Opel: New Corsa in the bibber test 🎥
FINALE The new Opel Corsa, which will be available for purchase in the fall, is rolling into the home stretch. Currently, the Blitz is completing final laps on test tracks of all kinds, where engineers are getting it ready for series production. From January to the end of March, the layer of ice on the frozen lakes was around one meter thick Since January, Opel experts have been working on [...]
From January to the end of March, the ice layer on the frozen lakes was about one meter thick
Since January, Opel's experts for chassis, powertrain, electronics, lighting and other development fields have taken advantage of the long and freezing polar winter in Swedish Lapland for extensive drives on frozen lakes and deeply snow-covered country roads.
Tests in the laboratory and on the track
The pre-series vehicles, which are already well advanced, are on the road around the clock at the Dudenhofen center. At the same time, laboratory tests take place at the Rüsselsheim headquarters. For example, the electromagnetic compatibility of the on-board electronics is tested here - such as independence from external voltage and radiation sources.
Balance of safety, comfort and fun
Thomas Wanke, Global Lead Development Engineer, Vehicle Performance is already working on the creation of a new Corsa generation for the fourth time: "The car has become significantly lighter, which reduces fuel consumption and increases driving pleasure. At the moment, we are putting the finishing touches to the chassis. We want to offer customers top technology, with the perfect balance of safety, comfort and driving pleasure."
A purely electric variant for the first time
Thanks to lightweight construction technology, the weight of the bestseller has been reduced by around ten percent compared with the predecessor model. At 980 kilograms, the lightest variant without driver even undercuts the 1,000-kilogram mark. For the first time, the Opel Corsa will also be offered as a purely electric variant - right at the start of sales in early summer.
Driving at extreme temperatures
As usual, the engineers tested the next Corsa generation for months around 40 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland - including the specialists from the chassis control systems department. They final tuned the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), traction control and anti-lock braking system (ABS) on particularly challenging surfaces and in extreme temperatures of up to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
Electronics tests day and night in the laboratory
While development prototypes and pre-production models go on the road in the far north, in Dudenhofen and at various secret locations in Germany and abroad, other vehicles undergo intensive testing in the Rüsselsheim test rigs and laboratories. There, Opel engineers accompany the entire vehicle development process right up to the sales launch.
