The drop-top underdog bringing a little old-school attitude to DubClub.

Four different incarnations, five sets of wheels and enough old-school modifying spirit to fill a magazine rack, Sol’s Opel Astra Bertone Turbo Cabrio is living proof that doing things differently never goes out of fashion.

There was a time, during the nineties and the ’00s, when the arrival of a new tuning magazine meant only one thing: another month of truly outrageous builds, questionable fashion choices, big, crazy ideas and cars that made you want to travel to your nearest auto parts store and spend pretty much all of your monthly wage packet on your own car, to make it your own, all before you had even finished reading the main feature. Back then, the modified-car scene had its own identity, and individuality was the name of the game.

For Suraj Sol, the owner of this particular Astra Bertone Cabrio, those days never really went away.

Ask him whether he was into Fast Car, Max Power and the modified scene back in the day, and he’ll point you towards the nearly 1,000 car magazines he has accumulated in his loft, garage and bedroom. Although, as he will happily admit, he was always more of a Performance VW man.

Which makes the car sitting before us at DubClub all the more interesting.

Because rather than a Volkswagen, Sol’s weapon of choice is a 2004 Opel Astra MK4 Bertone Turbo Cabrio. A drop-top underdog that might not have the obvious badge appeal of some of the scene’s usual favourites, but certainly isn’t short of character. In fact, this is something this car has in spades.

And if you think an Astra Cabrio is a rather unusual choice for a feature car, that’s rather the point.

THE BERTONE IDENTITY

Back in the early 2000’s, the Astra Bertone Cabrio definitely offered something that was a little different. It combined everything people loved about that generation of Astra, but with the appeal of open-top motoring and drop-dead gorgeous looks to go with it. Designed and built by Bertone over in Italy, this was an Astra that made an impact on the young people who bought these cars when new, and in Turbo guise, there was a little extra excitement hiding under that sleek bonnet. Engines available were the 1.8-litre, the 2.0-litre Turbo and the 2.2-litre engines that were also used in the standard car.

Starting life as a 2004-registered Turbo model, Sol’s Astra came equipped with the 2.0-litre ‘Z20LET’ engine, the same turbocharged lump that was found in the Astra GSi of the same era. In factory form, it produced 197bhp through the front wheels via a five-speed Getrag F23 manual gearbox. That might not sound like a lot of power in this day and age, but back in the day, 200bhp through the front wheels was a lot. This was a powerful car back in the day, even in stock guise.

Heated seats, cruise control, a six-speaker stereo and 17-inch Turbo alloys were all part of the original package. Not a bad starting point for a car that Sol himself describes as a sort of ‘poor man’s BMW’.

But the car that you see today is a very long way from the one that left the factory 22 years ago.

See, when Sol first got his hands on it, the Astra was looking rather sorry for itself. The engine needed attention, the paintwork hadn’t seen a proper polish in years, and the whole thing had clearly seen better days. Like most cars from that era, as soon as they started to depreciate to the point where they could be bought for really cheap, a lot of the work that needed doing to keep them roadworthy was either not done at all or was done, but to the lowest quality to save costs.

Still, underneath the tired exterior was a car that was definitely worth saving.

And saving it was only the beginning.

FOUR FACES, ONE OBSESSION

Some builds, like my C70, for example, follow a carefully planned route from start to finish. Sol’s Astra has taken a slightly more adventurous approach.

It’s been through four distinct incarnations, worn five different sets of wheels, experimented with four sets of headlights and even gone through three different exhaust boxes. Even the engine bay has had three different looks along the way.

Rare factory Irmscher body kits have also played a part in its evolving appearance.

In fact, Sol reckons that the only original parts that remain are the chassis, dashboard and the engine block.

That is quite a statement, but it gives you some idea of how far this project has travelled.

And the best bit? This isn’t a car that’s simply been handed over to a workshop with a blank cheque attached. Sol estimates that he’s carried out around 75% of the work himself, calling on fellow Astra enthusiast Aaron Haynes and Pritpal of @pritpalsprojects when the more challenging jobs needed tackling. One of Sol’s good friends, Dipesh, has also been there to help with the fiddly bits, as well as providing a second pair of hands.

It’s proper driveway-modifying spirit. The kind that involves getting stuck in, changing your mind, trying something completely new or different and occasionally discovering that the part you’ve just fitted isn’t going to be the last version after all. Something that all petrolheads deal with.

