The first official video commercial for the upcoming Opel Astra GTC has emerged on the internet. The 30-seconds long clip surely conveys the kind of aggressive and sporty attitude that the new model, labeled as the ‘Man’s New Baby’ during the footage, will surely account as one of its strong points.

The new Astra GTC will offer two supercharged petrol options: a 1.4-litre (in power steps of 120 and 140 hp) and 1.6-litre producing 180 hp with 230 Nm of torque between 2,200 and 5,400 rpm, with a top speed of 220 km/h. As for the diesel line-up, there will be a 1.7 CDTi (also in two power steps: 110 and 130 hp) and a more performing 2.0 CDTi delivering 165 hp and with an exceptionally strong 35 0Nm of torque from just 1,750 rpm. All engines will be mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, although there will soon be a 6-speed automatic option for both the 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol and 2.0-litre CDTI engines.

As the above video suggests, the new model will debut on the German market the next January, the 14th.

via | Autoevolution

View the full Opel Astra GTC photo gallery

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German tuner Steinmetz presented at the Essen Motor Show its own interpretation of the new Opel Astra GTC. The model uses a specific body-kit featuring a re-designed front grille, lip spoiler and rear wing, a new exhaust system and 19″ alloys fitted with 245/40 tyres and a ride height lowered by 30 mm.

The tuning is completed by a number of subtle details such as chrome finishing on door handles and wing-mirror shells. As for the interior, the most remarkable features are a Steinmetz electronic speed indicator, floor mats with the tuner’s logo, polished stainless-steel sill plates and a bumper protection for the trunk.

View the full Opel Astra GTC Steinmetz Salone di Essen photo gallery

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Opel has revealed more technical details regarding its Astra GTC model recently released. The GTC has got a new chassis job from the guys at the Vauxhall Engineering Centre in Millbrook. The team focused on providing the most dynamic car in its class, even for demanding drivers. Hence, the steering has been updated and the suspension fine-tuned to provide a sportier drive compared to the standard five-door Astra, but one which is also comfortable.

Most of the work has been carried out on the front suspension, which now equips a HiPerStrut setup based on the Opel Insignia OPC model, The HiPerStrut uses the same original mounting points provided by the Astra, but has a reduced angle and shorter setup than the MacPherson models. The benefits include preventing too much torque steering - often a problem on powerful, front-wheel drive cars - and exploiting the GTC performance to its full potential.

In addition the new Astra GTC front suspension reduces camber variation on the front wheels, providing more precise steering and better control when cornering. The new suspension geometry also allows for bigger tyres where the Astra GTC can now fit 20-inch units.

Continue reading: New Opel Astra GTC details

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The fact that the new Opel Astra GTC doesn’t share much design with the five-door Astra is enough to indicate that it’s aimed at an entirely different market, but this video really drives that message home. From family hatch to sexy coupé, the GTC is more dynamic, wider and longer, and has plenty of style to keep Opel fans in the game with the likes of the Volkswagen Scirocco and the Renault Megane coupe.

Set to be a cool lifestyle car for young people enjoying themselves (or so we’re lead to believe from the video), the Astra GTC will be officially unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The GTC will first be launched with five engine options: the 1.4-litre turbo with either 120 or 140 hp, the 1.6 turbo with 180 hp and the 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 165 hp and 380 Nm of torque. All in preparation for when we will see the rather less nice Opel Astra OPC. We’re thinking a different video will be made on that occasion.

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The new Opel Astra GTC, or Vauxhall Astra GTC, has been revealed in these official pics before its public unveiling at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The sporty little coupé has got some very sculpted lines from the Paris Concept seen last year and shares not one body panel with the five-door hatch. Opel has big plans for the model on the European car market, expecting that it will make up to 20 percent of total Astra sales.

The Astra GTC is an aggressive and rakish-looking vehicle with a lower and wider stance than the standard hatchback. It has been lowered by 15mm and is wider by another 10mm, and the 18 to 20-inch wheels on offer accentuate its purposeful looks. Despite this sports style, Opel wants to the coupé to keep some of those space-friendly features from the hatchback, with room for five occupants, a boot size that starts at 370 litres and a redesigned interior with extra room for storing objects.

On the technical front, the Opel Astra GTC borrows the Hiperstrut (high performance strut) suspension from the Insignia OPC and comes with the FlexRide settings of Standard, Tour and Sport. Three petrol engines and a diesel will be available from launch date, although we can expect addition engines to be announced at the 2011 IAA. The Astra OPC won’t appear until sometime in 2012. The engine range is as follows:

Continue reading: Opel Astra GTC unveiled

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Official pics of the Opel Astra GTC being taken have allowed for spy shots to leak to the internet, published by the French site Autoplus. The three-door Astra is based on the Paris GTC Concept from last year’s show in that city, and is hotly anticipated as a sporty new model from Opel.

The Astra GTC should measure 4.46 metres when it hits the market, which is 17cm more than the current model. Engine options should include 1.4 and 1.6 Turbo units, and a 2.0 CDTI. The performance Astra OPC version will probably get a 2.0-litre turbo engine with about 290 hp which should appear in 2012.

The Opel Astra GTC should complete the Astra range along with a cabriolet. We saw a rendering of the Astra Cabriolet recently and this model should appear in 2013. Not early enough for us to provide some competition to the relaunched Golf Cabriolet but we’ll be keen to see it when it does get here.

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The Opel Astra GTC will be officially released on June 7th before going on display at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show later this year. These two Astra GTC preview pics show that the model is closely based on the GTC Paris prototype that was unveiled at the Paris motor show last year.

