2017 Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport officially revealed

The engine range is made up exclusively of turbocharged four-cylinder units and is crowned by a 247bhp 2.0-litre engine. This unit is hooked up to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox and an all-wheel drive system that features GKN drivetrain technology similar to that on the Ford Focus RS. It includes torque vectoring for the first time on a Vauxhall.

The only new engine in the range is a 1.5-litre petrol unit, which has outputs of 163bhp and 184lb ft, and it drives through a six-speed manual gearbox. This new engine is a development of the 1.4-litre turbo found in the Astra and it has been created to ensure that the Insignia Grand Sport is given the right-sized engine to power a car of its size and weight and therefore improve the real-world economy figure.

There are also 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesels in the line-up, outputs of which will all be upwards of 110bhp and will be confirmed alongside the performance and CO2 figures of the rest of the engine range closer to the spring launch. The Insignia Grand Sport is front-wheel drive as standard.

A VXR model is unlikely to appear in the Insignia range this time around. Performance diesels, a cooking GSI-style model and the Q-car-like 247bhp all-wheel drive petrol model are all understood to be preferred by company bosses than an all-out sports saloon.

As part of the overall weight reduction, the body-in-white has been made 59kg lighter than the current model’s. Meanwhile, the car’s length has been increased by 55mm to 4897mm, which makes it closer in size to the BMW 5 Series than the 3 Series.

The wheelbase has had a significant 92mm increase to 2829mm to help boost cabin space, but the front and rear overhangs have been reduced to improve the car’s stance.

There’s a marginal 7mm increase in width to 1863mm and the tracks are up 11mm to 1596mm at the front and 1599mm at the rear. The car’s height has been reduced by 29mm, but head room has improved as a result of lower seating positions.

The suspension features MacPherson struts at the front and a five-link set-up at the rear, with adaptive dampers an option. The adaptive FlexRide chassis function allows the driver to switch between Standard, Sport and Tour modes. These alter the stiffness of the suspension, the throttle response and the steering and allow for less intrusion from the ESP system, depending on the mode.

A whole host of driver assistance systems are also offered on the new Insignia Grand Sport, including a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and lane departure warning systems and a rear cross-traffic alert that lets you know if you’re about to reverse into oncoming traffic when leaving a parking space. Vauxhall’s adaptive IntelliLux LED matrix lights are also offered, with twice as many LEDs as on the Astra.

This five-door hatchback version will arrive first, with an estate and rugged Cross Tourer model following in due course to complete the range. Prices for the hatchback are set to remain broadly unchanged from today’s Insignia range, with an entry-level price of about £18,000.