Motoring

Mission Astra

By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 01 Oct 2015 • 13:28

BASE CAMP: The ‘Astranaut’ facility which has been constructed in less than one month.

INTERNATIONAL guests will be hosted in an exclusive moon base ‘Astranaut’ camp.

The main Opel factory in Russelsheim, Germany, has organised this extraordinary premier event for the launch of their new Astra range. The chosen location of this highend event is the private test facility of Circuito Mike G Guadix in the stunning location of the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia, Spain.

For this presentation, the ‘Astranaut’ style base-camp – taking weeks of hard work to construct – replicates a Space station. Between September 24 and October 9, over 3,500 Opel dealers and fleet buyers will enjoy driving this new Astra, both on test circuits and roads in the beautiful surroundings of the Sierra Nevada.

The road routes were specifically designed to test the new personal GPS online and service assistant ‘Opel On- Star’.

This unique location in the Spanish desert was constructed in 26 days by over 300 men and women.

Over 50 lorries transported the materials in containers with over 15 kilometres of electric cable and water pipeline being used to provide infrastructures to 250 luxury tents.

Each tent has within it luxury sleeping accommodation, shower and toilet facilities and air conditioning to create this unique experience better known as ‘Glamping.’

The new Astra is more agile, it is 200kg lighter than the previous model and is also equipped with technology normally associated with higher class models including: Matrix LED headlights and ‘OnStar’ GPS communication systems.

The manufacturer has already received 30,000 orders ahead of the launch date – October 10 – making this one of the best Opels of all time! In an exclusive interview with Clive Greenhalgh, managing director of Circuito Mike G Guadix, he had the following observations on the car which he says handles superbly on both the road and the circuit.

He was astounded by the quality of the soundproofing of the new Astra as there is negligible wind noise even at high speeds and is way ahead of its current market competition. For those who enjoy the thrill of driving, Circuito Mike G Guadix regularly arranges track days for cars and motorbikes for both experienced and first time track drivers and anyone interested can contact David on 619476991 or mail info@circuitodeguadix.com.