km : Automotive News

Generally, the term "Size doesn't matter" is used as a defense when a certain something is considered small and inadequate. As such, we were surprised to see it in an Opel press release today for the Flextreme GT/E, a vehicle that not only uses part of the masculine word "extreme" and "GT," the manliest of model denotations, it's also a larger version of Chevrolet's Volt or Opel's version, the Ampera.

The point Opel is trying to make with this unexpected inversion of an old cliche is that electric powertrains don't have to be relegated to dorky little bodies that only appeal to boring people. At 4.7 meters in length, the GT/E is almost as long as the Opel Insignia mid-size sedan, but it's more coupe-like and is quite slippery, with a projected drag coefficient of just .22, allowing for a top speed of 200 km/h, or 124 mph.

Of course, making a larger car meet the demands of the driving public while operating on battery power isn't as easy as just dropping the powertrain in any vehicle. The Flextreme GT/E makes extensive use of weight-saving materials, including carbon composite body panels, polycarbonate windows, and aluminum alloy chassis components. Opel estimates a GT/E with conventional materials would weight about 40 percent more. Additionally, the car employs active aerodynamics in the form of 350-mm side spoilers that deploy at 30 mph to guide air around the rear corners of the car and reduce turbulence.



Design-wise, the GT/E uses a very small frontal area, plus a roofline that's less than 52 inches from the pavement. While the car's 21-inch wheels don't look so aerodynamic, they're actually quite narrow and use 195/45 series low rolling resistance tires.

GM claims the GT/E is good for 37 miles (60 km) of all-electric range on a fully-charged battery, plus another 270 miles beyond that with a small gas engine keeping the electricity pumping. As such, average fuel consumption, in Europe, is estimated at 1.6 liters per 100 km, with CO2 emissions under 40 g/km. That's pretty cool, as is the car's overall design, which is said to predict all Opels of the future.

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