Opel and its UK sister brand Vauxhall put together a little test to prove the reliability of their Astra hatchback equipped with a two-liter diesel engine. Two cars were driven at full throttle around the historic banked Millbrook circle, for 24 hours straight, with only 22 minutes of combined downtime between them, averaging a speed of 201 km/h or 125 mph and ending up traveling 4,800 km or 3,000 miles.
Volker Strycek, former DTM racing driver turned Director Opel Performance Cars & Motorsport acted as team captain and mentioned, “The two Astras were absolutely convincing at full throttle. The combination of performance and efficiency made the 24 hour benchmark possible. Furthermore, the cars didn’t need a single drop of oil”.
The manufacturer says that in successfully completing the run, it broke no fewer 18 records, of which 12 were world records, while 6 were local UK ones. Now it’s reportedly awaiting confirmation for having beaten the “world record for diesel passenger cars in the FIA’s 1600-2000 cc forced-induction diesel production car class,” a world record I had honestly not heard of before.
By Andrei Nedelea
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