Opel GT revealed

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Source: 4car

opel-gt.jpg


GM's European division Opel has revealed the successor to the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220, the simply-named Opel GT.

The GT will be built in Wilmington, Delaware, alongside its US-market sister models, the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, which are already in production. The three very closely-related cars share most technical details, bar superficial trimmings, but the GT has been specifically tuned at GM's facility in Russelsheim, Germany with European roads and driving styles in mind.

The rear-wheel drive GT features a 264bhp/260lb-ft turbocharged, direct-injection 2.0-litre Ecotec engine and five-speed manual transmission and will do 143mph and 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds. It will come with 18" alloys, ESP, traction control and ABS as standard, plus a manually-operated fabric hood, twin front airbags, a CD player, electric windows and mirrors, a heated rear glass window, cruise control, air conditioning, remote central locking and front fog lamps. Leather upholstery is optional.

Prices start from €30,675; the GT will be left-hand drive only, but Vauxhall dealers in the UK will be able to import cars to special order.
 
I think you guys will be pleased with the car, they have been a resounding success here in the United States. For the most part they succeed in being great alternatives to the MX-5, and since you are getting the Turbocharged version only, don't be surprised to see the car compared against the Z4 and 350Z. I'm eager to see Top Gear test the car, assuming that they do of course.

...Although, are they doing to sell the model there with the 5-speed automatic? I have heard a lot of people say that the turbocharged engine is better compromised with the torque converter, but most people know that the stick is the better option. My only complaint on the car is the pitiful trunk space (5 cubic feet or less), but when you're driving a sports car, what do you need a trunk for?
 
I doubt there will be many of these sold in the UK, why can't GM offer sportscars in both lhd and rhd. They killed the Corvettes chances of making a big impact in the UK because of it and the same thing will probably kill this cars chances. We're not short of a few light weight sportscars in the UK, and we've got some pretty damn good ones too. I can see it doing well in Europe, but not in the UK.

As for my opinion of the car, I don't know much about it but it looks okay. Pity they didn't go with the VX Lightening, but we knew they wer'nt going to years ago. I know the Solstice and Sky have been pretty bi successe and have been given good writeups and also it's replacing the Speedster wich was a big success over here, so in that regard I don't see why this car won't do well in Europe.
 
I'm going to disagree with YSSMAN. The Solstice and Sky are totally unengaging cars planting a firm hold of the bottom half of the market supplying dentists and people who don't care that their sports car barely feels like one. There is a reason why there is a total lack of these things at any sort of performance-oriented event. And I'm not talking some factory-sponsored car series.

I'd be surprised if the Opel GT sells half as much as the Speedster/VX. Any smart European will take a look at the reviews the Sky's been getting over here and put their money in something with farmore feedback and soul.

edit - man, those words came out pretty harsh, but I was just trying to say that there are far better cars available.
 
you say that only because your precious Exiges are challenged to fight for their supremacy when it comes to light, nimble cars.
 
These cars won't have the weight to compete with the Exige. The car has been out here awhile, so I personally would call this more of an event than real news, but you Europeans will think other wise. It does look nice, and it seems to look like a Speedster successor. If I knew nothing about it, I could probably say it was a "speedster."
 
Leonidae
you say that only because your precious Exiges are challenged to fight for their supremacy when it comes to light, nimble cars.
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Yeah it's true, all the Lotus fans here are crying because Lotus are no longer
arse raping GM by producing cars that GM can't sell and still getting paid for it.

I think I might have to go eat cookie dough with exigeracer.
 
exigeracer
edit - man, those words came out pretty harsh, but I was just trying to say that there are far better cars available.
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I did make the point that they are interesting alternatives to the Mazda MX-5, but does not necessarily make them an outright replacement for the car altogether. Performance wise they are on-par with the MX-5 in stock form, however the engine is just a titch too-coarse to be worth much. Handling wise the car is firmly planted, and is plenty of fun to drive, but as noted they are a bit heavier and larger overall to the MX-5, so that is a take-your-pick moment.

...The GXP and RedLine versions of the respective Kappa models (ie Opel GT) are cheaply-priced, high-performance convertibles that perform well for the money. Given that they came from GM without any outside help, you have to give them some kind of respect for that, as the cars were very un-GM up until recently. It is the turbocharged variants that get most of the positive press, however the basic models are where the money is at.
 
1) This is not really news, the Opel GT was mentioned months ago.

2) I dunno how much of a success the GT will be. The VX Lightning from Vauxhall (which the Solstice I think is based on) was alot better looking.
 
The Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 never sold well in the first place - i can't see this selling any better, especially in the UK where there are so many better alternatives all available with the steering wheel on the correct side.
 
I think the role of Opel speedster becomes an alternative choice of MX-5 instead of Elise. MR platform is more desirable in my opinion. However I am not saying Solstice or Sky are bad cars.
 

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