Opel GT Concept: The German Mini-Corvette Returns

Opel’s tease for its GT sports car concept has come to a close. The small coupe has been shorn of all mystery, ahead of its debut at the 2016 Geneva auto show. Yet, as one door closes, another one opens: We absolutely want this car to be built. It’s lightweight, turbocharged, and looks phenomenal. Not merely rear-wheel drive, it’s a proper sports car, a two-seater that appears poised to chase Mazda’s MX-5 Miata and the BRZ/FR-S twins from Subaru and Scion.

The GT trades on a name first applied to an Opel sports car sold from 1968 to 1973; it subsequently hibernated until 2007, when it was applied to a rebadged Saturn Sky (itself based on the Pontiac Solstice) before dying again in 2010 when Saturn and Pontiac began to unravel. The original GT is the true classic, however, with a flowing, mini-Corvette body perched atop dainty, 13-inch wheels. It was extremely lightweight, featured 1.1- and 1.9-liter four-cylinder engines making no more than 102 horsepower, and despite its small exterior dimensions was surprisingly spacious inside. Opel says the new GT borrows only that car’s name, basic format, and lack of a proper trunk.

Clever Apertures

However, like the original, the new GT features a stunningly long hood, a body wrapped tightly around the wheel openings, and a vaguely bubble-like passenger compartment. That bulging greenhouse is no accident, as it appears Opel paid as close attention to carving out usable interior space in the latest GT as it did for the 1968 model. Even more interestingly, the doors feature a novel hinge design that allows for easy ingress and egress in tight parking spots; hinged near the middle, instead of at the leading edge, the fronts of the doors swing into the body, disappearing under the hood to reduce the open doors’ effective length. Coupes tend to have long doors, and for anyone who’s ever wiggled out of a Camaro or a Mustang in a narrow parking space, the GT’s apertures will seem ingenious.

Although the GT looks cool overall, the vibrant red line running from behind the front wheel to the A-pillar, up and over the cabin, and down into the rear window is certainly unique. Ditto the bright-red front tires, which Opel says are a nod to its 1928 Motoclub 500 motorcycle’s similarly red rubber. Chalk up the red bits—and the two-tone paint job, the touch-pad-operated door releases, and the video screens in place of door mirrors—to concept-car showmanship. The rest of the coupe is lithe and muscular, avoiding a dainty appearance despite its small size. Hidden headlights are now dated, so instead of the ’68 GT’s hand-cranked pop-up peepers, the new concept wears fixed headlights placed low on the front bumper. The tail is clean and interrupted only by simple trapezoidal taillights and dual central exhaust outlets. Opel kept the GT’s interior simple, with the same gray, black, and red color scheme as the exterior.

© ALEXANDER STOKLOSA Opel GT Concept: The German Mini-Corvette ReturnsLight Makes Right

The GT’s true worth, however, exists beneath its gorgeous skin. Engineering work has kept the curb weight under 2200 pounds—Mazda’s MX-5 Miata weighs around 2300 pounds—and a turbocharged engine powers the rear wheels. The three-cylinder turbo is borrowed from the Opel Adam minicar. The 1.0-liter triple sends 145 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque through a paddle-shifted sequential gearbox to the rear axle’s mechanically locking limited-slip differential.

Performance, while strong compared to the original GT, is humble by today’s standards. The trip to 60 mph is claimed to take less than eight seconds, while Opel says the concept car’s top speed is 134 mph. These figures put the GT in line with other small sports cars designed more for the joy of driving than face-melting performance.

Will the GT be built, and if so, will it come to the States? The first GT was green-lighted for production after the concept car previewing it proved a sensation—and it eventually was sold in the U.S. through, of all places, Buick dealers. Today, Buick and Opel enjoy an even stronger bond within the General Motors family, what with half of Buick’s lineup being rebadged Opels. Even so, we doubt the GT would arrive stateside wearing either Opel or Buick logos; instead, given that the 2007 Opel GT was a rebadged Saturn/Pontiac, perhaps we could see this new GT as a mini-Vette for Chevrolet. Whatever the case, Opel must first decide to put this GT into production. It has our vote.

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Six Cars We're Glad Made a Comeback

Six Cars We're Glad Made a Comeback

The originals may have been discontinued, but these revivals of famous names capture the magic of the previous models, picking up where they left off and adding some modern flair. We're grateful these icons weren't left to the history  books.

Ford GT

One of the most anticipated cars of this year is the 2017 Ford GT. It's said to cost $400,000—by no means a humble price. But when you consider the GT's historical ties, and what an utter beast the previous generation 2005 Ford GT was, the cost suddenly starts to make a little more sense. The GT will be powered by a twin-turbo V6, and it's a rather nasty-sounding one at that. In a good way. And like the original GT40, the only reason this one exists is so it can go racing. That's the most exciting part.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

The GT350 was the winner of our 2016 Performance Car of the Year, with an exotic flat-plane crank V8 as its heart and soul. Dead since 1970, we called the GT350 "more Stuttgart than Detroit." The engine is a 5.2-liter, 526-hp monster that revs high enough for heaven to answer. The original GT350 name was a title for a car that could annihilate the competition at a fraction of the price. The new GT350 does just that, which means we have the makings of yet another collector car.

