In 1899, the first Opel car, the "Patentmotorwagen System Lutzmann", rolled out of the Opel factory in Rüsselsheim. It was an innovative car for the period, representing an important step towards the future of automotive both for the industry and for a brand that would become a pillar of German automotive. Today, Opel leverages this 125-year-long legacy as a solid foundation to ground its shift into a new era in which deliberate design choices play a role as important as engineering decisions in shaping the car experience. 

2024 Opel Grandland is the first car to fully debut Opel's new vision for the automotive shift. It's available in all configurations, including a full-electric one that already satisfies the company's promise for a fully electric lineup from 2025.

From a design perspective, Grandland emerges as a unique, almost-architectural, statement. The new SUV bridges form, function, technology, and cultural expression. Opel aimed at creating more than a vehicle, focusing on a compelling interpretation of its Bold & Pure design philosophy where lines and details reflect Opel's rich European manufacturing heritage and forward-thinking spirit – in two words, Opel's German Excellence. 

The Grandland's extended wheelbase not only enhances interior space but also contributes to a streamlined, dynamic exterior that challenges traditional design norms. The vehicle's exterior design, marked by strong wheel arches and a nuanced C-pillar movement, frames this set of sophisticated design choices, articulating the vehicle's underlying architectural vision.

Thanks to this approach, the 2024 Opel Grandland represents a deliberate reimagining of what an SUV can be – a mobile structural system that challenges conventional design paradigms.

Light design plays a fundamental role in Opel's vision. On the Grandland, lighting serves both functional and aesthetic purposes, enhancing the vehicle's design and user experience. 

It all starts on the front: the new 3D Vizor is more than a standard facade. It's a unified design unit that showcases innovative lighting technologies, including the intricate Intellilux HD system. With over 50,000 HD LED "pixels", it transforms the vehicle's front profile into a responsive, almost living interface, thanks to adaptive lighting. 

"Based on the traffic situation, up- and oncoming objects are detected by a camera, and the Intelli-Lux Pixel Matrix HD light cuts out these objects even more precisely than standard Matrix Light technologies", explains Opel, "and delivers a much brighter and homogeneous light pattern – all while ensuring that other road users are not glared". 

The innovative Edge Light system is another important piece of the Grandland lighting experience. On the exterior, it contributes to defining the car's minimalistic and precise contours, while in the interior, it enhances the ambient lighting to create a refined and adaptable atmosphere.

Grandland 2024 is also the first Opel with an illuminated "Blitz" logo in the front and the rear (more broadly, this is a first on any car from the Stellantis Group). 

"We're not just designing with lights," explains Opel's chief designer, Mark Adams, "we're designing experiences of luminosity. Each illuminated surface is a conversation between technology, human perception, and architectural possibility."

This attention to lighting design on the new Grandland connects directly to Opel's very first car. When it came out in 1899, the “Patentmotorwagen System Lutzmann” had a spring-loaded candle system that maintained consistent illumination through an ingeniously simple glass housing. It was an important upgrade that served a double purpose for the time. It would give a better signal of the car's presence, enhancing safety during adventurous night rides.

This commitment to innovative yet practical lighting solutions would soon become a defining trait of the brand. 

The 1938 Opel Kapitän, for example, pioneered the shift from round to hexagonal headlamps integrated into the fenders, while the 1968 Opel GT introduced Germany to pop-up swivel headlights – affectionately nicknamed "sleepy eyes" and controlled via a dedicated lever on the centre console. 

By 1998, Opel led the industry with xenon gas discharge headlamps in the Omega B, offering triple light intensity with lower energy consumption and 40% less heat radiation. The 2003 Signum brought adaptive forward lighting to the mid-size segment, introducing both dynamic curve light and 90-degree cornering light in a groundbreaking combination, while the 2015 Astra K democratized matrix LED technology previously reserved for luxury vehicles. 

This consistent pattern of lighting innovation, always aimed at making advanced technology accessible to a broader market, finds its latest expression in the new Grandland's sophisticated Intelli-Lux HD system – a testament to Opel's enduring philosophy of combining technological excellence with accessibility.

This long-time experience with light culminated in the 2023 Opel Experimental concept, a prototype that served as a manifesto of Opel's new philosophy and modernised the "Opel Compass" design. All the main exterior features are organized horizontally, following the principle of the centre crease, with the "Electrified Blitz" logo emblem sitting firmly at the centre.

Grandland is now the first Opel car to fully embody the German brand's new styling philosophy. Thanks to its central position, the illuminated "Blitz" is more than a brand identifier. It functions as a critical reference point – a compass, indeed – from which all design trajectories emerge.

"Design is a form of linguistic communication," says Opel's Chief Designer. "Each line, each intersection is a word, a sentence in a broader narrative of technological and cultural expression. The Compass is our grammar, our fundamental syntax of form."

The Grandland's interpretation of this philosophy is nuanced and subtle. Its surfaces don't simply reflect light but negotiate spatial relationships, creating a dynamic dialogue between volume, negative space, and perceptual expectations.

That's clear, for example, on the rear, where the car's name is embossed straight in the middle of the tailgate. 

Far from being just a detail, the embossed "Grandland" signature is also a step forward in sustainability, as it replaces the chrome letters seen on previous models. In fact, Opel has completely dispensed with any chrome applications on the Grandland, completely eliminating a source of pollution from the carmaking process. 

This change inscribes itself in Opel's larger vision for the future of sustainable mobility. As an aesthetic choice, it's also a testament to the brand's understanding that sustainability isn't just a matter of engineering, but a core pillar of a brand's design choices. 

In other words, the new Grandland shows that designing sustainable cars can't just be an add-on to a traditional strategy; it's a fundamental rethinking of a company's design philosophy. 

From its electrified powertrains to its use of eco-friendly materials, the new SUV demonstrates Opel's goals of reducing environmental impact while delivering high performance through the entire chain, from conception to production to the driving experience.

Recycled and renewable materials were also carefully selected as active participants in this broader design narrative. Each material choice represents a deliberate engagement with global systems of production, consumption, and regeneration.

Inside, the standard Intelli-Seats are designed to be extremely comfortable and are also produced in a completely sustainable way. All fabric materials feature recycled 100% content (50% for the Alcantara version), aligning with Opel's "Greenovation" philosophy. This includes materials used in the door panels, instrument panel, and centre console. The lineup also offers three vegan interior options. 

The car's sustainable design extends beyond its visible components to include several "hidden" parts, with recycled aluminum and steel parts incorporated throughout the vehicle, while more than 40 polymer components contain up to 80% eco-friendly materials. In total, recycled and renewable materials account for over 500 kilograms of the vehicle's weight.

Beyond mere engineering, these sustainable material choices reflect a deeper narrative of design responsibility. This SUV represents a harmonious blend of heritage and progress where environmental responsibility and cutting-edge technology co-exist. 

The 2024 Opel Grandland exists simultaneously as an artifact of industrial design, a technological platform, and a philosophical proposition about the future of mobility. In the Grandland, you'll find over a century of Opel's automotive heritage converge.

As Adams says, "Bold and Pure, our design philosophy, is about how you update and refresh things with newer technologies while keeping the core DNA intact."
New Grandland stands as a bridge—connecting the brand's rich German engineering tradition with an emerging paradigm of electric, design-forward mobility: it's a testament to Opel's pursuit of design excellence and technological progress.