Vauxhall Ampera enters pre-production testing

By George Skentzos | April 27th, 2010

As the Chevrolet Volt nears the completion of its pre-production testing, its European cousin has reached an important milestone of its own as the first pre-production Vauxhall Amperas roll off the line at GM’s Pre-Production Operations’ assembly line in Warren, Michigan.

More vehicles will be added to the pre-production test fleet in the coming months which will be used by engineers both in Europe and the United States to evaluate the progress of its development.

The focus will be on developing the final vehicle software and controls, fine tuning the vehicles’ driving characteristics, and performing safety and structural integrity testing.

“We’re right on target for producing the Ampera for European markets later next year,” said Andrew Farah, Vehicle Chief Engineer for Ampera. “There’s still work to be done, but being able to drive an Ampera off our pre-production line is a great accomplishment for the teams here and in Europe.”

The Ampera uses an extended-range powertrain identical to the system used in the Chevrolet Volt which allows up to 65km of pure electric driving before the on-board engine is used to sustain the battery charge.

The new vehicle will fall under both the Opel and Vauxhall umbrella in Europe, depending on the specific market.

Aleks

Looksy sexc, but that front reminds me a lot of the current accord euro.
Andrew M

Just get it on the road already…..

Oh and I dont like this in black. Loved it in other colours they have shown
Valet Dabess

it’s got a bigger butt then j-lo and kim kardashian put together

The Oracle’s Master!

Even with that butt it still looks better than a Camry.

xr6

Hahaha imagine what the rear vision would be like! Theyd need a full time camera to play the role of a rear view mirror, no way could you see cars behind you with that big rear end.
Shak

The original article said that this was the Opel ampera, and not a Vauxhall
Whatever

The Opel Ampera looks soooooooo much better, in and out. The front lights are more interesting on the Ampera, meeting the Fog lights on the lower bumper. The interior of the Ampera is nice too; of course the Opel badge always looks better than that of the Chevrolet or Holden badge – shame all the bogan Aussies will put Chevy badges on it; just like they do with the Australian built commodore, which shares little with Chevrolet at all. In saying this, i have not seen a Cruze rebadged yet; though the possibilities are endless – Holden Cruze, Chevy Cruze, Daewoo Lacetti, whatever it is, its surely not a 2010 Opel Astra, which simply outclasses the Cruze in every area

Devil’s Advocate

Except Whatever, that many of the Australian made Commodores you are talking about with the bow tie are actually powered by a Chevrolet engine (I see them on the SS more than anything). I would say that the engine is a fairly major component of a car. Some of the transmissions used are also used on a few Chevrolets as well.
Another way you could look at is that at least they are not in denial about who holds Holden’s purse like some of the other “Bogans”!!

Mad Max

And most of the Pontiac GTO’s and G8′s here in the USA are running around with Holden badges. The owners rip off the Pontiac badges and replace them with Holden lions. The same happens in the UK. Off go the Vauxhall badge and on goes the Holden one. Who cares and why do owners of Holden automatically become tagged as bogans?

Devil’s Advocate

I only used the term because Whatever did, hence the apostrophe to emphasise the quote from his message. However I must admit I have seen more “bogans” in Fords and Holdens than any other brand!

Dave

Lets not forget those bogans driving around in jap import skylines or worse old underpowered jap utes lowered – also unroad worthy
Devil’s Advocate

They aren’t “Bogans” Dave, they are “Ricers”!!! TVFPIC

PS: Because it seems like a few people on this site don’t have a sense of humour I will say this. Yes, you DON’T have to drive a Ford or Holden to be a “Bogan”, just like you DON’T have to drive a Japanese car to be a “Ricer”. I have seen just as many Commodores/Falcons that you would call “Riced up” as I have “Boganised” Japanese cars…

Nick K

Too bad that the T-Shaped battery means it’s only a 4 seater and will cost around $60K AUD… Fail. Still worthy technology, maybe the second gen version will have 5 seats and be more affordable.

Shak

Well the Just released concept version of a Volt MPV has 5 seats so if you want five seats get one of those instead.
The Oracle’s Master!

With petrol tipped to hit $2.00 a litre here in Oz in the next year these cars will start to make more sense as inner city transport. Battery technology is slowly improving too so they will become lighter (smaller butts) and perhaps even cheaper over time.

Now all someone needs to do is dub in a nice V8 rumble and they may just get exciting?