Opel is billing this as a concept, yet in really it’s a production car preview of the forthcoming Astra GTC. We can’t help but wonder whether the real intent was to divert attention from archrival Focus, which Ford is presenting at the opposite end of the show hall complex. The previous three-door GTC Astra was a great looking car that disguised its height brilliantly for a five-seat coupé and sold well as a result. The good news is that this successor continues the same formula.
The car has a well-resolved DRG. Although it shares the same hood and headlamp as the five-door Astra, the dark lamp cans provide a more piercing expression and the smaller upper grille is less dominant. The eye is drawn down to the broad lower grille, whose top half is filled with a blacked-out bumper beam and the license plate. Together with the blades on the outer corners and LED running lamps set in the side recesses, the overall visage speaks of strength while avoiding the overt aggression of certain cars at the show. Talking to design director Mark Adams, he explained “This represents one bookend of the new Opel front face, while the Insignia – with its big upper grille, is the other”.
Seen up close in side view, one notices the bone line that extends rearwards from the front door into the rear lamp, with a neat curl around the doorhandle. Meanwhile the signature Opel blade line at the front of the door remains as a subtle motif. The rear three-quarter is easily the car’s best angle, with polished surfacing of the rear spoiler into the tailgate pressing and exhausts neatly integrated in the lower diffuser.
In the interior, the driver’s seat emphasizes red, used as a contrast color against black. The seat itself is worthy of note for the interesting calligraphy etched into the suede-like Dinamica fabric in six languages. There’s also a neat detail in the use of new square baseball stitching on seats and doors.
