11.7.2012 Vauxhall announces new ADAM city car

Vauxhall released its first official pictures of the new ADAM today – their new three-door, four-seater urban city car that will be unveiled at this year's Paris Motorshow.

The Vauxhall ADAM will appear in UK showrooms in early January 2012. Although CO2 or fuel economy figures have not yet been confirmed, they are likely to be competitive with other efficient models in the A segment.

The ADAM will be offered with a choice of three efficient ecoFLEX four-cylinder petrol engines from launch: a 1.2-litre 70PS engine and two 1.4-litre engines with either 87PS or 100PS. All will be available with optional start-stop technology and will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Later on, ADAM will be the first car in Vauxhall's range to adopt the new-generation small petrol engine, featuring direct injection and forced induction, and an all-new six-speed gearbox. This is likely to be sub-100 gCO2/km and come with financial incentives such as free VED road tax and exemption for the London congestion charge.

In terms of styling, the ADAM incorporates a 'floating' roof which is visually disconnected from the body and gives a strong two-tone impact. It has distinctive design features that so far seem to only be integrated into larger, more executive models. It will also be the first city car to have the option of LED daytime running lights.

The new model will be available in three trim levels from launch – JAM (fashionable/colourful), GLAM (elegant/sophisticated) and SLAM (racy/sporty) – offering a full range of styles. There will also be a wide variety of exterior colours – including two different roof colours, different interior colours, equipment and materials.

It will come with the Advanced Park Assist II system, which means that it tells them when they reach a parking space large enough to accommodate the car. The system then automatically steers them into the parking space, with the driver only needing to control the brake, clutch and gears.

ADAM will be available to order after its official premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September, with the first cars reaching UK customers in January 2013. ADAM will come with Lifetime Warranty, which covers first owners for the lifetime of the car, or up to 100,000 miles.

Newspress