General Motors' Opel subsidiary in Europe designed a compact V6 engine with an unusual 54° vee angle.

In the early 1990s, Opel identified the need for a modern, lightweight, and compact power plant to replace its aging straight-six engine range.

This added to the engines' compactness which was needed to allow its use in front-wheel-drive applications, as well as rear-wheel-drive cars.

Minor changes were made to the unit during its production, including an uprated oil pump around mid-1997, with the addition of larger oilways in the head machining (T-vents), and modified valve lifters to reduce top-end valve noise, at which point the cam belt arrangement also changed with the lower idler moving.

Around 1998, the spin-on metal canister oil filter was changed to a disposable paper element.

The engine was reworked substantially in 2000 in order to meet increasing emissions requirements, with the 2.5L and 3.0L being replaced by lower-compression 2.6L and 3.2L units.

For 1994, in order to meet more stringent emissions requirements, a secondary air injection system and an EGR valve were added to the C25XE and it became the X25XE.

Applications: The 3.2 L; 193.8 cu in (3,175 cc) LA3 or Y32SE is a complete redesign of the L81 for the Cadillac CTS and Opel Omega B.

[citation needed] It had fixed (non-variable) valve timing, and a variable length intake manifold.