Chevrolet Camaro

Tightened up and smoothed over from the previous generation, the Camaro is worth mentioning because the previous generation broke an eight-year Camaro hiatus from our roads. The Mustang/Camaro fight is a tale as old as time, and with this new and lightened generation of Camaro, the competition is bound to get stiffer.

Fiat 500 Abarth

Abarth has been Fiat's tuner since the 1950s and 1960s. It's now a fully owned part of Fiat, and the current 500 Abarth was launched in 2012. It has a punchy, turbocharged four-cylinder engine and is a hoot to drive. The Fiat 500 Abarth is a modern interpretation of the 1970 Fiat Abarth 695 SS, which had performance-modified suspension, brakes, and components. Because there's always room for a little car with a big personality.

Nissan 370Z

The Nissan 350Z and the 370Z are meant to channel the Datsun 240Z from the 1970s. The Datsun sported all the technical goodies that the expensive cars in its day did, but at a fraction of the cost. It was known as a "personal GT car" because it wasn't really a sports car. We're grateful that it exists, because Nissan needed a rear-drive, two-door sports car, especially one that fulfills an evolution of the vision that started with the Datsun 240 so many years ago.

Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle is among the most iconic cars ever made. It's starred in movies and advertising campaigns alike, and has a solid fanbase that turns them into sleepers  on occasion. VW stopped shipping Beetles to the U.S in 1979 amid declining sales, but the Bugs came back in 1997, with familiar lines and shapes, and spawned a number of crazy variants, including this Beetle Dune. Though it may be too expensive to be the new "people's car," that lighthearted spirit of the Beetle from the flower power generation lives on today.

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Hot Cars on a Budget: The 2016 Detroit Auto Show Under $35,000

Flashy concepts may never reach production and newly unveiled luxury cars are out of reach for many, but the 2016 Detroit Auto Show featured plenty of budget-friendly debuts. And it's no snooze-fest—some of the most significant and fascinating reveals in Detroit happened for vehicles carrying prices below about $35,000, which is just a tad above the average price paid for a new car in the U.S. So after you're done ogling the Lexus LC 500 or reading up on the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew, take a look at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show's hot cars on a budget.

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Three Most Expensive Cars Men Lust After

1. Maserati GranTurismo S

The beautiful Maserati GranTurismo coupe was launched in 2007, and in 2010 they made an even more attractive (and more expensive) version – a cabriolet. They announced they would stop making it in 2014. Maserati GranTurismo S was introduced in 2008. This beast has a 4.7-liter V8 and 434 horsepower, reaches 62 mph in 4.9 seconds. Its top speed is 183 mph, which is more than great for a vehicle that weighs 1.8 tonnes. It is one of those things that can’t be described with words, so take a look at the photo, or even better – schedule a test ride if you can. It can be yours for roughly $150,000.

2. Porsche 918 Spyder

This hybrid has a 135 kg 4.6-liter V-8 engine, and 2 electric motors. It develops 887 horsepower (608 coming from the engine and 279 coming from the two electric motors). The Spyder is capable of developing 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds. The battery power lasts about 12 miles. Another innovation was brought in: 4 wheel steering. The starting price is roughly $848,000, and it’s a limited edition. What else do you get for that money? Well, take a look at the photo.

3. Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 – The Blue Devil

This amazing coupe comes with a 6.2-liter V-8 engine, supercharger, the strenght of 638 horsepower at 6500 RPM, top speed of 205 mph, and magnetic selective ride control with 2 modes: sport and tour. This car is fairly lightweight (1.5 tonnes). It does look like a sports car, but at the same time it is elegant and classy. If you want it, you can get it for $112,000 – $130,000.

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Lamborghini Insecta Concept car silver

Lamborghini Insecta Concept car silver

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Day 9: Chrysler

Chrysler

The Chrysler (FIATY.PK) 300 isn’t exactly a slouch, per se, but once SRT gets its hands on it, it becomes a whole different animal. Power leaps from 363 horsepower (with the optional V8) to 470 (with matching 470 pound-feet of torque), as the base 5.7 liter V8 is supplanted with the 6.4 liter eight-cylinder, which helps propel the sedan to 60 in the “high” 4 seconds range. Speed tops out at a lofty 175 miles per hour, and new brakes have been outfitted all around to help bring the car back down to reasonable speeds.

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Day 8: Chevrolet

In unveiling the new Corvette Z06, Chevrolet (NYSE:GM) has unleashed its most powerful vehicle ever. In time for the 2015 model year, the new Corvette variant comes with a heavily supercharged LT4 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 650 horsepower (and a matching figure for torque). The Z06 is even more powerful than the ZR1 Corvette, General Motors’ previous record holder for most powerful vehicle, at 638 horsepower. The Z06 finds its extra strength in stronger cylinder heads, aluminum pistons and a 1.7 liter supercharger; given the ZR1 could reach 60 in 3.4 seconds and hits a top speed of 205 miles per hour, expect the new Z06 to best that.

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