James May's diatribes about 'rock-hard suspension' notwithstanding, any car that's been set up on the notorious Nordschleife - which is remarkably bumpy by race-track standards - is going to handle better on the street than your average mommymobile.
So GMSA's confirmation that a handful of Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition models will be released in South Africa in October is bound to cause a stir among local hot-hatch enthusiasts (let's not patronise them by calling them GTI Joes), who are well aware that Opel's quickest Corsa yet is being restricted to a limited-edition production run worldwide, making it one of the most exclusive Opels ever built.
All Opels since the 1960s have been tested before entering production at what Sir Jackie Stewart once called 'the green hell', but OPC variants get extra attention in the chassis, performance and handling dynamics departments - and it has paid off, with both the previous-generation Astra OPC and original Zafira OPC setting record times in their respective segments.
VISUAL AND PERFORMANCE UPGRADES
It's one of the rules that a hot hatch has to look the part, so the Nürburgring Edition comes with a special front lip spoiler, a new rear roof-mounted spoiler, dual exhaust pipes and dark-painted 18" alloys, while inside you'll find Recaro sports seats in nappa leather, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, automatic climate control and an upgraded audio system with USB and Bluetooth compatibility.
But this Corsa also has the go to match the show, starting with a 1.6-litre turbocharged Ecotec engine that's been tweaked to deliver a quoted 154kW at 5850rpm and 250Nm from 2250rpm, with 280Nm (briefly) available on overboost.
That's delivered to the front wheels via a new mechanical multi-plate limited-slip differential, to reduce torque steer, and kept under strict control by uprated Bilstein suspension and new high-performance Brembo disc brakes all round.
OPC quotes a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.8 seconds and a 230km/h top end - but also claims that, driven sensibly, the Nürburgring Edition should return average fuel co nsumption of 7.6 litres per 100km, at a cost of 178g/km in CO2 emisssions.
Our question is, who's going to buy one of these to drive it sensibly?
The Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition follows the new Opel Astra OPC, released earlier this year, as part of GM Europe's strategy of boosting the brand by making people sit up and take notice. More detailed information, including pricing, will be released closer to the time of launch.