Opel Speedster

Rear view

Vauxhall VX220 (United Kingdom)

Interior

Due to the changes in European crash safety regulations for the 2000MY, Lotus needed to replace the original Elise.

In October 1999, they struck a deal with General Motors in order to have sufficient investment for a new car.[5] As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to develop and produce the Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 on the new Series 2 Elise chassis.[5] The first Speedster concept car was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.[5]

Whilst the new Elise would use a 1.8 litre Toyota engine, similar to that found in the Toyota Celica, the Speedster was designed to use a 2.2 litre GM Ecotec engine from the Opel Astra.[6] Neither engine had been used in the original Elise, which was fitted with a 1.8 litre Rover K-Series engine.[6]

In order to accommodate the production of the new cars, Lotus expanded its Hethel factory to a capacity of 10,000 cars, with around 3,500 slots allocated to Speedster production. The first Speedster left the factory in Hethel. Production of the Speedster commenced in March 2001.[5]

The Speedster utilizes an aluminium chassis tub that weighs only 72 kg (159 lb). The car also features bodywork made entirely of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP).

The entire car weighs only 875 kg (1,929 lb), which made it 100 kg (220 lb) lighter than the similarly sized Toyota MR2. At launch, the Speedster's all aluminium alloy 2.2 L Z22SE engine produced 145 hp (147 PS; 108 kW), making the Speedster considerably more powerful than the Elise was at launch.

As an answer to calls for a more powerful version of the Speedster, Opel introduced a new two litre turbocharged version of the Ecotec engine, which produced 200 hp (203 PS; 149 kW), but also weighed slightly more, at 930 kg (2,050 lb).

Moreover, in 2004, a limited run of sixty track focused Speedsters were produced for the United Kingdom. The cars, badged Vauxhall VXR220, were equipped with larger brakes, upgraded tyres and lowered suspension, and tuned to produce 220 hp (223 PS; 164 kW). Other features included more performance oriented seats and unique Speedline alloy wheels. The wheels were 16 in at the front and 17 in at the rear, the same as the Elise. Calypso Red was the only available exterior colour.[7]

The turbo version was able to reach a top speed of 242 km/h (150 mph) and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds. The car was hailed by the motoring press as a great drivers' car and won several accolades, including Top Gear's Car of the Year in 2003.

The 2.2 NA (naturally aspirated) version was considered the easier drive of the two standard variants, and some journalists recommended that the Opel/Vauxhall car was better value for money than the Lotus (such as Jeremy Clarkson in his DVD of 2003, Shoot Out).

Speedsters were displayed with the Daewoo badge, although only one was built to be used for marketing purposes.

At the end of 2002, following the termination of the license by General Motors for the Ecotec 2.2 NA Speedster and VX220 Engine models (and development of upcoming models of the Speedster and VX220 Turbo), 48 RHD 2.2 NA models have been refused by Daewoo in South Korea, Holden Australia and concessions of Opel Japan, and returned to Lotus, in Hethel.

Some of them have been converted in Turbo models and some were sold under the badge "Lotus VX220" with sometimes confidential commercial editions like the "Cup Edition" and "Le Mans Series". These editions contained a black leather interior, specific stickers and serial floor mats.

Production ended on 22 July 2005, after five years, with no direct successor. It was not until February 2007, when GM Europe adopted the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky into the Opel GT, that GM Europe had a replacement sector product, with no RHD version for the United Kingdom. The final production number of the Speedster was only 7,207.

Opel ECO Speedster
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel (General Motors)
Production	2002 (Concept car)
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door coupé
Layout	Transverse rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Doors	Gullwing doors
Related	Opel GT
Powertrain
Engine	1.3 L CDTI I4[8]
Transmission	5-speed Easytronic automated manual

The Opel ECO Speedster is a concept car made by Opel in 2002. The OPEL ECO Speedster is related to the production Opel Speedster and the Opel GT, and it is a two door coupe with two seats and gullwing doors, without any driving mirrors. It was shown at the 2002 Paris Motor Show.

• Media related to Opel Speedster at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Vauxhall VX220 at Wikimedia Commons

• Opel Eco-Speedster Article