Astra travel

Holden's execs like it. Now it's up to the punters to see whether the new Astra coupe will fly, writes Alastair Sloane.


Holden New Zealand will give its four-cylinder range a new image when it takes the covers off the sleek new Astra coupe.

The two-door was unveiled to an international audience at the Frankfurt motor show last month and reappeared at the Sydney show the other day.

Holden executives, on a roll for the past two years with the success of the VT Commodore, slapped each other on the back at the sight of the coupe.

The company's managing director, Peter Hanenberger, applauded the new model and wants it on the road in New Zealand and Australia as soon as possible.

"We see a great opportunity to add real excitement to the Astra range with the stunning new coupe," he said.

The coupe's appearance coincides with plans by Holden Australia to add the sedan (already on sale in New Zealand) to its Astra range next year. The only Astra now on sale in Australia is the hatchback.

The front-drive coupe, a re-badged Opel like all Astras, will go on sale in Europe towards the middle of next year. It will be built by Bertone at the Italian coachbuilder's new plant near Turin. Production is expected to top 30,000 units.

The coupe is longer and lower than the Astra hatchback but its wheelbase and width is identical. Its low profile gives it a aerodynamic CD factor of 0.28, which is as good as it gets when it comes to cutting through air.

Holden says the frameless doors and black B-pillars were designed to emphasise the car's sporting character, by creating an impression of a single, one-piece window section.

The coupe will be available in Europe in two models - a standard sports model and a swept-up "Bertone Edition."

Europeans will also have the choice of three four-cylinder, ECOTEC engines - a 1.8-litre developing 85kW, a 2.2-litre producing 108kW, and a turbocharged 2-litre unit pumping out 140kW and 250Nm of pulling power at 2000 rpm.

The turbocharged model will accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in seven seconds and go on to a top speed of 240 km/h.

The 1.8 and 2 litre engines are updated existing units, but the 2.2 litre unit, which uses balance shafts, is the first of a new generation of Opel engines in which the cylinder head and crankcase will be made of aluminium.

Holden says Opel will introduce a whole family of alloy engines between 1.8 and 2.2 litres, each one easily adaptable to turbocharging, variable valve timing or direct-injection.

The Astra engine line-up already complies with European exhaust-emission laws to be introduced in 2005.

The coupe will come with state-of-the-art safety equipment, including dual airbags, ABS anti-lock brakes, traction control and an electronic stability programme (ESP).

Meanwhile, General Motors and Suzuki have long talked about cooperating more on joint projects.

GM owns 10 per cent of Suzuki and rather than just going through the process of rebadging the odd model, it wants to see more hands-on development.

Both companies showed off their first significant step together with the YGM1 concept, which is sitting on a stand at the Tokyo Motor Show this weekend and is expected to go into production in 2001.

But while GM and Suzuki are trumpeting the YGM1 as an example of what they can do, it was in fact designed by Holden stylists in Melbourne.

The young group specialises in putting all sorts of bodies on the one platform.

The YGM1 is built on a Suzuki platform and uses American design cues. It is aimed at the young lifestyler, who could use it to cart around a jetski or snowboard.

Small Suzuki car platforms will provide opportunities for GM which, like most carmakers, is looking to develop more multi-use small models.

Future variants of the YGM1 include four-wheel-drive wagon, sedan, van and pick-up.