U Spy: This Can’t Be A Facelifted Insignia, So What Is Opel Testing?

The latest Opel Insignia is still very fresh on the market, having been revealed in December, 2016 and hitting the market last spring, but a loyal Carscoops reader recently stumbled upon an intriguing prototype undergoing testing on the Autobahn near Frankfurt, Germany.

At this early stage, it is difficult to be sure just what exactly Opel is testing here. One possibility, as suggested by the reader, is that it is a prototype for a facelifted model. However, this is very unlikely given the latest Insignia’s age.

In the email sent to us, the reader stated that the styling differences between the Insignia prototype and the current model it was testing alongside were obvious.

“It was directly followed by a standard Insignia with only a little Opel logo underneath of the number plate, that means that it is an Opel factory car, I think this one is also an Opel. Both cars had GG number plates (Groß-Gerau, which is the administrative town of the area where Rüsselsheim is), This car’s size and shape is very similar to the Insignia B, but it differs in many details. On the rear it had prototype lights what tells that the final design was not available on time, it means also it will be different from current Insignia.

“ I had only an old Nokia phone on hand to take picture and as there was a lot of traffic I only could make one side picture, not from the remarkable total (to current Insignia) different front grille. As it was followed by a standard Insignia I could see the differences, unfortunately, in the photo it’s not that clearly visible,” the reader said.

Watch: Opel says the new Insignia GSi is much faster on the ‘Ring than its OPC predecessor

Alternatively, the PSA Group, which now owns Opel, may be using this prototype either as a test bed for technologies which could be shared between the conglomerate’s various brands. Or, quite possibly, we’re looking at a totally different model, which may or may not wear the Opel badge.

If you have any idea of what Opel (or the PSA Group) could be testing here, let us know in the comments below!