When I first drove the Opel Speedster, they’d conveniently taken the roof off. It was in Portugal, so they could depend on the weather. But when I took delivery of the review car here in Ireland, it was a different situation.
Being 6’2” and unusually long in the legs, it took me some time to get in, as the accompanying pictures show. In the end, I had to do it by the passenger side! And once in, it’s just as well that I don’t suffer from claustrophobia ... much.
(Later, with a little more experimentation, I finally found a formula for getting in and out of the driver’s side. It involves unrolling the part of the roof directly over my head each time.)
Anyway, where does this Speedster fit in with the overall Opel programme? Hard to tell, really, except for image. And maybe some GM executive, looking at the fact that they owned Lotus anyway, decided they should get a little added value from that company, which builds all Speedsters for them.
Its roots are in basic sports car. Very basic in feel. But very modern in execution, because this is an aluminium and composite car that is exceptionally light and is powered by one of Opel’s modern engines, the 2.2-litre Ecotec which also propels versions of the Astra Coupe and Cabriolet.
The combination of a 147bhp engine and superlight 2-seater body is breathtaking when you let the horses off the rein. There’s sound and fury, because the engine is somewhat raucously just behind one’s ears. There’s literally push in the back because it is rear-wheel-drive and sprints to 62mph in under 6 seconds. And there’s absolute seat-of-the-pants appreciation of all this because the suspension is as solid as I suspect a Formula One car has.
And just in case you didn’t feel quite sporty enough, the steering wheel is tiny, and has no power assistance. Opel say the car is so light that it doesn’t need it, but maneuvering into parking spaces while doing the shopping will quickly strengthen forearms.
Hmm ... did I say ‘shopping’? Not a chance. There’s nowhere to put more than a couple of plastic bags-worth, and then only if you have no passenger. (Example, driving my son to the dentist, I had to ask him to hold my briefcase on his lap.) So, unless it is for something very small, the Speedster will not be a shopping trolley.
And it certainly doesn’t look like one. If over-the-top styling was called for by yon unknown GM executive, then he got it. Those great big ‘mudguard’ protuberances on the front are immediately suggestive of raw power. The light clusters front and rear are as modern as they come. And that vertical stack of twin tailpipes coming out of the rear are as well designed to blow off the overtaken competition as any Hot Rod Harry could desire.
Inside is all aluminium bare surfaces, with just nods towards comfort in the seating and a little of the dashboard. The actual box frame of the car rises up under the tiny doors, which is part of the reason it is such a tight maneuvre to get in. The fabric roof is black and low when in place, but can be rolled off and stowed behind the seats (and that’s all there’s room for there).
For passengers of a nervous disposition (and I can see why some might be if their driver likes to let go), there’s an aluminium footrest which rocks back and forward, and maybe they can use the resultant clanking sound to signal to said driver that they’d like to be perambulated a little more gently.
There’s also a clank from the gearshift, which I suspect is built-in to the whole effect of an out-and-out sports car. In other words, ‘don’t expect comfort or sophistication, man ... you wanted a sports car, right?’
So for similar reasons they gave us an aluminium button on the dash to operate the starter, and allowed a very ‘rackety’ engine sound when same engine is not being wound up to its limits.
But look, that’s what the Speedster is all about. Winding up to limits. Even when travelling at urban speeds, and the legal limits outside the towns. You’re so low down that even 40mph seems fast, and pushing up to that from pole position at traffic lights can be a really fun proposition.
And if you get an open and clear twisty road with full visibility, there can be real driving fun if you know what you’re doing in terms of pushing out a low centre-of-gravity rear-drive high-powered car with handling and suspension set to stick it to the road under any lateral G-forces.
As for cruising, well it is fine on good asphalt, but really is not a car I’d like to be touring Ireland in, given the lack of such surfaces here once we get off the main roads.
Besides, I like to have a change of clothes with me as well as a toothbrush and a companion. Without the companion, I could probably manage my Taylor guitar in the passenger side.
Hmm ... life’s full of difficult choices, isn’t it?
Especially in the £33,000 price bracket. And only 65 people will get to choose a Speedster in Ireland up to the end of next year.
And they'll have fun.
©2001brianbyrne/irishcar.com
August 2001
by Brian Byrne
