As surprising as it may sound, the German car builder Opel has been setting speed records since the 1920s, one such occurrence featured Fritz Von Opel piloting his rocket powered RAK 2 to an estimated 149 MPH at Berlin’s Avus racetrack.
Not ones to leave history alone, the Opel tuners at Steinmetz brought a modified Insignia Sports Tourer OPC to the Nardo Ring the other day where it hit a record speed of 178.5 MPH to become the fastest street legal Opel ever.
Steinmetz started off by upgrading the OPC’s cooling system with a modified intercooler before installing a larger turbo complete with a full 3 inch exhaust to let the engine breathe easier, reduce back pressure and eliminate turbo lag.
In order to account for the added boost, Steinmetz has installed a set of high flow fuel injectors and then reprogrammed the engine’s electronics so that everything stays in working order.
The end result is an Insignia wagon that makes 400 HP and 405 lb-ft of torque that has just become the fastest Opel of all time.