First official photos of the Opel/Vauxhall Adam show some interior and design flare – did some interior designer draw inspiration for the star-lit headliner after riding in an airliner with a similar roof?
GM Europe claims the new three-door, four-seat city car uses premium materials and design cues often found in the luxury sector. It makes its public debut at the Paris show in September and reaches UK showrooms early in 2013.
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Designed by Briton Mark Adams’ team in Europe, the car has a ‘floating’ roof which is visually disconnected from the body, making the use of two-tone colour schemes more impactful.
It will also be the first car in the A-sector to have the option of LED daytime running lights.
Three trims will be offered from launch – JAM (fashionable/colourful), GLAM (elegant/sophisticated) and SLAM (racy/sporty) – customers can effectively ‘build’ their own car.
Like the Mini, Citroen DS3 and upcoming redesigned Renault Clio, there are almost unlimited visual combinations, with a wide variety of exterior colours – including two different roof colours – interior colours, equipment and materials. Customers can even choose the headlining, including that LED-lit starlight roof trim.
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By GlobalDataVauxhall/Opel design grand fromage, Mark Adams, claimed: “No other car in this segment can be individualised as much because we are offering virtually unlimited exterior/interior colour, fabric and kit combination choices. It’s very unlikely that you’ll find two identical Adams out there.”
Buyers will have a choice of three I4 ‘ecoflex’ petrol engines from launch: a 1.2-litre 70PS, plus two 1.4-litre engines with either 87PS or 100PS. All will be available with optional start/stop technology and will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. This is a city car and no automatic, not even an automated manual?
Later on will come GME’s new generation, small petrol engine with direct injection and forced induction, plus a new six-speed gearbox.
Unique to the A-segment is a new top-of-the-range infotainment system designed to support new media sources, including Bluetooth, as well as connectivity for smartphones with Android or Apple iOS software. This enables access to internet-based applications, including GPS navigation. The system uses a seven inch, full-colour touch screen display allowing quick access to a variety of controls.
Round, mechanical clock-style instruments with chrome bezels mark a departure from those seen in other Vauxhalls, while customers can also opt for a heated steering wheel – another first in the class.
Other technology normally only found in higher segments includes advanced park assist II system which tells drivers when they reach a parking space large enough to accommodate the car and automatically steers it into the parking space, with the driver only needing to control the brake, clutch and gears. This uses ultrasonic sensors to work its magic, and is combined with side blind spot alert (SBSA).
The Adam is 3.7m long and 1.72m wide , with front and rear tracks of 1.485m and 1.478m respectively on a 2.311m wheelbase.
Front suspension is by MacPherson strut, with a compound crank system at the rear. Wheel sizes range from 16- to 18-inch, and cars that are specified with 17- or 18-inch rims come as standard with the lowered sports chassis. ESP is standard and includes hill start assist.
A city mode which increases the electric power steering system’s assistance at lower speeds.
