Opel enthusiasts will be relieved to see the images of the new Astra. That is certainly not a new Peugeot 308 in a different jacket, but a really modern Opel to see. The Vizor grille, which is rapidly spread across the range, provides a recognizable face with a nod to the past. The youngest Opel Astra has big shoes to fill, although this segment is no longer as large as in the days when its predecessors sold like hot cakes.
1. 4.13 million
The first-generation Astra, the F, is the best-selling Astra ever with 4.13 million units in the period 1991-1997, but also the most successful Opel model of all time. The F, of course, followed the Kadett E, hence the letter. We are now ready for the L, because the I has been skipped due to possible confusion with the number 1.
2. Opel Astra OPC X-treme
A real OPC never appeared of the beautiful coupé based on the Opel Astra (Generation G). No, Opel had much bigger plans, spooned in a V8 from the DTM car and gave the two-door gull-wing doors. It almost came to production and AutoWeek even drove the fierce concept car on a track.
3. Fast Station Wagon
In 2002 Opel even launched an Astra station wagon with OPC label. With 200 hp and the necessary pep agents for the chassis, that was really a special thing. You could of course also get it as a three-door and if you, as a sporty parent, found the Astra SW OPC too small, you could also go for the Zafira OPC.
4. 40,399
1999 was the best Astra year in the Netherlands. The second generation Astra, the G, was running at full speed and with 40,399 copies sold, it was of course again the best-selling car in our country. In its first full year, 1992, no fewer than 40,163 units of the first Astra were registered.
5. Panoramic windshield
Opel always made a party of the coupés. The GTC version of the Astra H was available with a panoramic windscreen, where the glass continued further than normal and you imagined yourself as the front passenger in a moving aquarium. The introduction of that option took a little longer, namely only in 2005. It was not sold much, but it was special and therefore certainly a highlight in 30 years of Astra history.
6. 280 hp
With 280 hp, the third Opel Astra OPC is the heaviest street-legal Astra sold. The voluptuous GTC body served as the basis, a 2.0 turbo with 280 hp turned it into a wild hot hatchback, which counted seriously in the first part of the second decade of this century. That OPC also suffered from the obesity of generation J: 1,450 kilos! Fortunately, the K became much lighter, although no OPC appeared.
7. Cascada last convertible
Opel always eagerly put the saw in the roof from the first generation Astra. Convertibles came in every version except the current one. There was even a TwinTop with a folding roof, based on the H. The open version of the J was so beautiful that Opel named it Cascada. That name was a reference to the Spanish word for waterfall and of course it sounds much nicer than Astra Cabriolet or Astra TwinTop.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl