Opel Signum2

“It is in the interior that the major innovations of the future are taking place,” declares Walter Treser, Director of Advanced Engineering at Opel. “People will want to enjoy the same comforts and amenities in their cars as they have at home. This applies not just to the armchair comforts, but also to modern office communications and even an espresso machine.”

With its Signum2 concept car, to be presented at the Frankfurt International Motor Show later this month, Opel will demonstrate that all these features can be incorporated into a mobile environment. The name Signum2 underlines its connections with the premium-segment prototype called Signum that was last seen at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Signum2 features several details of this road-going development vehicle and, at the same time, hints at the ideas and solutions that will shape the face of future Opel models.

A Design Full of Expression
“The term ‘wagon-coupé’ describes our body concept best of all,” explains Hans Seer, Opel’s Director of Design. “We have combined the elegant lines of a coupé with the utility value of a station wagon.” Indeed, from the side, particularly when the four frameless side windows are fully retracted, the 5-door Signum2 looks very much like a coupé. There is intentionally no visible B-pillar, while the prominent C-pillar picks up again on the sporty, elegant sweep of the window line. The large window tailgate is not vertical as it is with a normal station wagon, but, like a fastback, extends upwards in a dome shape. A glass panorama roof generates a spacious, airy feeling inside.

With its total length of 4640 mm, the prototype slots in between the present Vectra and the Omega stationwagons. Thanks to its long wheelbase (2830 mm) and the short rear-overhang, the Signum2 (width: 1790 mm/height: 1460 mm) looks exciting even while standing still. This impression is enhanced by the muscular wheel arches filled by large 245/35 tyres on 8.5Jx19 wheels.

Other typical Opel design features include the wide continuous shoulders and the large rear lights, which are not integrated into the tailgate and express the same, broad-shouldered, powerful form. The three-dimensional, vertically-positioned headlamps are not just a technical necessity – they frame the trapezoidal grille in the new Opel look and give the car a particularly expressive appearance. The Cd of 0.29 is a compliment to the efficient work of the designers and aerodynamic specialists.

Versatility was given priority over sheer luggage space when it came to the design of the boot. At the press of a button, the rear seat cushion and backrests fold automatically upwards to the height of the belt-line to create a level surface. From the outside, the Signum2 then looks like a two-seater, while luggage can be stowed out of sight under the seats where it cannot endanger the occupants under heavy braking. If required, the seat backs can also be folded forward for a larger cargo area.

The Easy Access Concept
You do not have to be a contortionist to get into this car; the engineers at Opel’s International Technical Development have gone out of their way to make access to the Signum2 comfortable. The door openings are large, the door sills are low and the hinges mounted well to the front. In fact, the driver and front seat passenger are automatically guided to their seats. On pulling the door handle, the front seats swivel automatically towards the doorways. After you take your seat, they turn back to face the front and you are ready to go.

Drivers with long legs but a short body are often confronted with the problem that they have to wiggle their way in behind the steering wheel. Here, too, the designers have come up with the perfect solution. At rest, the steering wheel is retracted into the instrument panel so that it does not interfere either with getting in or out and is not in the way if a business meeting is held in the car. When it is needed, the steering wheel moves forward to take up the position previously programmed by the driver. The conditions for this are that all the doors are closed, the driver’s seat is in the Drive position, the automatic transmission is in “P” and the engine has been started.

The form of the steering wheel is certainly futuristic. It is not round but looks like the wheel in a Formula 1 car or an airplane. It is the progressively designed hydraulic steering system in the Signum2 that makes this unconventional design possible.

Whereas the steering system in the central position responds perfectly normally, under extreme changes of direction, a higher transmission ratio is selected via a universal joint. When parking or negotiating a sharp bend, the driver does not have to keep changing over hands to turn the wheel round, he can keep both hands on the steering wheel because less turn is needed.”

Intelligent Control Concept
At some time in the future, car historians will have difficulty suppressing a smile when they look back at the control concepts of today’s passenger cars. Following the technocratic phase with its innumerable knobs, switches and levers like in an aircraft cockpit, there was the phase of the computer-like interface, particularly with the concept cars. One button sufficed, with many functions reachable via sub-menus. With the Signum (Geneva 1997) and G 90 (Frankfurt 1999) studies, the Opel development team has already demonstrated its idea of an intelligent control concept. The three main criteria are: separate information zones for the individual passengers, a minimal number of functions, and practical logical controls. The Signum2 concept takes this ergonomics philosophy to its natural conclusion.

