Posted on Tuesday 26 February 2008
The Irmscher Opel GT i40 is the latest of the cars sharing GM’s global rear-drive Kappa platform to get a V8-transplant. And even though it’s not the first, it’s certainly one of the most powerful. The Solstice and Sky (the GT’s American counterparts) have often been called ‘baby Corvettes’ but there’s nothing ‘baby’ about the i40.
Powered by a brutish 6.0L V8 generating 473hp (353kW) and reaching a top speed in excess of 186mph (300km/h) the Irmscher Opel GT i40 is nothing to sneeze at. Very little else in the way of information is forthcoming at this point, but judging from the picture, custom alloy wheels, body kit and paint are also part of the package. All will be revealed in a little more than a week’s time, however, when the car is shown in Geneva.
With the extra power (and presumably weight) of the V8 up front, we’d hope for a set of reworked brakes to match as well. How the transplant affects weight distribution, and therefore handling, is uncertain, but generally speaking, placing more weight over the front axle in a rear drive car results in some degree of turn-in understeer.
Other Kappa-platform cars that have had V8s shoehorned into their front ends include a pair from Mallet, which has done the Solstice and the Sky, both of which are powered by the 400hp LS2 V8 motor. Mallet’s cars pay special attention to handling, improving them over stock. The Solstice version even features with a wide-body conversion. But no matter whether you’re in the Old World or the New, it seems it’s a natural thing to convert these little rear-drivers into eight-pot beasts. And that’s just fine with us.
I’d bet this thing is a hoot to drive.
The Saturn version looks a lot like a little Vette, and with this kind of power it’s kind of like an SLK55 that I might actually be able to afford…