Vauxhall and Opel are bringing out the avant-garde GT Concept, which will debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The minimalistic concept is inspired by many motor vehicles, such as the 1966 Vauxhall XVR and 1965 Opel Experimental GT. Apart from that, it’s an evolution of the Opel Monza concept that was first seen in 2013.
The GT Concept appears to be a Mazda MX-5 rival seeing that it weighs less than 1,000 kg and a similar front-mid engine, rear-wheel drive layout. The lightweight GT Concept is designed by British designer Mark Adam and it showcases his philosophy of ‘Sculptural Artistry meets Technical Precision.’ Its name comes from the 1964 GT Concept, produced by the Vauxhall Design and Engineering Centre in Luton.
Exterior design of the GT Concept is described as “pure, minimalistic, yet bold and uncompromising” – like the vehicles that it draws its inspiration from. As for the red strip that streams across the car, the brand says that it’s a signature line that “splits the vehicle body horizontally and proportions it.” The windscreen flows towards the top, acting as a glass panorama roof as well.
Those red Hankook rubbers are wrapped around rims with a ‘roller-skate’ design. It’s a reference to the 1920 Opel Motoclub 500, which had red-coloured tyres too. The long bonnet, central dual exhausts and lack of a boot lid is shared with both the Vauxhall XVR and the Opel Experimental GT Concept’s design. To add to that, the exterior has some pretty smart features as well.
These include integrated headlamps and indicators that’s based on Vauxhall/Opel’s IntelliLux LED matrix lighting. Utilising “ultra-modern” projection tech, the headlamps have a 3D beam that provides for glare-free high beam driving. Down the back, the rear lamps are in a three-dimensional design, the company says. As for the doors, they’re electric, with integrated windows that appears as a “seamless transition from glass to painted surfaces.”
The doors are opened by pressing a touchpad integrated into the red line on the roof. Employing patented mountings, they open into the front arches and allows for wide opening angles in tight parking spaces. There are no exterior mirrors too, as two cameras behind the wheel arches are in their places. Said to allow for better visibility during urban drives, images are transmitted to two monitors on the left and right sides of the cabin.
As for power, the GT Concept features a front-mid engine configuration to keep the centre of gravity low. Underneath the hood is an all-aluminium turbocharged 1.0 litre three cylinder engine that makes 145 PS and 205 Nm of torque. A six-speed sequential transmission operable via paddle shifters, sends power to the rear wheels. It will sprint from 0-100 km less than eight seconds and it has a top speed of 215 km/h.
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They should build it…