Why it’s a shame the Opel Vectra 2000 wasn’t called GSi

It is interesting that Opel is returning the GSi designation to the Insignia, because it is exactly the designation that was so badly missed in its predecessor Vectra introduced in 1988. At the time, the letter combination GSi was just as melodious as the GTI claimed by Volkswagen for the Golf. Anyone who proclaimed to drive a Corsa GSi or Kadett GSi did not have to explain anything further, at most with the latter whether it was the 16V version. Roughly a year after the introduction of the everyday Vectras, Opel thought the time was right to launch the sporty top model, for which it reached for the 150 hp strong machinery of the Kadett GSi 2.0-16V.

The 16 valves made the difference here, because the regular Vectra was already available as a 2.0i with 115 hp; in itself not a sick variant. The Upper Vectra was distinguished on the outside by sturdier footwear and some subtle spoiler work and under the skin by a new, for the occasion independent rear suspension. He owed the latter to the 4×4 version, which was also introduced at the time, which could not handle the usual semi-independent axle. All in all, a very beautiful whole, which gave the Vectra excellent performance and road behaviour. Only the top model had to come up with a good name. Opel decided in all its wisdom to leave the beautiful and distinctive GSi to the Corsa and Kadett, and to let the Vectra follow the course it had started with the Omega.

Thus, the Omega 3000 was joined by the Vectra 2000. The aim was that the latter would be welcomed by fans of the sporting genre with as widely spread arms as the top Omega. Did that work? Our feeling is that the Vectra 2000 has managed to settle into the ears of enthusiasts less emphatically than the cars it competed with, such as the Alfa 75 Twin Spark, Peugeot 405 Mi16 and Renault 21 Turbo. Vectra GSi 2.0-16V would have appealed more to the imagination.