General Motors’ Germany-based Opel division has published an enigmatic teaser image that previews a new concept called GT.
Opel first used the GT name on a coupe that was launched in 1968 and briefly sold in the United States through Buick dealerships. The GT was axed in 1973, but the moniker was dusted off in 2007 for Opel’s version of the Saturn Sky.
The concept won’t share any styling cues with the topless model. Instead, it will be billed as a tribute to the original GT, and its design will be loosely inspired by the Experimental GT concept that the car maker presented at the 1965 edition of the Frankfurt Auto Show. The similarities between the two models will be vague at best, and the coupe won’t feature a full-on retro-styled look like the Volkswagen Beetle and the Fiat 500.
Opel will share more revealing information about the GT in the weeks leading up to the Geneva show. Stay tuned, we’ll be on location to bring you live images of the concept — and the rest of the action in Geneva — straight from the show floor starting on March 1st.
What’s next?
Opel says the GT is merely a design study, but German magazine Auto Bild believes it will spawn a regular-production model before the end of the decade. The production GT will allegedly ride on the same front-wheel drive platform as the new Astra hatchback that was introduced last summer, and it will be offered with three- and four-cylinder engines borrowed from the Opel parts bin. If the rumor is accurate, the next Opel GT could debut in 2018 to celebrate the original model’s 50th anniversary.
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