Opel Performance Center

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Opel Performance Center GmbH

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1997
Seat Ruesselsheim am Main , Germany
management Volker Strycek
Branch automobile
Website opel.de

The Opel Performance Center GmbH is an independent subsidiary of the automaker Opel and all for Europe-wide planning, development and coordination of motorsport activities of the Opel brand in charge.

With the exit of the Opel brand from the DTM and the bundling of motorsport activities at General Motors in the Chevrolet brand , the tasks of Opel Performance Center GmbH were integrated into today's Adam Opel AG.

The main focus of the OPC lies in Opel's involvement in motorsport, for example in the DTM until 2005 , in the British Touring Car Championship ( BTCC ) and in rallies , as well as in increasing the performance of series models which are marked with the abbreviation OPC and then via the normal dealer network of the company Opel are sold.

The managing director of OPC GmbH is the former DTM racing driver Volker Strycek , who won the DTM in 1984 and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2003 .

At the end of October 2005, an Astra H OPC undercut the class course record on the Nürburgring by four seconds in 8: 35.93 minutes. Manuel Reuter was at the wheel . This record drive was elaborately staged (various cameras on the car and along the route, helicopter shots) and finally on a DVD with the title Pure Passion as a marketing tool, including as a supplement to the Opel magazine 01/2006 and the 01/2006 issue of the OPC Inside advertising flyer spread.

Overview of produced OPC models

  • Astra G OPC 1 (1999–2002) with a 2.0 liter engine with 118 kW (limited to 3000 pieces).
  • Astra G OPC 2 (2002–2004) with a 2.0 liter turbo engine with 147 kW (also available as a caravan).
  • Zafira A OPC (2001-2005) with a 2.0-liter turbo engine with first 141 kW, then later with 147 kW.
  • Vectra C OPC (2005-2008), which was available as a hatchback and caravan and was initially powered by a 188 kW (255 PS) 2.8-liter V6 turbo engine (acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 6, 7 s). For the 2007 model year, the output was increased to 206 kW (280 PS).
  • Astra H OPC (2005–2010), which is based on the Astra GTC ( Gran Turismo Compact ) and has an output of 177 kW (240 hp) with the 2.0 liter turbo engine.
  • Meriva A OPC (2006-2010), which had a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 132 kW (180 PS).
  • Zafira B OPC (2005-2010), which, like the Astra H OPC, was powered by a 2.0-liter turbo engine with an output of 177 kW (240 hp).
  • Corsa D OPC (2007-2014), which has a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 141 kW (192 hp).
  • Corsa D OPC Nürburgring Edition (2011-2014), which has a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 155 kW (210 PS) and a mechanical multi-disc limited-slip differential as standard.
  • Opel Corsa E OPC, which has a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 207 hp
  • Astra J OPC, which has a 2.0-liter turbo engine with 206 kW (280 PS).
  • Insignia A OPC, which has a 2.8-liter V6 turbo engine with 239 kW (325 hp) and all-wheel drive as standard

Concept vehicles

Opel Astra G OPC X-Treme Concept

Since the existence of OPC, the following studies have been presented; these either carried the OPC label or gave a foretaste of a later OPC series model.

  • 2001: Opel Astra OPC X-treme - A street version of the Astra V8 Coupe from the DTM with 444 hp.
  • 2002: Opel Corsa OPC - OPC version of the Opel Corsa C , which had a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 175 hp and 210 Nm.
  • 2003: Opel Vectra OPC - near - series OPC study of the pre-facelift Vectra GTS with a 212 hp and 400 Nm 1.9 liter turbo diesel engine.
  • 2004: Opel Astra HPC - Study of the 2005 Astra H OPC .
  • 2010: Opel GTC Paris Concept - Outlook on the Astra J OPC, which was then released in 2012 .
  • 2014: Opel Astra OPC Extreme - study based on the Astra OPC , which is to be manufactured in a small series.