There are no less than three monitors on the dashboard. Monitor number one for the driver is placed, quite conventionally, behind the steering wheel. As the steering wheel glides into drive position, a brief animated sequence runs on the screen, fading to reveal two large circular gauges plus digital displays for the engine rpm and road speed. The driver can also see here whether he or she has enough fuel in the tank or whether, for example, the engine has reached its operating temperature after a cold start. If the navigation system indicates a change of direction, a clear arrow-shaped pictogram informs the driver in good time.

Individual wishes can also be taken into account: “This instrumentation can be defined by the driver,” says Treser, introducing the cockpit of the future. “If, for example, the owner wants a different colored background or prefers a different type of picture, he or she can easily have it re-programmed at the service centre.”

Screen number two is set into the centre console and covered by a flap. Once the engine is running, the flap moves upwards to reveal the 7-inch colour display which can also be viewed by the rear passengers. This monitor’s display has four main menus – air-conditioning, audio, communication and navigation – and can be used to show, for example, map details, the settings of the high and audio unit, or the telephone directory.

The Mobile Office
While the person behind the steering wheel drives the car, the front passenger can surf the Net with a computer fully-equipped for sending/receiving e-mails as well as adding last-minute touches to a presentation before an impending business meeting. The clever thing about this mobile office is that the colour monitor of the PC folds flat when not in use and disappears in the instrument panel above the glovebox. The computer is operated by an infrared-controlled wireless keyboard, which is accommodated on the lower level of the glovebox.

The two passengers in the back of the Signum2 can immerse themselves in a world of entertainment and relaxation. The centre armrest contains two DVD players with headphones to listen to audio CDs or, after putting on the special video glasses (also accommodated in the armrest), to watch films in cinema quality during the journey.

The cozy atmosphere inside the car provides a pleasant contrast to these innovative technical solutions. This is due essentially to the natural materials and friendly colours. The mood is dominated by light ‘cashmere brown’, while the upper part of the instrument panel and the cushions of the elegant and stylish seats have been designed in a darker hazelnut brown. The footmats are yet another sophisticated detail in this concept car. They have the appearance of a fine woven rattan and, even though they are woven from paper, are resistant to water.

New ideas often mean saying goodbye to familiar solutions. Unlike a conventional car, the Signum2 does not have any ventilation grilles or nozzles. Instead, the fresh air and warm air flow in through hidden slits in the instrument panel support and footwell. This gave the designers more freedom in the design of the interior, but above all reduces unpleasant drafts.

Mobile espresso machine!
The Signum2 development team, together with the specialists from the Nestlé subsidiary Nespresso, have come up with yet another clever idea: a mobile espresso machine so that anyone in the car can brew up a cup of fresh espresso quickly and easily inside the car! Thanks to Nespresso’s innovative capsule technology, there is no need to worry about beans or powder. All you have to do is place one capsule per cup into the machine and push a lever. Within a few seconds, a top-class espresso with a characteristic creamy head flows into the beaker.

The system, which works with a pressure of up to 19 bar, takes its electricity from the rail in the floor of the car. The water, which flows past a heating element, can be filled easily from a bottle of mineral water. The development team has also provided a container for storing the capsules (available in nine different flavours) in the box. There is, of course, also a container for the trash.

The Global XV8
The Signum2 has the prototype of an all-new, lightweight V8 petrol engine with direct injection. Wit its two camshafts integrated centrally into the engine block and a cylinder-bank angle of only 75 degrees (the so-called ‘Global XV8′), it is so compact that it can be installed transversely, as in the Signum2, or longitudinally, making it ideally suited for a future career as a global GM engine. With three valves per cylinder and 4.3-litres displacement, the all-aluminium engine generates 220 kW/300 bhp and can accelerates the FWD concept car to up to 250 km/h (electronically-limited). Despite this high power output, it needs only 10.2 kms/litre (about 29 mpg). This economical operations is partly due to air-assisted injection and deactivation of up to four cylinders under partly-open throttle. The engine also has variable camshaft timing and the length of the intake manifold varies according to engine speed, so that as much as possible of the 400 Nm maximum torque is available at low as well as high rpm.

The brake system has naturally been designed to cope with the high power potential. On the rear axle, there are conventional steel disc brakes, while the front ones are made of carbonfibre. In addition to its better, fade-free deceleration, the advantage of this material is its greater durability – carbon discs never have to be changed throughout the entire life of the car – and its lower weight. If they were made of steel, the front disc brakes would weigh more than 11 kgs; of carbonfibre, just 5.5 kgs.