Photo: X-Tomi Design
Buick's European sister brand called Opel recently unveiled something named the Mokka X. No, it's not coffee, but it comes in a nice shade of metallic cappuccino.
The Mokka is a sister car for the unpopular yet still quite interesting Buick Encore. It comes with pretty much everything you could ever want from a small car, except power. You see, Opel has been making cars labeled OPC for a couple of decades, and they were always very gutsy. When a Golf GTI had 200 horsepower, the equivalent OPC boasted 240 hp. So why not re-capture that belligerent spirit and challenge the market with a red-hot Mokka X?
This next rendering is made by X-Tomi Design and shows you how the Mokka X OPC might look. It's got lowered suspension, bigger alloy wheels, a chin spoiler and blacked out grille. It's tuned, but not like something designed for SEMA or a Michael Bay Transformers movie.
Thus, it can borrow the 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine from the Corsa OPC. The Encore already has a 1.4-liter turbo, so can 0.2L of extra displacement actually make a difference? Well, the Corsa OPC did a lap of the Nurburgring circuit in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. To give you an idea of how fast that is, the all-new MINI JCW did the same thing in 8:35 and it costs a lot more.
With over 200 horsepower, a mechanical diff and big brakes, the Mokka X OPC could be fiercely fast.
However, Opel never thought of a fast version when it designed the crossover. There could be clearance issues for the exhaust, and the driving position is far from that of a racecar. By contrast, the MINI Countryman and Nissan Juke were designed from day one to handle around 200 horsepower.
Will they do it? Probably not. Opel has lost faith in the power of the OPC brand because most buyers just want a decent diesel engine.
This next rendering is made by X-Tomi Design and shows you how the Mokka X OPC might look. It's got lowered suspension, bigger alloy wheels, a chin spoiler and blacked out grille. It's tuned, but not like something designed for SEMA or a Michael Bay Transformers movie.
What will power it?
The answer is pretty obvious. The Mokka and its Buick sister are based on GM's older subcompact car platform, shared with the Chevy Sonic and Opel Corsa.Thus, it can borrow the 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine from the Corsa OPC. The Encore already has a 1.4-liter turbo, so can 0.2L of extra displacement actually make a difference? Well, the Corsa OPC did a lap of the Nurburgring circuit in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. To give you an idea of how fast that is, the all-new MINI JCW did the same thing in 8:35 and it costs a lot more.
With over 200 horsepower, a mechanical diff and big brakes, the Mokka X OPC could be fiercely fast.
Can they build it?
Yes, but it would take a lot of money, which would never be recuperated from the customers. The Mokka already comes with 1.6-liter diesel engines and its suspension is tunable.However, Opel never thought of a fast version when it designed the crossover. There could be clearance issues for the exhaust, and the driving position is far from that of a racecar. By contrast, the MINI Countryman and Nissan Juke were designed from day one to handle around 200 horsepower.
Will they do it? Probably not. Opel has lost faith in the power of the OPC brand because most buyers just want a decent diesel engine.
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