We’ve been done the “will they, won’t they” road one too many times, haven’t we, with the most recent example being Opel’s GT.
The concept that was displayed in Geneva was perceived as a study for a future compact coupe. Then they said it was just an exercise and no such car is on the cars.
Perhaps they were only trying to gauge public interest. Or, maybe, with its confidence boosted by the Astra, which was crowned 2016 Car of the Year, Opel could green light the project into production.
There is a catch, however, as General Motors. Opel’s parent company, hasn’t got a suitable and ready rear-wheel drive platform to use on the new GT, but “there are possibilities“, as the Opel boss, Karl Thomas Neumann, told Autocar.
Quoting sources within the company, the British magazine claims that the Mokka subcompact SUV might actually serve as a for tproduction Concept GT, as its suspension and real differential could be adapted for such a car.
Another problem encountered by engineers is finding a suitable compact transmission, which will send power from the inline-mounted engine to the rear differential borrowed from the Mokka.
Even if Opel will overcome these issues, a production version of the GT Concept is still not confirmed, as the report states that a decision in this direction has yet to be taken, even if work on the project is continuing.
The last time Opel gave us a GT was 2006, as the car remained in production until 2009. It was also sold as a Saturn Sky, in the USA and Canada, and as a GM Daewoo G2X in South Korea, using the same front engine and rear-wheel drive layout and the GM Kappa platform, shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. The only engine offered was a 2.0-liter four-pot Ecotec, with 260 HP (264 PS).
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