By 2009, the UK-built Astra had entered its sixth generation. Built at Ellesmere Port on the Wirral in Cheshire, the new model was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show and went on to be the best-selling car in June of the following year, outstripping sales of the Ford Focus and becoming Britain's second-best selling new car just behind the Ford Fiesta.

Sometimes called the Astra J, following sister company Opel’s Latin alphabetic naming convention for the Astra generations in mainland Europe, it was replaced in the UK with the Mk 7 (Astra K) in 2016. By this point, the Astra had sold nearly 3 million units in its 36-year production run.

This car set eighteen UK speed endurance records at the high-speed bowl at Millbrook Proving ground in Bedfordshire in 2013. It was the lead car that covered 2003.44 miles in twenty-four hours travelling at an average speed of 125.101 mph, stopping only for fuel, change of tyres and driver. It smashed the previous twenty-four-hour record by 25 mph.