Opel Astra Renderings Released

Even with all the upheaval over at General Motors and General Motors Europe, the launches keep on coming. Today CarScoop has supposedly official sketches and pictures of the upcoming 2010 Opel Astra.

I see definite influence from the well-received Opel Insignia mid-size sedan. Particularly in the surfacing and front headlights. It looks like the Astra will be moving upmarket, getting larger in every dimension. Will be interesting to compare new and old side-by-side.

If Saturn was still chugging along like normal, with an Opel supply plan, we might see this car here in the United States. As we all know though, that is not the case. GM has agreed only to supply products to the Saturn brand until 2012. With a debut late this year, I highly doubt that will include sending the brand a next-generation version of what has been a slow selling vehicle here.

That's unfortunate, because the Astra looks to be a big improvement on the previous car. Maybe some other brand will get it?

No interior pictures have been released yet, but we have seen numerous spy shots. Expect an interior with a style and shape very close to it's bigger brother the Insignia. No doubt Insignia is the new standard for Opel design in the future.

The Astra is based on GM's global "Delta II" small-car platform, which is shared with the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt. Like always though, Opel engineers are modifying the platform to suit European tastes. Given what they've done with the Ampera (and many, many other vehicles) I say their changes should be made across the board for all vehicles on the platform. Just an observation though.

Look for an European debut in September at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The five-door hatchback will be the first model to make an appearance, followed by the Estate and GTC in mid-2010.