Car Moon

Opel previewed an eco-conscious variant of the all-new Insignia at the Paris motorshow that packs a single-turbo 2.0-liter diesel engine with an output of 160 HP. The German automaker has applied a series of measures on the Insignia to improve fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions including highly fuel-efficient tires from Michelin specially developed for the car and aerodynamic tweaks such as adding underbody paneling, lowering the body by 10 mm and partially closing the radiator grille to send more head wind around the body. -Continued

Notably, the aerodynamic upgrades have resulted to an outstanding drag coefficient of just 0.26 (standard Insignia: cd 0.27) which is the same as the Toyota Prius. Who said that aerodynamic cars had to look boring?

Opel has yet to release fuel consumption or CO2 figures as the vehicle is still under development, but the Germans did announce that the Insignia ecoFLEX will sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62mph) in 9.5 seconds and reach a top speed of up to 218 km/h or 136 mph. More details are expected to be announced closer to the market launch of the car in early 2009.

“We designed the Insignia as a particularly efficient car from the beginning. By making a multitude of detailed improvements to the powertrain and to the road and wind resistance factors of the ecoFLEX model, our engineers are able to minimize consumption without affecting driving fun,” says Hans Demant, Managing Director of Opel. “Though we are still developing the new Insignia ecoFLEX with the 2.0 CDTI ECOTEC engine, we are confident it will emit CO₂ gases well below 140 g/km.”