Design Review: Opel GT

The original 1968 Opel GT was very much a product of its times. It was an extremely compact and lightweight 2-seat sports car with a small engine, no trunk, manual pop-up headlamps, and styling that was reminiscent of the Corvette Stingray introduced just the year before.

In bringing back the Opel GT name with a concept at Geneva 2016, the German brand is clearly making a statement that much of what made the original popular is once again en vogue. Lightweight cars with a focus on efficiency are now a requirement for every manufacturer due to more stringent emissions legislation. Ever-increasing urbanisation around the world also means that tiny 2-seaters are no longer the preserve of Japan and Europe’s dense city centres either, with brands such as Alfa Romeo spearheading their return to the US on the back of the diminutive 4C and Mazda’s newest iteration of the MX-5 a true global success.

Proportions

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1 Extremely short overhangs are accentuated by a classic long-hood coupe shape that immediately screams rear-drive sports car. The exceptionally muscular fenders push far out from the main body section and ensure that the car’s sporting nature is never in doubt.

2 Much like the original GT, the concept features a taller-than-average cabin to create a comfortable interior in an extraordinarily compact package. Unlike the original, Opel has cleverly used colour and materials to hide the upright proportions by painting the upper surface black and the side silver — bisecting the two with a red trim piece that snakes gracefully along the door line and back down into the rear glass.

3 There is no DLO to speak of on the GT Concept, a trend that is becoming more and more common, and the result is a car that appears to be made of two simple speedforms joined together. An effective trick of the eye to move the focal line up to the roofline instead of directly across the shoulder as you’d expect, and arguably a more successful use of the ‘transparent paint’ effect than the Mercedes Concept IAA.

4 The unique, centre-hinged doors are designed to ease ingress and mean there are no front door shutlines to speak of. A single simple sweeping shutline outlines the bottom and back of the door with just a tiny kink near the front wheel that neatly houses the GT badge.

5 The red front tyre and accompanying stripe lighten the front end of the car that might otherwise feel weighed down by the large black clamshell hood and bulging fenders. This is apparently a nod to the brand’s red-tyred 1928 Motoclub 500 motorcycle, which feels like a trick someone in Russelsheim has had up their sleeve for years and finally found a suitable outlet for.

Tech Spec

First seen Geneva/March 2016
Type 2-seat coupé
Weight 998kg
Engine 1-litre, 3-cylinder, turbocharged

GM Europe design VP Mark Adams