The new Insignia is not only the lowest CO2 emitting car in its sector but now also the most streamlined vehicle in the world in its class according to Vauxhall.

As a result of changes to the body design, Vauxhall’s engineers have reduced the vehicle’s drag coefficient to under 0.25 for the Insignia hatchback and 0.28 for the Sports Tourer. New extended underbody covers, wider front spoiler lips, tail lamp housings designed to enhance airflow separation and an integrated rear deck lid spoiler contribute to the new Insignia’s improved shape.

Insignia 2.0 CDTi ecoFLEX (120/140PS) models with Start/Stop also feature an additional aerodynamic element: an active front air shutter. Air flowing through the front grille to cool the engine usually accounts for up to eight per cent of total vehicle air drag. To reduce this effect, a shutter in the lower front grille automatically closes to prevent air entering and causing turbulence. For cold starts, an additional development is a faster engine warm-up, which also helps reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Whenever the engine needs air for cooling, the shutter opens automatically.

These changes help the new Insignia ecoFLEX (120/140PS) achieve CO2 emissions of 99g/km and 76.3mpg on the combined cycle.

This gives the ecoFLEX a range of up to 1175 miles, which means that an average company car driver would have to fill up only 18 times a year according to data provided by Zenith, one of the UK’s major independent leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing businesses. Or put another way, an ecoFLEX driver could travel from London to Budapest on one tank of fuel!

“Taking all improvements into account, Vauxhall has succeeded in giving the new Insignia benchmark levels of aerodynamic performance along with rock bottom CO2 emissions of just 99g/km on the new 2.0 CDTi engine,” said Peter Hope, Vauxhall’s Marketing Director. “With exceptionally low Cd values, we are delighted that new Insignia hatchback and Sports Tourer are the most streamlined series production cars of their kind in the world.”

The new Insignia makes its public debut next month at the 65th Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA).

Source: Vauxhall

Tags: 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, aerodynamics, car design, drag, Peter Hope, Vauxhall Insignia, Zenith