- Opel GTC Paris concept will make its world debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.
- Five-passenger concept is said to be inspired by the 1970 novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull and its quote: "and the speed was pure beauty."
- The Opel gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder.
RUSSELSHEIM, Germany — The Opel GTC Paris concept, said to be inspired by the 1970 novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull, will make its world debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.
The five-passenger concept is fitted with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and linked to a six-speed manual transmission. Opel did not provide any technical specifications on the concept. Details include an integrated spoiler, front electronic limited-slip differential and 21-inch wheels.
The three-door compact is described as "an emotional tribute to performance," according to a statement by Opel. It said that "inspiration for the concept was partly derived from a quote from Richard Bach's famous novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull: "and the speed was pure beauty."
The novel is the story of a seagull who is bored by daily fights over food with other seagulls. It was later made into a film. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the book was "banal" and said, "The Little Engine That Could is, by comparison, a work of some depth and ambition" in his movie review.
No word from Opel on whether the GTC Paris is bound for production. It said in a statement that the "GTC Paris is conceived to be the obtainable dream car."
Inside Line says: The literary twist is intriguing, but the Opel book club might want to step up its game a bit. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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sprocketboy says:
07:01 AM, 10/01/2010
Opel should build this if it wants to stop the Astra from always being the also-ran in Germany against the Volkswagen Golf. Terrific style here but nobody in the States would buy it.
shouldermonkey says:
08:18 PM, 09/16/2010
Just call it the next Cobalt and get rid of the current stale version.
mbukukanyau says:
12:43 PM, 09/09/2010
Buick can use this one. As you can see, it already has the sweepspear theme built in. Something Ed Welburn probably saw to
pure_hp says:
11:42 AM, 09/09/2010
I for one like it and also agree that I have NO IDEA where it would fit in GM's lineup. Wish they never killed off the Pontiac brand as this is a dead-ringer for it. Saturn Astra? Resembles it..........and I'd almost put $$ that if Saturn or Pontiac were around still, the styling would, unfortunately, be tuned down.
Nice sweeping curves and a 2.0T under the hood?? Real nice!!!!
zoomzoomn says:
05:03 AM, 09/09/2010
Ahhh, another future Saturn that we'll never see. Hey, maybe they can bring it over as a Buick Skyhawk! ;)
05stangdriver says:
01:42 AM, 09/09/2010
There's no way this car comes to America. Now that they've killed Pontiac and Saturn, what division could GM put it in? I seriously doubt that they'd EVER do a 3 door Buick hatchback, ms_3. Turning it into a Cadillac would ruin the styling, it sure ain't no GMC truck, so that leaves badging it as a Chevrolet. Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen!
Yet another interesting sporty compact car that we won't get because us 'Murrikins don't want no gol-danged hatchback-a-ma-thingies here!
Sigh...
ms_3 says:
10:06 PM, 09/08/2010
Looks like the Opel Astra and Heidi Klum just had a kid, and its freakin amazing. Buick, please, please, puhlease do it.
p00pman says:
07:28 PM, 09/08/2010
i'll take a saturn version, please