Opel Speedster Turbo
The Opel Speedster was born from an unlikely but brilliant partnership between General Motors' German subsidiary Opel and Lotus in Norfolk, England. Built on the Lotus Elise Series 2 aluminum chassis at the Lotus factory in Hethel, the Speedster replaced the Rover K-Series engine with Opel's 2.0-liter Ecotec turbo unit, creating a mid-engined roadster with genuine everyday usability. The Turbo variant was the star of the range, producing 200 horsepower in a car weighing just 875 kg. The result was explosive performance — 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds and handling that only a Lotus-designed chassis can deliver. Unlike the Elise, the Speedster featured unique bodywork designed by Opel, giving it a more aggressive, teutonic appearance. The driving experience was pure and unassisted — no power steering, no ABS, no traction control — just driver, engine, and road. This purity has made the Speedster an increasingly sought-after driver's car, offering Lotus handling dynamics with a more robust and tunable Opel engine.
Check chassis for crash damage as aluminum frame repair is expensive. The Ecotec turbo engine is more reliable than the Rover K-Series in the Elise. Soft top and its mechanism wear. Clam-shell body panels are expensive to replace. Verify turbo health with a boost pressure test. The lack of power steering and ABS is by design, not a fault.
Built at the Lotus factory alongside the Elise and Exige. Sold as the Vauxhall VX220 in the UK. The naturally aspirated 2.2-liter version produced 147 hp. Total production was approximately 7,500 units across all variants. The aluminum chassis was shared with the Elise S2.