From what we can see in the images, not a lot has changed from the GTC Paris Concept and the rear end has kept its Scirocco-like looks. The Astra GTC will be available for pre-orders in June before we actually get to see it in Frankfurt.

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The Vauxhall Astra VXR (or Opel Astra OPC), shows more than just shades of the sexy hatch-coupé Opel GTC concept we saw at the Paris show last year. Autocar has got its hands on some details, including these two rendered images, and is saying that the new model should be competing with the Renault Sport Megane 250.

The new Astra OPC will get a boost in power, up 50 hp to nearly 300 hp. Some local UK development work has also been carried out to give it a new track chassis. This is designed to keep in step with the Megane 250 and the upcoming Ford Focus ST. The design is clearly as close as Opel wanted to get to its Paris concept, and the renderings are said to be an accurate rendition of the model, possibly produced for promotional material.

In fact, if these pics are to be believed, the Astra OPC is very faithful to the Paris concept, although we had originally expected Opel to go less radical. While it’s clearly an Opel design, some of the more exaggerated features look like they will be included: the door handle creases running to the rear, and the sculpted hatch part for example. The kind of curvy style of the Opel Astra GTC has been achieved through advances in technology that have managed to produce a design that would have otherwise been impossible.

Continue reading: Opel Astra OPC images leaked

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Opel-Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly has confirmed that the Opel Calibra will be back as an Insignia-based coupé model. He says it will be inspired by the 2007 GTC Concept although there was no word on this year’s Opel GTC Concept. It was more of a hatch model which could remain in concept phase apart from a few elements borrowed to kit out the new Opel Astra GTC.

The original Calibra was killed off in 1997 and while Reilly hasn’t revealed any concrete production plans, it looks like the new Calibra will be the spiritual heir to the previous model. Mostly turbocharged engines will probably be used although a VXR version could build on the 320 hp of the original 2.8-litre V6 turbo.

The top-of-the-range future Calibra could have four-wheel-drive like its predecessor, although we’re hoping that if Opel doesn’t go overboard with this, we could have a fantastic Opel coupé in the line-up. Reilly says the new, direct-injection petrol engine range offers a mix of economy and power, meaning that optional extras could flesh out the model for more hard core users while others get accessible engine options.

Opel Calibra vintage pics

Continue reading: Opel Calibra back as Insignia coupe model

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Lucky UK customers of the new Opel Astra VXR will get some Lotus fine-tuning work done on the model as it will probably become the Astra GTC in the future. The high-performance version of between 280 and 300 hp is said to have some input from Lotus to improve the chassis components.

While the Astra GTC model has mostly been developed in Germany, it’s not the first time Lotus has lent a hand to the company, having worked on the previous VXR as well. The work has been conducted on a strictly consultative basis and no official confirmation is likely to be made.

The previous Astra VXR had an electronic limited-slip differential system, but this time the company is apparently working on a mechanical version, which is the part where Lotus comes in. The latter’s role would be to reduce torque steer and fine-tune the new mechanical operation. The new Opel Astra GTC could get the same Hyperstrut suspension of the Insignia VXR and will probably arrive late next year.

Source | Autocar

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The Opel GTC Paris Concept shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show is just the first in a couple of big models from Opel that went on display at the event. The GTC Concept, as already discussed at length, is the precursor to what we’ll see when the new Astra GTC sports model is revealed. The concept is perhaps more interesting from a design point of view than anything else, but it currently has a 2.0 turbo engine with 290 hp, direct injection, start&stop system and a six-speed manual gearbox.

It appeared alongside the new Astra Sports Tourer, which should prove to continue the success of this model for the company. Unlike the Volkswagen Passat, which comes across as anonymous and perhaps on the verge of falling behind the times, the Sports Tourer has managed to keep the pace with updated design. Opel likes to focus on the fancy FlexFold seats as a key feature, but really this is one overall practical model with a boot that ranges from 500 to 1,550 litres of capacity and the FlexRide adaptative chassis system.

The Astra Sports Tourer will be available from 2011 with start&stop system and the 1.3-litre CDTI ecoFlex engine option (more on that after the jump) will also appear in the future. The engine range otherwise includes the 1.4 turbo with 120 hp and 140 hp and a number of diesel options from the 1.3 CDTI, to the 1.7 CDTI with 110 or 125 hp and the 2.0 CDTI with 160 hp. The more powerful petrol and diesel engines are available with automatic transmission.

Continue reading: Opel GTC Paris Concept, Astra Sports Tourer and ecoFlex models pics and details

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The Opel GTC Paris Concept was the first cab off the rank at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. This gallery shows the Astra GTC prototype in all its red, shiny glory, and demonstrates the talent of designer Mark Adams. He has slowly been modernising the brand and this sexy sports concept shows the new dynamic design that Opel has been adopting.

Alongside the GTC Paris Concept is the Opel Astra Sports Tourer which could prove to be a remarkably successful model for the company. Photos of it were released a few months ago but this is the first world debut of the Sports Tourer and seeing it live shows just what a tough competitor in its segment it might prove. The Astra Sports Tourer has a FlexRide chassis and will provide start&stop technology and the 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX engine from 2011. Of all the banal things that most catches our attention though are the cool and practical FlexFold seats - what more could we want from a station wagon?

The GTC Paris Concept has been described by Mark Adams as the most exciting Opel ever. A phrase from Jonathan Livingston Seagull has been embroidered into the seats: “and the speed was pure beauty”. Some elements of the car will clearly stay in the prototype phase (like the enormous 21-inch wheels) but overall this concept represents most of what we’ll see on the Astra GTC. It is 4.46 metres long and has a 2.0-litre turbo engine with 290 hp.

Continue reading: Opel GTC Paris Concept and Astra sports tourer live at 2010 Paris motor show

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