Could Opel’s baby Corvette return after a 45-year hiatus?

By Ronan Glon December 21, 2015

Opel Monza concept front three quarter — Image used with permission by copyright holder

General Motors’ Germany-based Opel division will revive the historic GT nameplate, a new report finds.

The coupe will pay homage to the original GT that was billed as a baby Corvette when it was presented in 1968, not to the second-generation GT that was sold on our shores as the Saturn Sky. Built on the same platform as the new Astra hatchback, it will wear a striking design inspired by the Monza concept (pictured) that will incorporate a handful of unmistakably retro styling cues such as short overhangs on both ends and muscular haunches. However, the 1968 GT’s lever-actuated flip-up headlights won’t be brought out of the history books.

The coupe will stretch about 172 inches long, meaning its footprint will be similar to the Astra’s and a couple of inches longer than the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S’. It will replace the slow-selling two-door Astra GTC, and it will fight head-to-head against the Volkswagen Scirocco.

Opel will offer the GT with gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines that will spin the front wheels. A six-cylinder won’t be part of the lineup for efficiency reasons, but a range-topping, OPC-badged model powered by high-performance turbocharged four-banger tuned to deliver about 300 horsepower will be introduced a little later in the coupe’s production run.

If Auto Bild‘s sources are correct, the Opel GT will be previewed by a close-to-production concept at next March’s Geneva Motor Show, and the production model will be presented at the 2018 edition of the event to commemorate nameplate’s 50th anniversary. The original GT was sold in the United States through Buick dealerships, and it’s not too far-fetched to speculate General Motors will leverage the benefits of economies of scale by selling the 2018 version of the car on our side of the pond with either a Buick or a Chevrolet emblem on the grille.

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Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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