Spy Shots: Opel and Vauxhall to Add Insignia Cross Four to Range

After the North American premiere of the modestly updated Buick Regal sedan in March this year, it's almost time for the debut of the car's European twin, the Opel- and Vauxhall-branded Insignia, which will likely take place at the Frankfurt Motor Show in early September.

Besides the four-door sedan, five-door liftback and Sports Tourer (station wagon), Opel is also working on a new Cross Four variant of the Insignia, which adds SUV-styling traits to the all-wheel drive version of the estate model for a somewhat tougher appearance.

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Scoop: GM Begins Testing Mule for New Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva SUVs

As modern as it may still look on the outside, after seven years in the market, the five-seater Opel / Vauxhall Antara compact SUV (sold as the Saturn Vue Mk2 before GM shut down the brand in 2010) is showing its age and is in need for a replacement.

The same applies to its more conservatively styled seven-seater Chevrolet sibling, the Captiva, and of course, Holden Australia's versions of the two models, the Captiva 5 (Antara) and 7.

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Spied: 2014 Opel Insignia Sports Tourer Facelift

While most regular drivers try to avoid the snow (the Bostonian owner of this Alfa 8C Competizione is an exception), automotive engineers actively seek areas covered in nature's icy dandruff, and for good reason, as new vehicles must be tried and tested under all weather conditions to ensure their safety and reliability.

Spotted testing in the snow alongside the 2015 Chevrolet Cruze is another future GM model, one that will come to the light far earlier; the mildly refreshed 2014 Opel (Vauxhall in Britain) Insignia Sports Tourer.

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Scoop: Refreshed Opel – Vauxhall Insignia Shows New Details

For almost a year now, Opel and its sister company from Britain, Vauxhall, have been testing camouflaged prototypes of the Insignia series, which in sedan form, is sold as the Buick Regal in North America.

In a first, the European model scooped here affords us a clear look at the restyled Insignia's new headlamp fixtures that will work together with a sharper front grille, new front and rear bumpers, and a different set of tail lamps featuring a chrome stripe from side to side, just like on the new Cascada convertible.

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Spy Shots: Opel and Vauxhall Preparing Corsa for a Facelift Inspired by the Adam

It looks like Opel and its sister company from Britain, Vauxhall, will give the current, fourth-generation Corsa supermini that has been in production since 2006 an extension in life with a mild facelift.

GM's European division was likely led to the decision to update instead of replace the aging Corsa due to its own financial troubles as well as the tough economic environment in the Old Continent that has plagued sales in most countries.

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Spy Shots: Opel Working on a Subtle Facelift for Astra GTC

Opel and its UK subsidiary Vauxhall only just recently launched new model year versions of the Astra five-door hatchback and estate with some mild styling revisions, most of which were concentrated on the front end.

If these fresh spy shots are anything to go by, then the three-door Astra GTC may also be up for a light facelift.

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U Spy: Watch Opel's Engineers Thrash the New Convertible Around the Nürburgring

This isn't the first time that Opel's as-of-yet, unnamed, Convertible model has set foot onto the Nürburgring, but up until now, we had only seen pictures of the production ready prototypes pushed around the famed race track in Germany.

This freshly filmed footage from the 'Ring shows the brand's engineers trying out a couple of Convertible test cars with their fabric tops in both up and down positions.

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Scoop: New Opel / Vauxhall Convertible Drops its Top and Enjoys a Ride on the 'Ring

Earlier this month, we brought you the first spy shots of the soon-to-be revealed Opel Astra-based convertible model (to be sold as a Vauxhall in the UK) wearing its production body while undergoing hot weather testing in Southern Europe with its top closed.

If you happen to be wondering what the prototype version of the new Opel model will look like with its traditional fabric roof tucked neatly away under a tonneau cover behind the rear seats, we have good news for you as our scoopsters spotted the firm's engineers enjoying the summer weather on the Nürburgring.

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Spied: Opel Insignia OPC Facelift Prototype Offers First Glance at Restyled Interior

We have already scooped the regular versions of the European market Opel Insignia facelift a couple of times, but now our spies have snapped the range-topping OPC (sold as the Vauxhall Insignia VXR in the UK) undergoing tests at the Nürburgring track.

