Opel’s tuning division OPC has put the iron to the Insignia, if evo magazine’s spy shot of a performance-tuned version is anything to go by.

While specific details are thin on the ground, the performance version of Europe’s Car of the Year will supposedly make 238kW from its 2.8-litre twin-turbo V6, sent to the ground via the Insignia’s Haldex all-wheel-drive system.

According to Opel’s managing director Hans Demant, prototypes for the OPC Insignia have run the Nurburgring in a shade over eight minutes – so whatever power it’s making, it’s obviously got the goods.

There are no other photos of the OPC-tuned Insignia, but evo’s sources say it wears dark metallic 20-inch five-spoke rims, shod with 255/35 rubber.  The photo above shows the de rigueur black mesh grille, a low-slung front bumper with tall vertically-posed intakes flanking a smaller central air dam and Aston Martin DBRS-like brake-cooling intakes at the extremities.

The last news on the matter has the Insignia destined for eventual sale in Australia, and given HSV’s apparent desire to expand its offerings beyond the Commodore- and Astra-based models, it’s not out of the question that the OPC Insignia might come across as well. It’s believed that at the very least, it will make the trek across the Channel as a Vauxhall Insignia VXR.

Expect to see the OPC-tuned Insignia at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

[evo]

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