Opel Ampera: European Chevy Volt Scooped Undisguised!

Carscoop's spy photographers have done it again, this time by capturing the Opel Ampera study totally undisguised at one of the firm's German centers. Due to be revealed for the first time in public at next month's Geneva Motor Show, the Ampera is nothing more, nothing less, than a Chevy Volt with a new fascia and a subtly redesigned rear-end. Opel's version of GM's extended-range electric vehicle is scheduled to go on sale in Europe during the second half of 2011, or about a year after the Volt hits Chevy's North American outlets.

The most visible styling changes on the Ampera concern the EV's front-end design which is inspired from Opel's latest concept cars like the GTC. It features a set of Civic-like headlamps with vertical air ducts, a thinner grille and a new bumper.

At the rear-end, aside from the new bumper, Opel's design team restyled the tail lamps and added a horizontal chrome bar while they also painted the lower part of the fifth door in the same color as the rest of the car -as opposed to the Volt's blacked out panel.

We don't have any pictures of the Ampera's interior, but judging from exterior, we're guessing that changes will most likely be minimal.

According to General Motors, for trips up to 60 km or around 40 miles, the Ampera will run solely on lithium-ion battery power charged through a standard 230v outlet while for longer distances, the car will continue to drive on electricity that is generated by a small internal combustion engine.