Opel Insignia OPC Proud Recipient of Same Mid-Cycle Updates as Our Regal [2013 Frankfurt Auto Show]

While we might not get the Opel Insignia OPC stateside, it is the kissin’ cousin of our Buick Regal GS, which makes it worth keeping a close eye on. The two share platforms and just about everything else, with the sad exception of the two items we’d like to have most: the Insignia OPC’s 325-hp V-6 and available wagon body style. Well, they do now, anyway, after Opel updated its high-performance Insignia with the same new looks and new tech afforded to the updated-for-2014 Regal. The Insignia’s fascia has been the subject of Buick-ization, with virtually identical headlamp bezels, lower sculpting, and a pair of—as Opel calls them—“saber-tooth” inlets to our Regal. The grille opening is also identical, but Buick’s vertical slats are replaced by a mesh pattern and Opel’s instantly recognizable logo. In the rear, exhaust outlets have been integrated into the bodywork.

In addition to numerous measures aimed at improving NVH, the performance-focused Insignia OPC (which comes standard with a Haldex all-wheel-drive system, an option on the Regal GS) gets a revised rear axle with approximately 60 percent new components. OPC-specific software programming for the stability-control system is claimed to improve reaction times in relation to understeer tendencies, and provide quicker response to changing road conditions. The electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system is diverting up to 100 percent of torque to either axle, and shifting power between the two rear wheels is also possible.

Opel is claiming a six-second 0–62 time for the sedan, and 6.3 seconds for the wagon, and a top speed of 156 mph. In unrestricted specification, Opel says that the manual-equipped Insignia OPC is good for 168 mph, a speed that would likely leave the stateside Regal behind.

• Comparison Test: 2012 Buick Regal GS vs. 2012 Volvo S60 R-Design
• Prototype Drive: 2012 Buick Regal GS
• Instrumented Test: 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic

A bespoke OPC shift knob, Recaro seats, and a multi-function instrument panel and center stack—foreshadowed in the new Regal GS—are all new to the Insignia. The center stack houses an available eight-inch touch screen that displays a host of infotainment and connectivity applications, as well as track-use performance data.

This cross-pollination of Buick and Opel doesn’t look as though it will stop any time soon, not with former Buick and Cadillac chief designer Mark Adams recently being reassigned to overseeing GM’s European design efforts. Now if only we could see about getting some of GM Europe’s OPC bees to pollinate some of Buick’s line of increasingly sporty offerings.

Source: CarAndDriver