SWVaux Staff

“Next level urban mobility. An electric vehicle with wow factor”; that is also what the jury of the #OpelDesignHack thought a few months ago and chose Lukas Wenzhöfer’s extraordinary concept as the winner of the challenge. In the next step, Opel took the claim of the challenge – “You design it, we build it” – literally and turned the design into reality. Opel kept its word and built the Rocks e-XTREME as a one-off.

Rebecca Reinermann, Vice President of Marketing Opel/Vauxhall: “With the #OpelDesignHack we have taken a new path of interaction and communication. Opel has opened the industry’s usually closed doors and – approachably and transparently – allowed the Opel community to take part in the build of a concept car. The result is the Rocks e-XTREME; a unique, very cool version of our Rocks Electric, originating from a design challenge and closely accompanied by ‘Making-of’-insights for all. A very successful cooperation.”

The production version of the Opel Rocks Electric already represents innovative mobility in its unconventional design, but above all, the Rocks Electric offers locally emissions-free driving fun for two from the age of 15¹. Points that the industrial design student Lukas Wenzhöfer kept in mind and took to the “extreme” with his design. He wanted to turn the agile, all-electric quadricycle into an all-terrain fun vehicle with wow factor. “The off-road capability promotes the feeling of freedom to be able to reach any destination. And the increased sportiness promises extra driving fun to show that electromobility is more than just a sensible solution,” explained Wenzhöfer.

A challenging task that the engineers at Opel set themselves in recent months, as they wanted to stay as close as possible to the 3D model when building the one-off. The characteristics included protruding wheels for a wide, secure stance, double wishbones at the front and a bright yellow roll-over hoop. The Opel Vizor has also been reinterpreted and equipped with LED front lights and the Opel logo accentuated in turquoise. To keep the weight low and to support the performance of the electric motor, the vizor and mudguards were produced using 3D printing.

Another unmissable highlight is the prominent rear wing made of carbon, an original wing from the Vectra GTS V8 that now carries the emblem “e-XTREME” and the serial number “001”.

Then followed the actual production. The Rocks e-XTREME made similar demands as building a concept car. And with the same attention to detail, the colleagues in the Opel concept workshop brought the design to life, step by step and with convincing results. Now it’s here: the first and only Opel Rocks e-XTREME!

The unanimous opinion of the selected specialist audience at the first presentation: “Just ‘Wow’! The Rocks e-XTREME shows how even a small electric vehicle can be so much fun and so cool.” Many other Opel Rocks Electric and Rocks e-XTREME fans will be able to make the same experience in the coming weeks and months when the eye-catching one-off goes on tour.

^[1] Applies to four-wheeled light motor vehicles with a rated continuous/utilised power not exceeding 6 kW, with no more than two seats and a maximum speed not exceeding 45 km/h.