Opel Ampera-e
The new Opel Ampera-e doesn’t hold many
secrets, as we already know that it’s based on the Chevrolet Bolt and the
German brand teased it with two official shots in February, but GM’s subsidiary
isn’t quite done tweaking it for the Euro market.
The unnecessary camouflage on this
prototype that our spy shooters nabbed testing in Germany. The only exterior
differences you’ll find between the North American Chevy Bolt and the Opel
Ampera-e beyond from the badges are the European-style darker turning signals
(not used on this tester).
Elsewhere, with the possible exceptions
of the market specific chassis tune and equipment levels, the two models will
be identical.
After deciding to skip on the second-gen
Chevrolet Volt, as the original model that was sold in Europe as the Opel and
Vauxhall Ampera proved to be a commercial flop selling a little over 3,000
units in 2013 dropping to under 500 in the first half of 2014, the new Ampera-e
will be the German brand’s sole electric car offering (though technically, the
Ampera was a range-extended EV).
The new supermini-sized Ampera-e should
retain the Bolt’s electric powertrain setup producing 200 hp and 360 Nm of torque, good enough for a 0-100 km/h in around 7 seconds
and a top speed of 145 km/h, while returning a driving range of more
than 322 km on a single 9-hour charge.
While the pure-electric Ampera-e is a
different car than the old Ampera, they do have one thing in common and that’s
their uncomfortably high price, as in the US, the Bolt starts from US$ 37,500
(€ 33,700) before taking into account a US$ 7,500 government tax break. Leaving
aside the fact that it’s priced a bit too close to the less capable (182 km range), but let’s face it, more ‘prestigious’ (2017) BMW i3 that
starts from US$ 44,595, the real issue here is that it will be a very tough sale
against similarly sized or even larger regular and hybrid cars costing much
less – if, of course, Opel follows a similar pricing strategy.
Opel has said that the new Ampera-e will
launch next year.
