The Opel Signum is a large front-engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger, five-door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

manufactured and marketed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

car manufacturer

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

from 2003 to 2008, exclusively over a single generation, derived from the

Opel Vectra The Opel Vectra is a mid-size car (large family car) that was engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel from 1988 until 2010. Available in saloon, hatchback and estate body styles, the Vectra was also sold by the Vauxhall marque i ...

. Marketed almost exclusively in Europe, a

rebadged In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...

Signum was marketed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as the Vauxhall Signum. The Signum used the long wheelbase version of the

GM Epsilon platform Epsilon is General Motors' mid-size front-wheel drive automobile platform. The architecture was multi-division project of GM North America, Opel and Saab, and debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls squarely i ...

also used by the

Caravan. As a very large hatchback with a nearly vertical tailgate, its dimensions placed it between traditional

large family car The D-segment is the 4th category of the Euro Car Segment, European segments for passenger cars, and is described as "large cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "large family car" size class, and the present-day definition of the mid-size ...

s and

executive car Executive car is a British term for a large car which is equivalent to the European E-segment and American full-size classifications. Executive cars are larger than compact executive cars (and the non-luxury equivalent mid-size cars), and small ...

s. In most markets, it was also priced accordingly (more expensive than the

, but less than e.g.

Audi A6 The Audi A6 is an executive car made by the German automaker Audi. Now in its fifth generation, the successor to the Audi 100 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is available in saloon and estate configurations, the latter marketed by Aud ...

). The Opel Signum was intended to capture a new market segment.

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, Opel's then parent, executed a similar concept in North America of a large hatchback with the related 2004

Chevrolet Malibu Maxx The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-driv ...

, also derived from the Epsilon platform. After March 2008, RHD production ended, and both the Opel Signum and the

were replaced with the new

Opel Insignia The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel since 2008. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship Opel car line, slotted above the ...

in October of the same year. From the end of 2005,

Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003. Collina is still i ...

starred in adverts across Europe for the Signum, as well as the Vectra. Production of the Signum and Vectra C ended in July 2008 for Mainland Europe.

2001 Signum2 Concept

The Opel Signum2 Concept was a

luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

presented by

at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the 2001

Bologna Motor Show The Bologna Motor Show (known as the "''Salone internazionale dell'auto e della moto di Bologna''" in Italian) was an auto show which was scheduled to be held annually in December, in Bologna, Italy. The editions of 2009 and 2012 were the shor ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Design elements from the car were later used in the production Signum, which went into production in February 2003. In November 2000, sketches of the Signum2 were present. The Signum name was also used on a concept car presented at the 1997 Geneva Motor Show in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In August 2001, the name of the car was announced. The first official pictures of the production Signum were released in August 2002.

Differences compared to Vectra

The Signum platform is that of the Vectra Estate, meaning that the wheelbase is longer than the hatchback/saloon of the Vectra by . This provides for very ample rear legroom. Instead of a traditional three passenger bench seat, the Signum has two separate seats in the rear, offering a range of adjustment capabilities including sliding back and forth (just like the front seats) and reclining backrests. There is also a very narrow central section, which includes a folding armrest and can also serve as a third seat (the Signum is fitted with three rear headrests and safety belts). The seats can also be folded down individually to increase the cargo space, a system that Opel calls Flexspace. The Signum shares many body panels (including the complete front part of the body) and interior elements (in particular the complete dashboard and front seats) with the Vectra, but the tailgate and rear fender design is unique to the Signum. The Signum was facelifted along with the Vectra lineup in September 2005, getting a new front fascia design and slight changes elsewhere. All Signums were made alongside Vectras in Opel's Rüsselsheim plant in

Engines

The Signum was offered with a wide range engines it shared with the Vectra. These include: * 1.8 L I4 16V

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

Ecotec Ecotec (capitalized ECOTEC, from 'Emissions Control Optimization TEChnology') is a General Motors (GM) and Opel Automobile GmbH (Opel) trademark that refers to a series of emissions technologies that were implemented throughout a range of GM engines ...

* 2.2 L I4 16V

Ecotec Direct * 2.0 L I4 16V

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

* 3.2 L V6 24V

L81 ''(replaced by the 2.8 V6 turbo in 2005)'' * 2.8 L V6

24V

HFV6 ''(avail. since the 2005 facelift)'' * 2.0 L I4 16V

DTI Ecotec ''(replaced by the base 1.9 CDTI in 2005)'' * 2.2 L I4 16V

DTI Ecotec ''(replaced by the DOHC 1.9 CDTI in 2005)'' * 1.9 L I4 8V OHC CDTI ''(the version of this engine is available since the 2005 facelift, superseding the 2.0 DTI)'' * 1.9 L I4 16V

CDTI ''(avail. since 2005)'' * 3.0 L V6 24V

CDTI (177hp before 2005) * 3.0 L V6 24V DOHC CDTI (184hp after 2005)

Replacement

In July 2008, both the Signum and Vectra C were discontinued. Although no direct replacement was announced, much of the market territory it once occupied was filled by the

Insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...

(2008).

References

External links

{{Vauxhall Motors Signum Front-wheel-drive vehicles Euro NCAP large family cars Hatchbacks Cars introduced in 2003