New Astra Unveiled By Vauxhall

5-door hatch arrives in the autumn, with hot VXR 3-door in the wings

By Chris Rosamond / Wednesday, 13 May 2009 / Loading comments

Vauxhall has revealed the first images of the next generation Astra, in the face of growing uncertainty about the company’s future.

The new Astra will debut with Opel badges at the Frankfurt show in September, and is the sixth generation Astra in the model’s 30 year history. This latest one has been designed by a team led by Mark Adams, the Brit who was also responsible for the new Insignia.

The new car, with its strong ‘cab-forward’ silhouette, steeply raked windscreen and sloping rear roofline has apparently been honed by over 600 hours of wind tunnel time.

Running on an all-new platform with a longer wheelbase and wider track than its predecessor, the new model also benefits from the option of Vauxhall’s FlexRide adaptive damping.

What the new car doesn’t get is multi-link rear suspension, instead settling for a development of the current model’s torsion beam rear end.

Although the five-door pictured here is set to become a common site on British roads after launch this autumn, it is the expectation of hot VXR models that is most exciting. However, the three-door ‘Sport Hatch’ version on which the planned VXR will be based isn’t expected in showrooms until 2011.

If a week is a long time in politics, two years might as well be light years where predictions over Vauxhall’s future are concerned.

GM is currently in talks with Fiat and other parties about hiving-off its European operations, but there’s no guarantee that Vauxhall will be included in the sell-off, and no clear idea of any other options for the brand that may be on the negotiating table.

The UK is GM's fourth largest global market and its biggest in Europe. There have been more than 13,000 orders for Insignias in the UK since January, and the British market represents 44 per cent of Vauxhall/Opel's output.