2001 Opel Speedster

Automotive Industries,  May, 2001  by Lindsay Brooke

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The world will always needs purist sports cats, if for no other reason than to remind us that driving can still be fun (given the right roads, of course). Opel needs its new Speedster to attract more young buyers into its showrooms, even if they're only shopping for Comas and Astras. After all, who can't see themselves flying a few inches off the pavement in an eye-popping, street legal sports-racer?

The Speedster wears an Opel badge because General Motors-Europe product planners were knocked out by the Lotus Elise when it debuted a few years ago. GM-E liked the idea of having a lightweight (aluminum chassis and plastic-composite body panels), turbocharged sports car in it portfolio. Opel needed to be re-positioned, with a new youthful accent It made sense to go to Lotus and strike an assembly deal, rather than build the car in-house.

I recently spent a day driving Speedsters along the southern coast of Portugal. On smooth, undulating roads reminiscent of Northern California, this Lotus-Opel was in its element It's a sports car as God and Col-in Chapman intended, with a delightful 5-speed gearbox, plenty of power and brakes go-cart-like steering and fly-paper grip. Downsides include miniscule cargo capacity and a cramped cockpit for tall guys like me. The Speedster also creaks a bit over rough surfaces, reminding you of its aluminum/plastic construction.

At the same time, it's also reminding you that "sports" really goes better with "car," rather than with "utility vehicle." How quickly we all forget...

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