The Opel Vectra was Opel’s large family car from October 1988 to 2008, in three generations. It replaced the Ascona and was itself replaced by the Insignia, and its first version produced the Calibra coupé plus a turbocharged 4×4 that served as a Formula One safety car.
Opel Vectra at a glance
| Maker | Opel, a General Motors brand |
|---|---|
| Production | October 1988 – 2008 |
| Generations | three |
| Bodies | saloon, hatchback, estate from 1997 |
| Replaced | Opel Ascona C |
| Vectra A engines | 1.4 of 75 PS to 2.0 of 130 PS |
| Vectra 2000 16V | 150 PS, from September 1989 |
| Turbo (1992) | 204 PS, limited edition |
| V6 | 2.5 litres, 170 PS |
| Four-wheel drive | from January 1989 |
| Designer | Wayne Cherry |
| Replaced by | Opel Insignia |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Opel Vectra. No free photograph of the Vectra was available, so the entry keeps its earlier picture.
History of the Opel Vectra
Vectra A (1988–1995)
The first Vectra was introduced in October 1988 for the 1989 model year as a four-door notchback saloon, replacing the Opel Ascona C. A five-door hatchback arrived in March 1989, and at the end of that year came a coupé based on the Vectra, the Calibra. Both were designed by Wayne Cherry, Opel’s design chief, and the Vectra name was coined by Manfred Gotta. In Britain, Vauxhall kept the Cavalier name, making the Vectra A effectively a third-generation Cavalier, and only with the Vectra B in October 1995 did the Cavalier name retire; left-hand-drive Opel Vectras were built at Vauxhall’s Luton plant for export.
The 1989 range came in Base, LS, GL, GLS, CD and GT trim, with engines from a 75 PS 1.4 to a 130 PS 2.0. The Vectra 2000 16V arrived in September 1989 with a 150 PS sixteen-valve 2.0, saloon body only, and optional four-wheel drive. Two four-wheel-drive versions with either 2.0-litre engine joined the range in January 1989, and in September 1992 came a limited edition turbo with 204 PS. In 1994 that 4×4 turbo served as the Formula One safety car at the San Marino Grand Prix. Later in the car’s life a 2.5-litre V6 of 170 PS made it a relaxed motorway cruiser rather than a sports car. Diesels were an Isuzu 1.7 in naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms of up to 82 PS, and Opel’s own 1.7 of 57 to 60 PS.
Chassis and facelift
The front suspension was fully independent with MacPherson struts, pressed steel lower arms and an anti-roll bar, mounted with the engine and gearbox on a front subframe. Front-wheel-drive cars had a semi-independent rear suspension with a torsion beam and trailing arms, while the four-wheel-drive GSi, 4×4 and Turbo models used a fully independent rear subframe with semi-trailing arms and an anti-roll bar. Steering was rack and pinion, manual or power assisted, on a deformable column. A facelift in September 1992 brought new grilles, a black strip above the rear lights and a stronger structure, and airbags became available from 1993.
Later generations and the world
The Vectra was sold around the world, as the Vauxhall Cavalier and then Vauxhall Vectra in Britain, the Holden Vectra in Australia and the Chevrolet Vectra in Latin America, where the Brazilian car arrived in 1993 to replace the top versions of the Chevrolet Monza. In Japan the Vectra and Omega were the first Opels distributed by Isuzu rather than the long-standing importer Toho Motors, from July 1989, and in Egypt GM assembled the Vectra A from the end of 1994 to early 1996 in 1.6 and 2.0 forms. Two more generations followed, the second from 1995 and the third, the Vectra C, from 2002, before the Insignia replaced the range in October 2008 after almost twenty-one years.
Design and features
- Ascona’s successor: the car that moved Opel’s family model upmarket in 1988.
- Calibra: the coupé spun off the Vectra A, later the world’s most aerodynamic production car.
- 16-valve and turbo: a 150 PS Vectra 2000 and a 204 PS 4×4 turbo of 1992.
- Safety car: the Vectra 4×4 Turbo led the field at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Opel Vectra versions
- Vectra A saloon (1988): the original four-door.
- Vectra A hatchback (1989): the five-door added six months later.
- Vectra 2000 16V (1989): 150 PS, saloon only, optional four-wheel drive.
- Vectra 4×4 Turbo (1992): 204 PS limited edition.
- Vectra B (1995): the second generation, the first sold as a Vauxhall Vectra.
- Vectra C (2002): the third generation, replaced by the Insignia.
The Vectra replaced the Ascona, produced the Calibra coupé, and was replaced by the Insignia. More cars are in the Opel collection.
Video: Testvergleich: Opel Vectra C 1,9 CDTI vs VW Passat 2,0 TDI
Video by Truckerfighter on YouTube.
Sources
- Opel Vectra, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, chassis, markets