OPC Race Camp 2008

The OPC Race Camp has been held by the Opel Performance Center since April 2007. This is a casting show -like series of events for racing drivers, the winners of which took part in the 2008 Nürburgring 24-hour race . In total there were around 18,422 applicants, 500 of whom were selected and took part in an initial selection event. This was followed by other events, including on the Nürburgring and on Magny-Cours . The candidates were judged by experienced racing drivers such as Manuel Reuter . In May 2008, the best eight participants contested the Nürburgring 24-hour race in the SP3T class for vehicles with turbochargers and 1600 to 2000 cc in two racing versions of the Opel Astra OPC built by Kissling Motorsport and powered by 220 kW. The OPC Race-Camp Team 2008 consisted of:

  • Christian Bach, Germany
  • Christian Bollrath, Germany
  • Martin Karlhofer, Austria
  • Stefan Leitner, Austria
  • Dr. Peter Pangert, Germany
  • Alex Plenagl, Germany
  • Benjamin Scharf, Germany
  • Kurt Wenger, Switzerland

OPC Race Camp 2010

The talent scouting in the form of a racing driver casting show entered a second round in 2009. Under the direction of Manuel Reuter, supported by Joachim Winkelhock and other jurors, the OPC Race Camp started again. Since the beginning of 2009, the team had been busy selecting the eight racing drivers from around 22,500 online applicants who were to take part in the 2010 24-hour race at the Nürburgring . 750 participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were selected and screened for the decision-making rounds called Level. The decision started at the Opel test site in Dudenhofen .

The levels at a glance
Level place date Attendees tasks
Level 1 Dudenhofen 03/29/2009 - 04/25/2009 750 Slalom, evasive exercise and shoot-out (time trial) in the Opel Corsa OPC race
Re-drive Dudenhofen 04/27/2009 - 04/30/2009 135 Handling course, shoot-out in the Opel Corsa OPC race
Level 2 Horse field 06/19/2009 - 06/21/2009 69 Race of Champions, shoot-out in the Nürburgring Astra OPC circuit challenge
Level 3 Fuerth 07/06/2009 - 07/07/2009 20th Sports medical examination - fitness test
Level 4 Nürburgring 07/06/2009 - 07/07/2009 19th Shoot-out in the RCN Astra OPC and in the 24h racing car
Level 5 Saalfelden 08/03/2009 - 08/05/2009 8th Strength, stamina, responsiveness, stamina and willpower
Level 6 LuK Driving Center 08/11/2009 - 08/12/2009 10 License course for the 6 directly qualified from L4 and 4 from L5
Level 7 Nürburgring Nordschleife 08/31/2009 - 09/01/2009 10 Exclusive test days on the Nordschleife
Level 8a Nürburgring October 03, 2009 10 Participation in the 41st ADAC Barbarossapreis BFGoodrich Endurance Championship 2009
Level 8b Nürburgring 10/17/2009 10 Participation in the 33rd DMV 250-mile race BFGoodrich Endurance Championship 2009
Level 8c Nürburgring October 31, 2009 10 Participation in the 34th DMV Münsterlandpokal BFGoodrich endurance championship 2009

The remaining candidates for the 2010 24-hour race were:

  • Sebastian Amossé, Germany / France
  • Roger Büeler, Switzerland
  • René Hiddel, Germany
  • Arne Hoffmeister, Germany
  • Thierry Kilchenmann, Switzerland
  • Lars Nebelin, Germany
  • Jean-Marie Rathje, Germany
  • Dennis Rieger, Germany
  • Hendrik Scharf, Germany
  • Charlotte Wilking, Germany

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Auto File: Opel Astra OPC X-Treme
  2. ↑ Press portal: Opel Corsa OPC study
  3. ↑ Auto File: Opel Vectra OPC study
  4. ↑ Auto File: Opel Astra HPC study
  5. ↑ Auto File: Opel GTC Paris study
  6. ↑ AutoFile: Opel Astra OPC Extreme
  7. ↑ a b Official website of the Opel OPC Race Camp
  8. ↑ Das Auto-Magazin 2.0: OPC Race Camp before the grand finale

Web links

Commons : OPC vehicles  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files