UNDER PRESSURE

As soon as you raise the bonnet on this pretty little number, the atmosphere becomes a lot more serious.

The original ‘Z20LET’ block remains unopened, but just about everything around it has been given a lot of attention.

A K04 049 hybrid turbo now takes pride of place, supported by 470cc injectors and a front-mounted intercooler. The original crossover arrangement has been deleted, whilst the intake pipework has been enlarged from 2.5 inches to three inches. This is an Opel fruit that packs a punch!

There’s a ported exhaust manifold, a three-inch downpipe and a custom 2.75-inch exhaust system that also incorporates a 200-cell catalytic converter. A Turbosmart 12PSI actuator and uprated recirculation valve complete the turbo hardware, whilst the factory boost-by-gear arrangement has been bypassed. To put this amount of power to the road, it sports an uprated clutch from a C20LET.

It’s a substantial list of changes, particularly for a car that began life as a comfortable four-seat convertible.

The final power figure? Well, that’s still a mystery, with no confirmed dyno result to put a number on the upgrades.

But ask Sol which modification has made the biggest difference, and he doesn’t hesitate.

The intake and exhaust.

Not because of a particular power figure or because of seconds shaved off of a quarter-mile time, but because of the noise they produce.

As he puts it, the sound is ‘bliss’. Something I can most definitely confirm.

And when you really think about it, isn’t that what modifying is supposed to be about? Building something that makes you smile every time you turn the key, rather than simply chasing numbers on a screen.

WHEEL DEAL

Of course, an engine bay full of turbo hardware is only half the story with a build like this.

The Astra currently rolls on a set of 18-inch Revolution Millennium wheels, and these aren’t just another set of alloys picked from a catalogue.

According to Sol, they’re probably the rarest parts on the entire build, having been out of production for a considerable amount of time.

For someone who’s already worked through five different wheel setups, that’s saying something.

The Revolution rims are wrapped in Continental SportContact tyres at the front and Nankang NS20s on the rear, adding another distinctive detail to a car that’s never been afraid to do things its own way.

In a scene where the right set of wheels can define an entire build, there is something refreshing about seeing an older design brought back into the spotlight.

As for suspension, it sits on a set of fully adjustable GAZ GHA’s and is also fully polybushed. Due to these sweet chassis upgrades, the car sits low, but not too low to the point where it is undrivable. A set of braided brake lines also makes sure this Astra stops as well as it goes.

SEEING RED

Step inside the Astra and there’s another surprise waiting.

Against the Astra’s Europa Blue paintwork sits a rare red interior. Originally, the car came with a cream interior, which was nice enough, but not quite as nice as the red interior it has now. This is a combination that Sol himself believes could be exceptionally uncommon. He reckons there may be as few as five examples with this particular pairing, although that figure hasn’t been independently verified.

Rare or not, it’s certainly a departure from the more predictable cabin choices.

A GSi instrument cluster and boost gauge add a more purposeful touch, while custom red floor mats finish things off. Sol admits that the mats cost him rather more than he’d have liked, but sometimes getting the details right means digging a little deeper into your pockets.

The stereo hasn’t escaped attention either.

A Pioneer SPH-BT20 head unit works alongside Infinity Reference speakers, with the original speakers replaced and the rear of the car soundproofed. A Pioneer 12-inch subwoofer in a sealed enclosure provides the low-end punch.

After all, what would an old-school modified-car feature be without a decent sound system?

BACK TO DUBCLUB

For Sol, DubClub isn’t just another date on the show calendar.

He first got into it through his brothers around 15 to 20 years ago, long before this Astra became the car it is today.

His first actual visit to DubClub at Fargo Village came around three or four years ago, and he arrived in this very car. Only back then, it was largely standard.

That’s the best part of this whole story. The Astra hasn’t simply appeared on the scene as a fully fledged finished project. It’s grown alongside Sol’s involvement, changing shape, picking up rare parts and developing its own identity as the years have passed.

From an unloved Turbo Cabrio in need of attention to a four-time reinvention with a hybrid turbo, rare wheels and a striking interior, it has been quite the transformation.

And somewhere among the nearly 1,000 magazines tucked away at home, you suspect there’s more than a little inspiration behind it all.

Sol might have been a Performance VW reader at heart, but he’s ended up creating something that would truly look perfect at home in the pages of any old-school modified-car magazine.

Because the badge was never really the point, the passion was. And at Dubclub, that still counts for everything!

By Alex Jebson