New Opel Corsa-e Rally is Ready to Go!

• Three-day test totalling 1,500 km successfully completed
• Four all-electric Corsa-e Rally cars simulate two rounds of German Rally Championship (DRM)
• ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup begins in 2021 with one test event and eight qualifying rounds

New Opel Corsa-e Rally at the Pferdsfeld Test Center

Opel is electric – on the road and on the special stages. Opel Corsa-e Rally is the first all-electric rally car from a carmaker. Blitz-badged electric vehicles will next year take part in their own one-make series – the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup. Four Corsa-e Rally cars from Opel Motorsport, in the hands of drivers Marijan Griebel, Horst Rotter and Opel racing legend, Volker Strycek, last week completed three days of testing at the Pferdsfeld Test Center. 100 kW (136 hp) cars covered a total of 1,500 kilometres without problems. Opel Corsa-e Rally is based on the successful Opel Corsa-e, the winner of the 2020 Golden Steering Wheel.

Two complete rounds of the German Rally Championship (DRM) were rehearsed during the three-day test programme – including special stages, road sections and servicing. The unique features of electro-mobility, such as times spent driving and charging, temperature management of the battery and fine-tuning the software, were tested for the first time in a rally environment. All-electric cars also completed long runs to test the durability of the new components.

“It was an efficient and successful test”, said Opel Motorsport Director, Jörg Schrott. “We gathered important data and information for the ongoing preparations for the 2021 Opel e-Rally Cup. Unfortunately, several test rallies with our development cars could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That made our rally simulation in Pferdsfeld even more important – as a result, the new Opel Corsa-e Rally is now ready to go.”

ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup will comprise eight qualifying rounds between spring and autumn 2021. An additional preparation rally for all registered teams is planned before the actual start of the season.

New Opel Corsa Rally4 on the Start Line

• New customer car: Opel Corsa Rally4 ready for 2021 season
• Successful: New rally car impresses during testing in France
• Big footsteps: Opel Corsa Rally4 is successor of victorious Opel ADAM R2

New Opel Corsa Rally4

With the new Corsa Rally4, Opel is opening a new chapter in its successful motor sport history. Opel Corsa Rally4 is designed for national and international customer rallying and follows the ADAM R2, with which Opel won four European junior rally championship titles in a row between 2015 and 2018. In addition, since its homologation for the 2014 season, Opel ADAM R2 has taken more than 220 class wins, 530 podiums and 32 titles in national championships.

Opel Corsa Rally4 was developed according to Rally4 regulations, which replace the R2 class. Instead of the high revving, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine from Opel ADAM R2, Opel Corsa Rally4 has an extremely efficient 1.2-liter, three-cylinder, turbocharged gasoline engine. Based on the production power unit, the rally engine with Magneti Marelli ECU produces an impressive 208 hp and 290 Nm meters of torque. Power is transmitted from the engine to the front wheels via a three-way adjustable limited slip differential and a sequential five-speed gearbox. Rally suspension with Eibach springs and Öhlins shock absorbers is fully adjustable.

Following months of testing, Opel Motorsport and PSA Motorsport have carried out in recent weeks further extensive test drives with the Opel Corsa Rally4 in the south of France. Over five days, the teams from Opel and PSA Motorsport again covered more than 1,000 kilometres on gravel and asphalt roads in changing conditions. Well-known test drivers Yoann Bonato and Marijan Griebel were highly impressed.

Opel Motorsport test driver Marijan Griebel, reached an all-round positive conclusion: “Opel Corsa Rally4 is very easy to drive and reacts well to changes in set-up. I immediately had confidence in the car. Thanks to the longer wheelbase, Opel Corsa is more stable in fast corners than the Opel ADAM R2 and yet very agile. Turbo engine is great and feels very powerful, especially going uphill. Thanks to the higher torque and the much wider rev band, the driver has to shift less than with a comparable non-turbo. Traction is also very good. Altogether, Opel Corsa Rally4 is a capable, fast rally car. Test drives were very productive and I had a lot of fun.”

Homologation of the Opel Corsa Rally4 is due on December 1, 2020. The production of the customer cars begins immediately afterwards. The order books will then open. “Our customers can look forward to a fast, reliable rally car, just like the Opel ADAM R2”, says Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott. “Opel Corsa Rally4 was also developed with the lowest possible running costs in mind. That saves customers’ budgets and also ensures an optimum price-performance ratio.” Opel will announce price of the Opel Corsa Rally4 in the near future.

In the next step, Opel Corsa Rally4 will represent the second level of the joint promotion of talent by Opel and ADAC. The promotion begins with the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, where the best talents will progress to the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team and the cockpit of an Opel Corsa Rally4. Drivers can then look forward to a demanding international programme in which they can take the next steps in driver development.