What is it?
Saturn Astra Tuner Concept
What's special about it?
You might be tempted to think of the Saturn Astra Tuner Concept as Tuner Lite. By the standards of the annual SEMA aftermarket orgy in Las Vegas, this factory-tuned Astra is a bit staid. Wait, did we use "standards" and "SEMA" and "Vegas" in the same sentence?
According to Rob Tanner, program manager for specialty vehicles for GM's performance division, the Astra's relatively mild state of tune is all part of the company's master plan. "In the first year a car is on the market, you don't do that much to it," says Tanner. "At two years you do more. And at three years, you put a big-block V8 in it."
Considering that the handsome Astra isn't even on sale in the States yet, this seems a sensible plan. So the most noticeable changes from the production Astra are the 19-inch wheels and custom paint job.
The wheels, incidentally, are directly from Europe, where they are a part of Opel's OPC line of performance parts and are used for the Astra. The rocker panel sills and the rear spoiler also come from the OPC parts bin. Meanwhile, the deep front and rear fiberglass fascia are specific to this car. After the donor car arrived in mid-August, Saturn designer Stuart Cooper and a group of modelers spent two weeks creating the clay forms from which the fascia would be made.
The interior gets some upgrades in the form of Recaro seats covered in a fabric to match the new exterior color, and a set of aluminum pedals from within the wide world of General Motors. Correcting a near-unforgivable oversight on the stock Astra, the team added an aftermarket Blaupunkt audio system that incorporates an auxiliary port for digital music players.
Mechanical upgrades are at a minimum. The standard 1.8-liter four-cylinder is treated to a cold-air intake system, an exhaust header and a modified throttle body. Like many a backyard tuner, GM occasionally runs into faulty or misrepresented parts in the aftermarket, too. The first cold-air intake, purchased from a German aftermarket company, didn't fit. General Motors figures that it gained about 20 horsepower out of the mods (once it fitted proper parts) for a total of 160 hp. The Tuner Concept uses the stock five-speed manual transmission.
This might not sound like a huge amount of tuning, although at least it doesn't make some absurd horsepower claim. But take a close look at the Astra concept and you'll notice that all of the spot welds are filled and ground perfectly smooth. And every last clip and retainer in the engine bay is sandblasted and covered in paint or clearcoat. It's an impressive level of attention to detail. The team at TransGlobal in Auburn Hills, Michigan — which actually did the dirty work — has created a smooth, if subtle, tuner car.
Tune in around October 2009 for the 800-hp rear-drive Astra that is sure to come.
What's Edmunds' take?
We'd like to see Saturn offer all the parts from the Opel OPC series, including the 240-hp turbocharged motor. In the meantime, we'll settle for a sporty body and an iPod-ready stereo. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
Saturn Astra Tuner Concept
What's special about it?
You might be tempted to think of the Saturn Astra Tuner Concept as Tuner Lite. By the standards of the annual SEMA aftermarket orgy in Las Vegas, this factory-tuned Astra is a bit staid. Wait, did we use "standards" and "SEMA" and "Vegas" in the same sentence?
According to Rob Tanner, program manager for specialty vehicles for GM's performance division, the Astra's relatively mild state of tune is all part of the company's master plan. "In the first year a car is on the market, you don't do that much to it," says Tanner. "At two years you do more. And at three years, you put a big-block V8 in it."
Considering that the handsome Astra isn't even on sale in the States yet, this seems a sensible plan. So the most noticeable changes from the production Astra are the 19-inch wheels and custom paint job.
The wheels, incidentally, are directly from Europe, where they are a part of Opel's OPC line of performance parts and are used for the Astra. The rocker panel sills and the rear spoiler also come from the OPC parts bin. Meanwhile, the deep front and rear fiberglass fascia are specific to this car. After the donor car arrived in mid-August, Saturn designer Stuart Cooper and a group of modelers spent two weeks creating the clay forms from which the fascia would be made.
The interior gets some upgrades in the form of Recaro seats covered in a fabric to match the new exterior color, and a set of aluminum pedals from within the wide world of General Motors. Correcting a near-unforgivable oversight on the stock Astra, the team added an aftermarket Blaupunkt audio system that incorporates an auxiliary port for digital music players.
Mechanical upgrades are at a minimum. The standard 1.8-liter four-cylinder is treated to a cold-air intake system, an exhaust header and a modified throttle body. Like many a backyard tuner, GM occasionally runs into faulty or misrepresented parts in the aftermarket, too. The first cold-air intake, purchased from a German aftermarket company, didn't fit. General Motors figures that it gained about 20 horsepower out of the mods (once it fitted proper parts) for a total of 160 hp. The Tuner Concept uses the stock five-speed manual transmission.
This might not sound like a huge amount of tuning, although at least it doesn't make some absurd horsepower claim. But take a close look at the Astra concept and you'll notice that all of the spot welds are filled and ground perfectly smooth. And every last clip and retainer in the engine bay is sandblasted and covered in paint or clearcoat. It's an impressive level of attention to detail. The team at TransGlobal in Auburn Hills, Michigan — which actually did the dirty work — has created a smooth, if subtle, tuner car.
Tune in around October 2009 for the 800-hp rear-drive Astra that is sure to come.
What's Edmunds' take?
We'd like to see Saturn offer all the parts from the Opel OPC series, including the 240-hp turbocharged motor. In the meantime, we'll settle for a sporty body and an iPod-ready stereo. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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