Opel Speedster
| Opel Speedster | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Lotus |
| Also called | Vauxhall VX220 Daewoo Speedster |
| Production | 2000–2005 |
| Assembly | Hethel, Norfolk, England |
| Designer |
Niels Loeb and Martin Smith (exterior) Steven Crijns (interior) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-door roadster |
| Layout | Transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Platform | Lotus Elise Series 2 platform |
| Related |
Lotus Elise Lynx GT Tesla Roadster |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2.2 L Ecotec Z22SE I4 2.0 L Z20LET turbo I4 |
| Transmission | 5-speed Getrag F23 manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 91.7 in (2,329 mm) |
| Length | 149.2 in (3,790 mm) |
| Width | 67.2 in (1,707 mm) |
| Height | 43.8 in (1,113 mm) |
| Kerb weight | Speedster: 870 kg (1,918 lb) Speedster Turbo: 930 kg (2,050 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor |
Opel GT (European Union) Vauxhall Monaro VXR (United Kingdom) |
| Opel ECO Speedster | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Opel (General Motors) |
| Production | 2002 (Concept car) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car |
| Body style | 2-door coupé |
| Layout | Transverse rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Doors | Gullwing doors |
| Related | Opel GT |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.3 L CDTI I4 |
| Transmission | 5-speed Easytronic semi-automatic |
The Opel Speedster is a British-built mid-engined, targa-topped, 2-seat sports car sold by the German automaker Opel, introduced in July 2000.
It was built in both RHD & LHD versions, at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It was sold as the Vauxhall VX220 in the United Kingdom and the Daewoo Speedster in the Asian market.
The car shared much in common with the Lotus Elise, although Opel claimed few parts were interchangeable.
Due to the changes in European crash safety regulations for the 2000MY, Lotus needed to replace the original Elise. In October 1999, they struck a deal with General Motors in order to have sufficient investment for a new car. As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to develop and produce the Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 on the new Series 2 Elise chassis. The first Speedster concept car was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.
Whilst the new Elise would use a 1.8-litre Toyota engine, similar to that found in the Toyota Celica, the Speedster was designed to use a 2.2-litre GM Ecotec engine from the Opel Astra. Neither engine had been used in the original Elise, which was fitted with an 1.8-litre Rover K-Series engine. In order to accommodate the production of the new cars, Lotus expanded its Hethel factory to a capacity of 10,000 cars, with around 3,500 slots allocated to Speedster production.
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Wikipedia