Opel Ampera Electric to debut in Geneva

We’ve been suspecting that Opel would get its own version of the Chevrolet Volt ever since we first knew General Motors was adapting the car for production. It only makes sense that GM would spread the large development expenses to a continent where fuel costs more and is more eco-conscious than the U.S. Now we have official word that the first glimpse of Opel’s Volt, now called the Ampera, will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

From the supplied teaser image, the front has some obvious linage to the Flextreme concept as well as a little bit of the Insignia. The slice of the side profile that’s exposed also shows the car’s Volt roots. GM spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel with the Volt’s body, so it doesn’t need to start from scratch with the Opel version.

Just like the Volt, the Ampera will be a four-seat, five-door hatchback. It uses the same electric propulsion system, now called Voltec. The Ampera will be an electric-only car for journeys up to 60 km (about 40 miles), after that a an internal combustion engine will supplement the car to extend the range.

What still remains a little bit of a mystery until Geneva will be what kind of internal combustion engine will the Opel use. Although the Volt will use a gasoline engine, GM Europe has a wide range of diesels that may be attractive to eco-minded buyers. Also there has not been any recharge times given for the Ampera’s lithium-ion battery pack. Because most of Europe uses 230v outlets (compared to standard 110v units in the U.S.,) we suspect the charge time should be close to three hours.

Press release after the jump.