The new Astra OPC is the reborn Opel Superboss. You can say it with a straight face - which you couldn't with some of the insipid offerings with which the company tried to regain the high-performance glory days when the Opel Superboss ruled the tracks and street drags.
The closest Opel came was with the 147kW, two-litre turbocharged Astra GSi. It was a fine sports hatch with good pace and handling yet somehow failed to capture the imagination in the same way as the similarly powered Golf GTI.
Perhaps it was just its fairly ordinary styling but, whatever the reason, General Motors SA decided to do away with the emotive GSI badge and rename the car the Astra 2.0 Turbo Sport.
The letters that now signify serious Opel performance are OPC - Opel Performance Centre, or what AMG is to Mercedes and M to BMW.
And the car that wears it does it justice. Opel took the three-door Astra GTC coupe launched in SA a few months ago and slotted in a two-litre engine blown by a turbo the size of Kroonstad. Clingability comes from low-profile, 18" tyres and a sports suspension 15mm lower than the standard Astra GTC.
Braking is handled by 17" internally ventilated discs up front and solid discs at the rear.
The price is R256 690 but then there's a "Plus Pack" version for R274 299 that adds 19" alloys with 235/35 tyres, Recaro seats, driver and passenger seat heating and xenon headlights.
At 177kW and 320Nm, the OPC is the most powerful car in the turbocharged hot-hatch league and outguns Renault's Megane Sport's (165kW/300Nm) and Ford's Focus ST (66kW/320Nm). VW's Golf GTi seems distinctly underpowered in this company with 147kW and 262Nm.
And when we put the Astra against the stopwatch the figures confirmed it as the hottest hatch we've tested at Reef altitude and the only one to clock less than seven seconds for a 0-100km/h launch. The Opel beat not only its obvious rivals but also BMW's highly rated 130i - though I suspect the BMW will have the upper hand at sea level with its non-turbo engine.
Ford claims a 240km/h top speed and 0-100km/h in 6.8sec at sea level for its Focus ST.
The OPC accelerates with a lusty, lively nature and a distinctive whoosh from the turbo supplies a high-spirited aural accompaniment. Get that turbo on boost and the Astra blasts off the line at a pace that squeezes you most satisfyingly into your Recaro seat.
It takes some practice to get the best GTi-beating starts, however. Too many revs before dumping the clutch has the car bogging down if the traction control's on or wheel-spinning if it's off.
Lots of torque steer
There's a lot of poke available at mid-revs so getting the Astra moving quickly doesn't actually require a banzai, high-revving assault. It's quite driveable and tractable despite the high-pressure 1.2 bar turbo. At just above idling the power delivery's a little flat but the OPC starts moving with great urgency before 3000rpm.
Ultimately the Astra is fast and fun but won't be everyone's cup of boiling lava. The problem is that all that power goes through the front wheels which means, you guessed it, lots of torque steer. Unlike the Golf GTi and Focus ST, which keep unruly steering behaviour in check, the Opel's bucking bronco steering diminishes confidence levels when you drive it hard.
When powering out of a tight corner you've gotta grip that wheel as tight as the leash of a disobedient Rottweiler lest it goes shooting off on its own mission.
Also, the ride on those 35-profile tyres is just plain hard. The OPC bucks and judders like an angry rodeo bull on a rough road - this is one car that prefers its twisty tar to be smooth. The combination of a stiff ride and torque steer gives it a nervous, twitchy nature through a slightly bumpy mountain pass that never breeds the same confidence-inspiring, glued-to-the-road feel as a GTi or Focus ST.
Loks the part
The other controls are good; a nice, slick six-speed gearshift and the brakes do their business with a progressive feel. The steering gives decent feedback in normal driving and only seems too light when the aforementioned torque steer takes place.
There's a Sport switch that provides even more direct steering and accelerator response - if you really want it.
The car looks the part with its low, squat stance and its arch-filling 19" alloys and that relatively new OPC badge has already developed a following. We had plenty of people coming up to us in car parks to ask "is it really the OPC?".
Opel cabins have come a long way from their cheap origins and this one has a good blend of class and sporting flair. It's sporty without looking like a pimpmobile.
The chunky, leather-wrapped steering looks great and feels even better while other bling includes realistic-looking carbon-fibre style inlays, aluminium pedals and colourful speedo and rev counter.
Safety features
All the luxury boxes have been ticked and the Astra OPC Plus Pack comes, among other things, with automatic air-con, MP3-compatible sound system with six speakers and cruise control. A large digital screen on the fascia displays audio and trip computer information and the computer revealed - given the nature of the beast -a not-too-bad fuel consumption of 12.3 litres/100km.
Safety features include front, side and curtain crash bags, "active" head restraints on the front seats and seat belt tension limiters and pre-tensioners for the front seats.
SUMMARY
Opel is making a great comeback after being in the high-performance wilderness for so long, first with the Astra GSi and now with the OPC - the most powerful car in its class.
That doesn't necessarily make it the best, though; its torque steer and hard ride make it wilder and less forgiving than some rivals.
This car's got hair on its knuckles and a mean grin on its face. Much like the people that are most likely to drive it, I imagine.