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GM has released images showing the styling of the 4.83m five-seater Insignia. Just don’t make the mistake of referring to it as “the next Vectra” in front of Hans Demant. GM Europe’s engineering chief is pretty clear on the fact that it’s not the same car at all.

It’s the same size, more or less, but the technology and the styling are completely different,” he says. “The Vectra’s heritage is good but we want to achieve a different position in the market. We won’t be attacking BMW and Mercedes, but the role we’ll play in the family car segment will change.”

That’s hard to credit until the car goes public in July. So far, we only know the basics about the technology in the car. It will be offered from the start with front-wheel and adaptive all-wheel drive – most OEMs in this segment are moving away from AWD. The AWD version will an adaptive mechatronic chassis system as standard and it will be offered on the front-wheel drive.

It will launch with seven engines. All meet Euro5 emissions standards. The four gasoline engines range from a four-cylinder 85kW (115hp) unit to a V6 with 194kW (260hp). Three new direct-injection diesels with 2-litre displacements will have outputs of between 81kW (110hp) to 118kW (160hp). A low-CO2 "EcoFLEX" version will be offered too.

Demant reckons the CO2 discussion is already changing consumers’ behaviour: “It’s not because people are as environmentally conscious as they say; it’s because it’s touching their wallets. Legislation in markets like the UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden drive consumer behaviour because for a lower-CO2 car you can get €1,000-plus in tax incentives.”

There are other local incentives, particularly for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. In Italy, an LPG conversion can earn a €3,000 rebate, besides untaxed fuel. In Germany, CNG costs around a fifth of regular fuel. “Small fleets such as taxis are quick to buy into these technologies,” says Demant. “And it has nothing to do with ecology.”

It’s likely then, that the Insignia will also have powertrains that can run on alternative fuels. But the real difference will be in the vehicle’s architecture, something Demant has been closely involved in during his 30 year career at Adam Opel. He led the development of the 1995 Opel MAXX concept car, a learning platform with an flexible vehicle structure. Technical elements can be found in the Ypsilon platform, the basis for the Insignia.

The approach is an important part of GM’s efforts to make its development more international. Gamma is for Corsa-sized cars, Delta for Astras. “The platforms have been developed to create a bandwidth that can cover different markets’ needs,” says Demant. “It will overcome past shortcomings where we just tried to sell an already existing product elsewhere.”

The reference is to the Cadillac Catera, an Opel Omega exported to the US in 1997. It was the only Cadillac built outside of the US and despite good reviews, it failed to attract buyers away from other European luxury brands as GM expected.

“It was a good idea at that time because it gave Cadillac the small premium vehicle it needed. The volume was quite good for several years, but exchange rates changed and the marketing people lost interest in a product that wasn’t invented in the US.”

GM’s new generation of architectures are designed to address this, providing the flexibility needed to cover the risks involved in selling in global markets. They also cut the cost of development and parts by 15-20 per cent.

“The architecture will allow us to create models with different wheelbases and suspensions, which means you can have a front wheel drive with a normal pull axle or with a light axle,” says Demant.

GM will also build the resulting models locally. The approach has already achieved some success. In Brazil, Corsa derivatives make up a large part of the OEM’s sales, but they are matched closely to local needs and tastes in terms of equipment and powertrains.

The issue gets a little more complicated when comparisons between Saabs and Opels arise. Based on the same base architecture, the cars sell in the same market and will also be built alongside each other in the same factories – sources say that GM will concentrate production of Ypsilon platform vehicles, including the Insignia and Saab 9-5, at Rüsselsheim, while Saab’s Trollhattan plant will manufacture Delta platform cars.

“The architecture will also have all elements available for tuning – the shock absorbers, springs, bushings, steering, brakes,” says Demant. “The next generation of Saab coming off an international architecture will be a true Saab. It will ride, look and feel like a Saab. And when we do an Opel, it will be a true Opel. The tuning bandwidth of the components will allow it to have Opel vehicle dynamics.”

In July, we’ll know for certain.

This article was originally published in the April 2008 issue of Automotive Engineer. Interested in subscribing?