Vauxhall GT Concept makes Geneva show debut

“It’s difficult to reinvent iconic concepts like these,” said Adams of the Vauxhall XVR and Opel GT, “but just as each of them was avant-garde back then, so is this GT Concept today. It’s pure and minimalistic, yet bold and uncompromising.”

Adams believes the car “impressively demonstrates the continuous development of our design philosophy”.

The GT Concept’s rakish looks are backed by a very contemporary mechanical package. The 1.0-litre, all-aluminium 144bhp engine (used in various guises in the Adam, Vauxhall Corsa and Vauxhall Astra) also packs an impressive 151lb ft of torque in the GT’s turbocharged form. Ready for the road, the GT is tipped to weigh less than 1000kg.

A 0-62mph time of less than eight seconds and a 134mph top speed are promised. 

Perhaps the GT Concept’s most striking design features are the large doors, whose side windows integrate seamlessly into the body surface without the need for conventional sills. They are opened via roof-mounted touchpads in the red signature line, which flows on either side from the GT’s eye-catching red front tyres, along the tops of the front wings and over the roof on to the rear, enclosing a see-through roof.

Another unique feature is the GT’s use of integrated headlight/indicator units that develop the technology used for the new Astra’s glare-reducing IntelliLux matrix lighting to its next level.

The large doors have space-saving hinges ingeniously mounted in the front wheel arches that allow the door to open wide, even in tight parking spaces.

Although most observers will see the GT Concept’s use of red front tyres, mounted on ‘rollerskate’ wheels, as an avant-garde feature, they are also a subtle reference to an iconic Opel motorcycle from the 1920s called the Motoclub 500, which had red tyres front and rear.

The wheels are steel, which is lighter and cheaper, and can have clip-on centres to provide different looks. The wheels are 18in, the same as an Astra’s, with relatively modest rubber. But because the car is small and relatively narrow, they look fairly large.

The square steering wheel is intended to imply a quick-rate rack of variable ratio, enabling you to perform most manoeuvres without the need to take your hands off the rim.

Vauxhall-Opel bosses are saying very little about the GT Concept’s prospects for production. Spokesmen say they have “heard of no plan” to build it, but they also say they will “judge reaction” to the car before deciding whether it has any production future.

“This car is something we really have an emotional connection too, not just as a car, but as what we want to do with the brand," said Adams.

At present, the company lacks a suitable front-engined, rear-drive platform on which to base a production GT. But Vauxhall-Opel has a history of putting rule-breaking sports cars into production. It turned the Opel GT from concept to production car in the late 1960s. It also built a Vectra-engined Lotus Elise in the 1990s and called it the Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster. Most recently, it turned the US Pontiac Solstice roadster into a second-generation Opel GT.

Comment - is Vauxhall serious about sports cars?

It’s too easy to conclude that Vauxhall-Opel will never build a front-engined, rear-drive sports car, such as the latest GT Concept,  just because the company doesn’t currently have a suitable platform with a front-mounted engine that drives the rear wheels.

Look through Vauxhall-Opel’s past products and you’ll find several that made production, even though there didn’t seem to be the right supporting infrastructure. The company has displayed a continuing penchant for sports cars and has been extremely resourceful about finding ways to get them built.

The most unlikely of recent times was the transverse mid-engined Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster, which was an expensive - and expansive - reworking of the Lotus Elise produced by Lotus at Hethel. The company decided its image for humdrum car design needed improvement and the VX lasted five years.

Even more recent was Opel’s second-generation GT, a badge-engineered, US-made Pontiac Solstice (itself a last-ditch attempt by Bob Lutz to spice up the Pontiac brand). It was a decent enough car, although Germany’s discerning buyers never really took to it.

Still, my point is that today’s car makers - Vauxhall-Opel high among them - can make unusual cars happen if they’re determined enough; witness Fiat’s deal to produce a 124 Spider that is actually a Mazda MX-5 underneath.

Vauxhall-Opel bosses say they will be “gauging reaction” to the GT at Geneva. Strikes me that unless they had the glimmer of a plan for production, they wouldn’t bother.

Q&A with Mark Adams, Vauxhall-Opel design director

Why did you decide to build a sports car?

“The project’s origins go back to the 50th anniversary event we held at the Rüsselsheim design department. We had an Opel GT on display and we were all struck by how small and simple cars were 50 years ago. We decided to see if we could strike the same kind of simplicity and compactness again while meeting modern needs.”

You say you’ll be judging reaction to it at Geneva. Given you don’t have a front-engined, rear-drive platform, why would you bother?