As the boss of Opel/Vauxhall, Karl-Thomas Neumann announced, new GT sports car may appear on the market soon.
He said that the concept would reach the production line someday:”We really want to build this. It’s a question of approach: we are studying different roads we could walk along. We have to spend our money wisely on the things that we need to drive the business. We would love to do it and it would help the brand a lot.”
The GT concept was revealed first time at Geneva Motor Show and Neumann also added that he carefully planned how to execute this. He said:”We shouldn’t wait for another two years to decide this. But I am also not in the biggest rush. Rather than push it I will take my time.”
The platform is the biggest obstacle for the production car because nothing in the range fits the front-engine of the vehicle. This is what Neumann has to say about the platform:”For the platform, we can always take parts and pieces. But it’s all a matter of cost. If you do a lot of engineering work on the platform, then you can’t do it. You have to grab something from the shelf – but we don’t have something there now.”
A more powerful version of the current 1.0-liter unit has found its way to the GT concept.
The designer of the car Mark Adams said at Geneva Auto Show:” We’re investigating what would need to be done to put this into production. We’re enthusiastic about it and want to find a way, but we’ve not made a decision yet. All of the tech on this car is in the development window. There’s no question for me that these things are coming to production cars.”
Moreover, according to Adams they wanted to construct a car available for everyone. He said:”Having a simple mechanical layout was key for us. It’s about fun for everyone, not just those who can afford an exotic supercar.”
The grille of the car is wide. Furthermore, the LED headlights are installed in the front. Although the car is short, the hood is long and there are some sharp creases for the intended design. An interesting detail is that the red color of the front tires. There is also a red line from the front wings to the rear end.
New technology
The system called “Human Machine Interface” (HMI) is located inside the car. You can use your voice or a central touchpad to control it since it has no buttons. HMI get used to the driver and the more it gets to know him the better. According to Vauxhall, it could choose music or switch temperature on its own, once it recognizes driver’s habits and needs.
The GT concept has projection surfaces and information can be presented to drivers in 3D and different colors. For example, if the driver has to go to some location fast, it will display navigation without numerical values.
Cutting-edge details
First of all the shut lines have been minimized. Secondly, two cameras located behind the wheels replace the wing mirrors and you can see what is behind you on a pair of monitors inside the cabin.
Vauxhall MD Rory Harvey stated:” The GT Concept shows what Vauxhall and Opel stand for now – ambitious and confident brands that are not frightened to innovate.”
The engine
The engine is a 1.0-liter V3 turbo, rated at 143bhp and it develops 205Nm of torque. The car is has a rear-wheel drive and the transmission is a six-speed automatic. The top speed of the car is 134mph and it takes it less than eight seconds to complete 0-62mph run.
Take a look at this brief interview between AutoExpress and chief designer Mark Adams:
Q: What does the GT Concept mean for Vauxhall?
A: “For a long time we’ve focused on our core portfolio. This project allowed us to expand on what Vauxhall could be going forward. We are not looking in the rear-view mirror. We want to be progressive.”
Q: What is different about the GT from what’s gone before it?
A: “We wanted to try things that even we didn’t think were possible. We didn’t want to create all the usual interfaces. We also wanted to simplify the number of cut lines.”
Q: What about the interior?
A: “We wanted to reduce everything to the minimum. The interior harks back to our cars from the sixties. Recently, things have become more bulky, but here we wanted to go back to the fundamentals of light weight and simplicity.”
Q: How will the GT influence cars such as the next Insignia?
A: “The GT’s a projection of where our brand is going over the next seven to eight years. This previews other models in our portfolio – but if I told you what they were, then I’d have to kill you!”
