This lightweight two-seat sports roadster was developed with Lotus and built at Hethel in the United Kingdom on the Lotus Elise S2 platform. It first reached customers in the early 2000s as a deliberately uncompromised driver’s car, using a mid-engine layout, rear-wheel drive, and a simple, minimalist cabin rather than the comfort-first formula of many contemporary convertibles. The concept was shown in 1999, production began in 2001, and the car quickly became known for its sharp handling and low mass.
A turbocharged version arrived in 2003, giving the model a more serious performance edge and helping cement its cult status among enthusiasts. Production ended in 2005, with final assembly concluding in spring 2006, and total output remained relatively limited compared with mainstream Opel models. Today it is remembered as one of the brand’s most distinctive modern niche sports cars: a focused, collaboration-built roadster that stood apart from Opel’s volume lineup and helped revive interest in simple, analog open-top performance driving.