Not surprisingly, the OPC model will receive a similar suite of styling tweaks as the normal versions of the series (marketed as the Buick Regal in North America) and which include redesigned bumpers, a new front grille and possibly changes to the headlamp and taillight fixtures.

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Spy Shots: Opel's New Astra-Based Convertible Takes Final Shape Ahead of Paris Debut

Up until now, Opel and Vauxhall engineers had been seen working on unfinished, test mules of the upcoming Astra-based convertible model with framed doors and other non-production parts.

Now, our spies were finally able to spot a camouflaged prototype of the open-top model wearing its production body including the electrically operated ragtop.

You may have noticed that we're constantly using the term 'Astra-based', the reason being that while the new Opel model is built on the current Astra replacing the previous Astra TwinTop, company officials have said that the four-seater convertible will gain a new and bespoke name - much like VW's Golf-based Eos.

Opel and its sister company Vauxhall will market the new convertible model as a more premium proposal than its predecessor, despite that fact that it gets a folding soft top instead of the TwinTop's retractable hardtop.

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Opel Adam Caught Naked During Photo Shoot in Spain

While Opel only wanted us to know the name of its new Fiat 500-rival and almost nothing about the styling, a reader of the Spanish website Autofacil had other plans capturing the new Adam city car without a single trace of camouflage at a photo shoot in the village of Miñano in Spain.

As you can see in the photos, there were four cars, each sporting a different two-tone color theme as a testament to the broad customization options that will be available when the Adam goes on sale as an Opel in mainland Europe and as a Vauxhall in the UK early next year.

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Scoop: 2013 Opel Insignia Facelift Draws Nearer

Opel and its sister company Vauxhall are almost ready to showcase the refreshed Insignia, prototypes of which were caught by our scoop photographers while undergoing tests in Southern Europe.

Seen here in both four-door sedan and Sports Tourer estate body styles, the new Insignia series will feature subtle changes to the front end including the grille, bumper and possibly the headlamp designs, as well as to the rear that will gain a restyled bumper and different taillights which are rumored to get LED fixtures.

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Spied: Light Update to Bring 2013 Opel Meriva in Line with the Latest Astra

True, the second generation of the Opel / Vauxhall Meriva has only been in the market for two years, but given the recent design changes to the updated Astra family, we shouldn't be surprised that the German automaker has schedule a light facelift for the small MPV as well. Read more »

Spied: Opel's Upcoming Astra Convertible Opens Up for Some Fresh Air

Even though we are less than a year away from the scheduled start of production of Opel's Astra-based convertible at GM's Gliwice plant in Poland, the company continues to perform tests with early engineering prototypes.

In our latest scoop shots, Opel's engineers removed the cloth top but retained the framed doors on the unfinished test car.

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Spied: New European Market Opel / Vauxhall Astra Sedan

In what seems like ages in the auto industry, Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall are still developing the Astra sedan more than three years since the introduction of the hatchback model in the fall of 2009, and two years after Buick launched the Chinese market version of the car under the Excelle GT nameplate.

In the meantime, GM also brought a Buick version of the Astra sedan named the Verano to the North American market.

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SCOOP: New Opel City Car Smiles at the Camera Possibly for the Last Time Before its Unveiling

The latest word from Germany is that Opel will release the first official photos of its new city car model on May 8 and that it will not be named Junior or Allegra as originally thought, but Adam, evidently after the founder of the company, Adam Opel.

If the reveal date turns out to be true (we have not yet confirmed the news), these could very well be the last spy shots we get of the prototype model.

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Spy Shots: Opel Insignia Prepares for its First Nip and Tuck

It's time for one of Opel's most popular models, the Insignia, which is sold under the Vauxhall nameplate in Britain and as the Buick Regal in North America and China, to go under the cosmetic knife, some four years after its introduction.

We can’t be sure if these prototypes of the Insignia five-door fastback and Sports Tourer (station wagon) that were scooped in Germany are hiding the final changes behind the black and white camo, but if they are, then the exterior styling tweaks should be limited to the front and rear fascias and perhaps to the wheel designs.

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