Even though we are less than a year away from the scheduled start of production of Opel’s Astra-based convertible at GM’s Gliwice plant in Poland, the company continues to perform tests with early engineering prototypes.
In our latest scoop shots, Opel’s engineers removed the cloth top but retained the framed doors on the unfinished test car.
According to a single teaser drawing released by Opel about a year ago, the production model will be a four-seater soft-top convertible fitted with frameless doors and no visible roof bar.
We still do not know if the open-top model will hold on to the Astra name or if it will get its own moniker like the VW Golf-based Eos, as suggested by GM’s European design boss Mark Adams in an interview with a British magazine.
Irrespective of the name, the convertible will ride on lengthened version of the Astra’s platform and it will be one of the first Opel / Vauxhall models to be powered by GM Europe’s brand new 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline unit with direct injection and Start/Stop, which will be offered in various states of tune with up to 197hp (200hp).
The compact cabrio model will likely make its first public outing either in Paris this September or in Geneva next March.
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