Vauxhall Cascada name confirmed for new drop-top

The new Vauxhall cabriolet will be called Cascada, the company has confirmed. The Cascada will be very different to its Vauxhall Astra-based predecessors: it has shifted up a class in size and is longer than even an Audi A5 cabriolet.

Very few details of the car have been confirmed at this stage to go with this teaser image, as Vauxhall does not want to detract from the launch of the new Vauxhall Adam at the Paris motor show later this month.

The Cascada name is an entirely new nameplate for Vauxhall and is neither a reference to anything nor a nod to its past. Vauxhall’s managing director Duncan Aldred hopes the Cacada will “continue to refresh people’s perceptions” of the brand.

Unlike the Astra TwinTop it effectively replaces, the four-seat Cascada uses a folding fabric roof instead of a retractable hard-top. It can be opened and closed at speeds of up to 31mph.

The Cascada’s 4710mm length makes it 70mm longer than an A5 cabriolet and 225mm longer than the Astra TwinTop. But despite eclipsing the A5 in size, the Vauxhall will be priced to significantly undercut its premium rival, which starts at £29,455.

The underpinnings of the Cascada are not clear, but being between the Astra and Insignia in length it is likely to incorporate elements of both of those cars.

Spy pictures have previously revealed the Cascada’s interior will share fundamentally the same layout as the Astra, but with an increased use of chrome trim.

Engines are likely to be taken from the top-end of Vauxhall’s stable, to reflect the Cascada’s more upmarket positioning. The firm has previously confirmed its intentions to overhaul its entire engine line-up by the middle decade, so it’s probable the Cascada will get engines from the new MGE (medium gasoline engine) range soon after launch.

The Cascada car is set to be revealed in full by the end of the year before going on sale in the UK early next year.