Wednesday 19th February 2014

Vauxhall Adam turbo'd three ways

Will 140hp S and new turbo three-cylinder be enough to put Adam on PH radar?

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Fans of fizzy versions of increasingly common micro-machines like the Fiat 500 will be interested to learn that Vauxhall has shoehorned the 140hp 1.4 petrol turbo from the Astra into the diminutive Adam. The resulting Adam S will take a bow at the Geneva motor show next month alongside another interesting derivative: a one-litre version with Vauxhall's first three-cylinder petrol turbo unit.

Is Adam about to grow up and get VXR chestwig?

The Adam was a car hampered from launch at the end of 2012 not just by its name but also an uninspiring pair of four-cylinder engines taken from the Corsa, with which it also shares a platform. We were told back that then there was hope that Vauxhall might turn up the wick, and the Adam S is the first step towards what was hinted could eventually become a VXR using the Corsa's 1.6-litre turbo.

There are no performance figures yet for the S but given this adds a whole extra 40hp you're looking at a likely sub eight-second sprint to 60mph. Expect a suitably muscly bodykit and a price tag of around £15,500. The two versions of the 1.0-litre turbo are just as interesting in that they herald Vauxhall's launch of an engine that takes on Ford's tiny Ecoboost three-cylinder.

The direct-injection Ecotec engine is available with either 90 or 115hp and its lightweight aluminum construction (as opposed to iron in the Ford unit) is likely to drop the weight of the Adam to below a tonne. It also gets mated to a new six-speed gearbox weighing 37kg, which Vauxhall reckons is 30 per cent lighter than the units it replaces.

Adam Rocks? Not as an SUV crossover, arguably

Both the S and the three-cylinder engines means the Adam will more effectively compete with the Fiat 500, both in its 135hp Abarth form and the two-cylinder TwinAir. It also has to do battle with the much anticipated new Renault Twingo with its rear-engine, rear-drive layout and an expected three-cylinder turbo engine of its own.

Also at Geneva will be a sort of SUV-inspired version of the Adam called, no flinching now, Adam Rocks, which will be available with a fabric sunroof that stands in place of a full cabrio option.

[Madkat]

So whats the Plural of multiple Adam s, Adam esses?

[Ollieb7]

Sorry only read the title so i thought i would cut to the chase with the answer



No.

[dukebox9reg]

Another little 1.0ltr turbo that promises 60+ mpg but in reality struggles to get over 40.

Even with the 'S' its still underpowered compared to the Mini and 500 (Essesse) so doubt its going to sell any more.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Wednesday 19th February 12:36

[X5TUU]

the bigger turbo units could be really decent if handling is executed well

the Corsa VXR is a great little drive and nice and nippy, and sizing it down further has the recipe for a really great proper little hot hatch ... rather than all the current breed of huge hatches

[C.A.R.]

More interested in a VXR as suggested than this one. As others have said, with the 500 and Mini on the market already this was kind-of expected.

[Dr Interceptor]

The only time I've seen one of these in the wild was parked in a shopping centre as an advert... is anyone buying them?

[Mercury00]

I was interested in one but after looking at all the variants I found they didn't do one with sensible-sized wheels.

[CrispyMK]

I know things are becoming more expensive and I know this always gets said but here goes...........I'm really surprised at how much it'll cost. I can't imagine anyone willing to spend £15k on one. I thought this was meant to be a cheap and cheerful no frills Fiat 500 alternative.

[annodomini2]

article said:

The direct-injection Ecotec engine is available with either 90 or 115hp and its lightweight aluminum construction (as opposed to iron in the Ford unit)

The Ford unit is cast iron to allow it to run more boost. Block in the Ford is 23kg hardly a heavyweight, plus the ecoboost uses eccentric mass pulleys out of phase to eliminate the balancer shaft, which is fitted to the VX.

I'd be curious for a side by side engine mass comparison (not just the block).

[InfoRetrieval]

Madkat said:

So whats the Plural of multiple Adam s, Adam esses?

In this case I think you'd call it the Adams Family

[Durzel]

Turbo =

140bhp =

Cram the VX220 Turbo engine in there and then we can talk about it

[IanJ9375]

No VXR version coming unfortunately

[Boydie88]

dukebox9reg said:

Another little 1.0ltr turbo that promises 60+ mpg but in reality struggles to get over 40.

Even with the 'S' its still underpowered compared to the Mini and 500 (Essesse) so doubt its going to sell any more.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Wednesday 19th February 12:36

Sell any more? There's loads of them about. Certainly my most commonly seen 'new car'.

[Turbodiesel1976]

If your name is Adam do you call this car a Vauxhall Me

[LuS1fer]

However bespoke these are, they are the dullest looking car ever made since the original Micra.
I can't even stifle a yawn, not even if it had a twin turbo 2 litre in it.

[mnkiboy]

Devoid of the cheeky character of the MINI and 500, it was always destined to fail. It's listed along side the current Ford Ka, in a 'how to do small cars wrong' book.

[underphil]

annodomini2 said:

article said:

The direct-injection Ecotec engine is available with either 90 or 115hp and its lightweight aluminum construction (as opposed to iron in the Ford unit)

The Ford unit is cast iron to allow it to run more boost. Block in the Ford is 23kg hardly a heavyweight, plus the ecoboost uses eccentric mass pulleys out of phase to eliminate the balancer shaft, which is fitted to the VX.

I'd be curious for a side by side engine mass comparison (not just the block).

plenty of engines out there with aluminium blocks running higher levels of boost than the 1.0 ecoboost without any problems

[zeppelin101]

annodomini2 said:

The Ford unit is cast iron to allow it to run more boost. Block in the Ford is 23kg hardly a heavyweight, plus the ecoboost uses eccentric mass pulleys out of phase to eliminate the balancer shaft, which is fitted to the VX.

I'd be curious for a side by side engine mass comparison (not just the block).

Doubt it, you can use less material to achieve the same stiffness in iron v aluminium.

You can fit the crank case for an ecoboost on a piece of A4. I doubt the same could be said for the aluminium variants.

The same is true for diesel engines in the iron v aluminium debate. As packaging constraints get more ridiculous with emissions equipment, I wouldn't be surprised to see more engines going back to iron block to reduce footprint.

[TurboHatchback]

Dr Interceptor said:

The only time I've seen one of these in the wild was parked in a shopping centre as an advert... is anyone buying them?

I've only seen two on the road so I guessing probably not. One would expect a mass market Vauxhall hatchback to be everywhere but they just aren't, what's the catch with them?

[zeppelin101]

TurboHatchback said:

I've only seen two on the road so I guessing probably not. One would expect a mass market Vauxhall hatchback to be everywhere but they just aren't, what's the catch with them?

They start at nearly 11.5k. That's a lot of money for a not particularly interesting looking little car. Fiat 500 starts at 1k less and an up! is some 3k cheaper!

I looked at one for about 2 minutes before deciding it was vastly over priced for what you actually get. Mind you, so is an up! to some extent...