etherealtemptat: Opel previews production Astra GTC ahead of Frankfurt debut

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Opel previews production Astra GTC ahead of Frankfurt debut

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Europe, Hatchback, Opel, Vauxhall

2012 Opel Astra GTC - Click above for high-res renderings

A staple product of General Motors' overseas subsidiaries, the Opel Astra has been a long time in the making. The five-door hatchback was revealed back in 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which was then followed by the GTC show car that previewed the three-door version in concept form (along with the production Sport Tourer wagon variant) a year later at the Paris Motor Show. Another year after that, Opel will unveil the production three-door GTC in Frankfurt this coming September. The final product is still undergoing development, but while GM's German division irons out the kinks, they've released these preliminary images showing us what to expect from the production version.

Although still months away from its public debut, the order books for the Astra GTC will officially open on June 7, when full details will be revealed. The Astra range, you'll recall, is also offered a Vauxhall in the UK, as the Buick Excelle XT in China, and as a Chevrolet in Latin America. But while Saturn had a version of the more angular previous-generation model, now that the brand is shut, we'll likely have to do without. That's a shame, because we recently saw a five-door model out on the road while overseas and were struck by its fluid design. So we'll just have to do with admiring from afar. Follow the jump for the brief press release, and scope out the pair of images in the gallery below.

Gallery: 2012 Opel Astra GTC