Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition in the test

E it's done - the Opel Corsa OPC has cracked it, the 200 hp mark. In a choice of apple green, henna red, black or Casablanca white dress and with the suffix “Nürburgring Edition”, the Opel Corsa OPC, which is powered by a charged 1.6-liter four-cylinder, can now compete with the power of 210 horses. So far, the Corsa 192 PS was the measure of all things.

Opel Corsa top model with lock

So far, so good. But a swallow doesn't make a summer and an increase in performance of almost ten percent isn't a cornering artist. Opel sports director Volker Strycek knows that and has now finally wrested from the group for the Corsa top model what has been a matter of course for years in his Astra OPC racing cars used in the endurance championship: a mechanical differential lock from Drexler Motorsport. The 50-man company based in the Bavarian forest supplies a mechanical multi-plate lock (ramp angle 50 degrees), which has a beneficial effect in the compact and at 1,252 kilograms live weight, also reasonably light Opel Corsa OPC.

Where there is no mechanical limited-slip differential Compact athletes such as the Mini JCW Clubman, for example, push outwards when accelerating out of tight corners due to traction problems, the Opel Corsa OPC model, which locks 40 percent under load, pulls itself out of the affair in an exemplary manner. You can't be more neutral.

ESP can be completely deactivated

The traction of the tree frog-green Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition is flawless, the precise steering that provides sufficient feedback is free of drive influences. Understeer and oversteer are foreign words for the smart Rüsselsheimer, who noticeably benefits from the well-founded race track know-how of the OPC boss in the test on the small circuit in Hockenheim. And because this is the case and the sports suspension supplied by Bilstein, which does not require excessive sacrifices in comfort, keeps the power dwarf safely on the ground at all times, the engineers were also able to confidently opt for a completely deactivatable ESP.

Opel Corsa OPC with Hockenheim record time

Even if it might get boring: Anyone who has a solid technical basis can always make ends meet even without an electronic lifeline - and that in the case of theOpel Corsa OPC starting under the sign of the Nürburgring was even extremely fast. With a Hockenheim lap time of 1.18.2 minutes, the Hessian newcomer even beats the Mini JCW, which has so far set the tone in this class and on this terrain. The Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works took three tenths of a second more time in the super test at Hockenheimer. For comparison you can find all lap times on the Hockenheimring here.

So a changing of the guard? Not quite, or better: only in terms of class record time on the small course. Apart from that, the classic, lifestyle-funky configured Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition doesn't really fool the big-eyed Mini - apart from the seats. The Munich-based company could really take an example from the excellently shaped Recaro shells, which are covered in leather as standard.

Oh yes - and of course, the Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition, with its complete test car outfit, is significantly cheaper also. But when it comes to cockpit design, Hessen has some catching up to do. Not that it requires such a stylish appearance as the Mini offers. But a little more order in the system would be desirable for the Opel Corsa OPC: Classic round instruments decorated with narrow chrome rings in front of the valance, oversized ventilation outlets surrounded by brushed aluminum on the right, center and left, two different-sized rectangular display units for navigation and on-board computer in the center console with piano lacquer inlays - none of this is really from one piece, but a question of taste.

Weak brakes and high consumption

This does not apply to the braking performance of the Opel Corsa OPC in the Nürburgring Edition, which is equipped with Brembo components and 305 millimeter discs at the front: deceleration values ​​in the test of less than 10 m /s² are also long in this class not up to date anymore. The same applies to consumption: with 13.0 liters of Super Plus per 100 test kilometers, the Opel Corsa OPC special model is also way ahead in this discipline.