commodore is being designed right now, in Germany, by an Australian.
Niels Loeb, an Aussie from Sydney’s northern beaches and also Opel’s exterior design director, is currently penning the next-generation Opel Insignia – the car widely tipped to replace the locally made Commodore when it ceases production in 2017.
Holden is also influencing the car. Its local design team, spearheaded by Richard Ferlazzo, is in constant communication about the next Insignia’s architecture and design.
“Look, I can’t confirm future products, but what I can say is the new Insignia is going to be even better looking than the current car (pictured),” said Loeb.
“Opel is about to have a lot more relevance for Australia and it’s a good story because Opel has always been appreciated in Australia for good contemporary design with European flavour. I believe we’re looking at making up 30 percent of Holden’s lineup, so if we can bring some European flair, that can only be a good thing.”
Loeb wouldn’t reveal any details about the next Insignia’s design, except to say it will draw heavily on the Opel Monza concept, revealed at last year’s Frankfurt motor show. He also claims the quality of its materials and finish will rival that of Audi and BMW.
“Opel’s in a rejuvenation phase as the moment and what I can say is the Monza show car has had a big influence,” said Loeb. “You don’t’ see it in the our new models now because they were completed earlier, but Monza will definitely be influencing a lot of our production stuff from next year on.”
Loeb also confirmed the next Insignia, will have a distinct Aussie influence.
“Richard [Ferlazzo] and his team have definitely been involved,” he said. “They do sketches and clay models and have added an Australian style which is more muscular, more in your face, more Aussie. European cars are traditionally taller, where Aussie cars are wider and lower and I think that’s where the market is going.”
Due in 2016, the new-generation Insignia is a crucial model for GM, given it’s also sold in the US and China as the Buick Regal.
“The mid-sized segment is really tricky at the moment with a lot of competition,” said Loeb. “So you really need to make a car that’s going to make a big visual statement and that’s our intention with the next Insignia. It needs to compete against Audis and BMWs visually and in terms of its quality.”
VOLVO boss Hakan Samuelsson revealed at the 2014 Paris Motor Show that an ‘XC40’ baby SUV is in development, but won’t reach showrooms until 2018.
While the company’s second-generation XC90 SUV was one of the most important debutantes at Paris, it’s what is in the Swedish pipeline that piqued our interest.
Top of the list in terms of importance if not timing is the long-awaited XC40 – a proper baby compact SUV to be spun off Volvo’s future small-car architecture that replaces the 2012-vintage Ford Focus-based V40.
“We are developing the smaller CMA platform together with [Chinese owners] Geely that is designed to replace first of all the V40,” the Volvo Cars CEO told Wheels.
“But it is also designed to cover more bodystyles than just a hatchback, and a small SUV is high on the list of vehicles that we should have.”
Don’t hold your breath, though, for the current V40 is just two years into its lifespan.
Samuelsson reckons it will be four years before we see such a beast.
That’s a better turnaround than the new XC90, which replaces a model that first saw the light of day 13 years ago.
Coming sooner than the XC40 will be the long-rumoured S90 luxury sedan, which is set to surface next year and will be derived from the new XC90’s SPA scalable architecture.
The S90 is also believed to be the basis of a V90 wagon as well as the eventual replacements for the long-running S80, V70 and XC70 models.
While Samuelsson said he hasn’t forgotten about sporty vehicles – referring to the Geneva motor show-starring Concept Estate that harks back to the classic 1800 ES of the early 1970s – there are more important models to roll out first.
“The first priority is to produce the bread and butter vehicles,” he said. “Once we’re through that process after the next four years, we’ll have to look; it’s not included in the first wave.”
Samuelsson said that public response to the Concept Estate caught Volvo by surprise, far outstripping the earlier XC Coupe Concept that debuted at the Detroit show in January.
Lamborghini research and development boss says there is zero chance of the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 plug-in hybrid supercar being built by the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory.
“We decide not to do [it],” was the blunt response of Maurizio Reggiani when pressed on the possibility of the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 being approved for production. “It is only really to investigate the reaction against or in favour of plug-in hybrid, and in terms of design,” Lamborghini’s R&D director added.
The Asterion LPI 910-4 is based on the Lamborghini Aventador, but uses Lamborghini’s 5.2-litre V10 from the smaller Huracan. With a battery pack occupying the central tunnel where the V12-powered all-wheel-drive Aventador’s front driveshaft normally goes, the Asterion has a claimed electric range of 50km. With its front and rear electric motors adding to the V10’s output, the hybrid system’s claimed maximum output is 669kW and its 0-100km/h time just 3.0 seconds.
But this is a confusing concept, as it doesn’t seem to point to any near-future model from Lamborghini. “At this moment (there) is no plan to have any kind of additional line,” says Reggiani. “This is really only a technological demonstrator to have your reaction.”
Neither of Lamborghini’s current models can be produced with a hybrid drivetrain, the R&D director explains, for reasons to do with drivetrain cooling. There are no plans to use the Asterion’s drivetrain in a production version of 2012 Lamborghini Urus SUV concept. In fact, judging by the executive’s reaction to such a suggestion, this project may have been canned. “Is not official,” says Reggiani. “We cannot confirm nothing.”
Instead, the Asterion LPI 910-4 seems to be Lamborghini looking for solutions in case governments around the world adopt much tougher CO2 emission regulations. Reggiani said the Lamborghini R&D department was focussed on finding incremental fuel efficiency improvements for its existing models.
At the same time, it’s also testing radical options. “We have really some advanced projects, like Asterion, where we try to explore what can be a new frontier, a big step forward.” Lamborghini has been working on the concept’s hybrid drivetrain for two years, Reggiani says, including testing with a development prototype.
HONDA has finally revealed its 2015 Civic Type R, or at least a good indication of what it will look like.
This striking blue hatch unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show is still a concept, but it points heavily to next year’s production version.
So that crazy rear spoiler, those flared arches and aggressive lines will likely make it to the showroom.
What we know for sure is more about the Type R’s drivetrain. A new 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder will churn out more than 206kW, scream all the way to 7000rpm and, in a move likely to bring a smile to performance car nuts, be mated exclusively to a six-speed manual.
There’s no dual-clutch option, with Honda keen to maintain the Type R’s purity and appeal the enthusiast drivers.
Honda’s hot-hatch hero will also sport an adaptive chassis and Honda’s new R+ button – which when pressed “immensely” changes the hot hatch’s performance by altering throttle response, engine mapping, steering and suspension.
A new ‘steer axis’ is also said to eliminate torque steer.
Expect the new Type R to hit Aussie roads late next year and be priced around $45K, putting it squarely up against the VW Golf GTI, our reigning Wheels Car of the Year.
Wheels is on the ground in France to bring you news from the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile show as it happens. Stay tuned for regular updates in our live feed.
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