After months of (admittedly very clever) teasers, Rüsselsheim has finally revealed full details and some decent pictures of its Cascada four-seater convertible, due for world launch early in 2013.
And, as we already know, it's an old-fashioned convertible, with an elongated silhouette (it's 4697mm long and 1840mm wide) and a fabric roof, rather than a coupé/cabriolet.
After several generations of compact Kadett and Astra cabriolets, Opel has returned to an older tradition of four-seat soft-top convertibles like the Kapitän and Rekord from the 1950s and '60s - but with all mod cons.
These start with a fabric roof that can be opened (or shut) in 17 seconds at up to 50km/h and include electric seat belt presenters, and ventilated nappa leather upholstery on ergonomically shaped seats.
OPEL CASCADA PROMO VIDEO
CLEAN PROFILE
With the top down the Cascada has a perfectly clean profile; behind the dramatically raked A pillar there's no roof cover or visible rollover protection to break the silhouette.
The signature Opel blade on the lower body side is mirrored by a sharp crease that swings upward, into the wraparound tail lights. There's a chromed trim strip around the cockpit, to mark the boundary between the roof top and the body.
The unexpectedly short bonnet, compete with cute power-bulge tops a deepened and boldly chromed grille, with fog lights in inverted shark-fin elements with chrome trim. More chrome, set into the boot lid, links the LED tail lights.
The soft top has a layer of polyester fleece between the outside layer (available in a choice of three colours) and the headlining; key-operated remote control for opening and closing the top is standard across the range.
INTERIOR DESIGN
The lines of the wing-shaped instrument panel, with real stitching on soft, wrapped surfaces, flow into the doors to wrap around the front-seat occupants.
Depending on the model the seats are trimmed in either embossed fabric or soft, perforated nappa leather with heating/ventilation function.
Electrically-powered telescopic seat-belt extenders bring the belts within easy reach, and an electric 'easy entry' system allows comfortable access to the rear seats.
There are storage spaces in the doors, in and under the instrument panel and, thanks to a standard electric parking brake, in the centre console.
Boot volume is 350 litres with the roof up - and one of the advantages of a fabric roof is that you lose only 70 litres of that with the top down. Another is that the Cascada's rear seats can be electrically released and folded to accommodate long items in the boot - something that's not physically in a hard-top cabriolet.
BODY STIFFNESS
As any liberated young lady will tell you, body stiffness is key to dynamic performance; Opel has endowed the Cascada with a an X-shaped underbody brace and reinforced rocker profiles to make its body shell 43 percent stiffer in torsion and 10 percent in bending than the previous-generation Astra TwinTop cabriolet.
HiPerStrut front suspension separates damping and steering functions to improve steering precision and traction, and reduce torque steer, while the electric motor for the rack-and-pinion power steering in mounted on the rack rather than on the steering column for more consistent response.
ALL-TURBO ENGINE LINE-UP
The Cascada will be available from launch with a choice of one diesel and three petrol engines, all with hairdryers.
Opel's opening bid is a 1.4 litre turbopetrol four with a six-speed manual transmission; it comes in two output versions - 88 or 103kW - each with 220Nm on tap thanks to overboost.
The 121kW two-litre CDTI comes with either a manual or an automatic six-speed transmission and delivers up to 380 Nm on overoost.
High card in the Cascada hand (for now) is a new 1.6-litre SIDI Turbo EcoTec direct-injection petrol engine, for which Opel quotes 125kW and 280Nm from 1650-3250rpm on overboost.
It'll be available with a choice of manual or automatic six-speed transmissions, latter a new, low-friction cogset with manual override for when the horns come out.
Opel has also promised powerful versions petrol and diesel engines for the Cascada 'at a later stage'.
BELLS AND FLUTES
The A pillars are made of press-hardened steel and pyrotechnically triggered, spring-loaded high-strength bars automatically pop-up behind the rear seats in case of a roll-over. All four seat-belts have pre-tensioners and the front seats have tow-way active head restraints.
Electrickery includes adaptive forward lighting with as many as 11 automatic functions, second-generation front camera with enhanced traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning, following distance indication and forward collision alert, while a rear-view camera and parking sensors ease parking manoeuvres
Also available are an ultrasonic blind-spot alert, a heated steering wheel and hill hold.