Showing posts with label Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Opel GT Concept - General Motors European Branch


Opel GT Concept

It's probably been a long time since you heard the car brand name “Opel” and sports car in the same sentence, in fact, if you're young enough, like me, you probably never heard the word sports car describing an Opel period. But the General Motors European branch is trying to change that with a very cool looking Opel GT Concept set to make an appearance at the Geneva International Motor Show Switzerland.


A Small Opel With Big Features
The little two-seat coupe has a lot of big features that prove that Opel is looking to move forward with up-to-date innovations that can attract younger people and compete with the many other compact sports cars in today's auto market.

According to Opel's CEO, Karl-Thomas Neumann, “the concept is no business case, but more of a brand investment.” The idea behind the Opel GT concept is to see the reaction of the consumers and see if something like the GT is something that consumers are really looking to get into.
Although the Opel GT is just a concept and has a long way to go to become a real production car, the '68-'73 Opel GT was also just a concept in 1965, but in just three short years it was in production and making the Opel name popular.

Like many concepts, the Opel GT Concept is built with many innovations that might not make it into production even if the Opel GT sports car does. The first one is the noticeable red front tires and wheels that are designed to look much like a roller skate wheel. You also might notice a set of doors that flow seamlessly into the windows with a silver tint to match the vehicle. It looks pretty cool, but government rules would keep the idea out of production unless some laws are changed.

Another innovation that is pretty cool is if you look closely you will notice that there are no side mirrors. The side mirror's duties are relieved by two cameras mounted on both sides of the rear-wheel arches and then displayed on right and left side monitors inside the vehicle. With that fanciness, you may also notice that there are no door handles. You open the doors by an invisible touch-pad integrated into the red stripe that divides the two-tone paint job. 



The Opel is Fun, Small with Power to Match
The sports car power is supplied by a three-cylinder aluminum engine block with a turbocharger. The power is converted to a six-speed transmission that can be controlled with steering wheel paddle shifters. The combination gives the Opel GT 145-hp, which may not sound like a lot for a sports car, but this car only weighs about 2,200-lbs.

Opel Concept

Along with some other cool perks like duel exhaust that pokes out of
the rear bumper, panorama glass roof, and a patented door design that allows the doors to partially open into the front wheel-well for easier parking in tight areas - this Opel concept might be something we might see making headlines in the near feature – maybe even with Buick emblems on it. If you look closely at the Buick Avista Concept and compare it with the Opel, the cars look very similar, and it wouldn't be the first time that Buick slapped badges on an Opel.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

March Unveiling: 2014 Stingray Corvette Convertible


In January at the North American Auto Show, General Motors stole the show with the introduction of the 2014 Corvette Stingray. It not only made a huge buzz among the public but it also was one of the biggest buzzes of the week amongst the internet, media and the automotive world.

The completely redesigned Corvette will become available for order as soon as this summer. But for the most part the public has been kept in the dark about the convertible. Well, not no more, General Motors has plans of unveiling the new looking convertible at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. The actions for the international unveiling is fitting considering that GM wants to be more of a global brand and not just a national brand.

GM insures that the Corvette will have the same balance of great style, technology and performance as the Stingray coupe does. They also ensure that as long as everything stays on schedule, both the coupe and the convertible will be available at the same time in the summer.