Brits won't be getting version of Opel GT
The Vauxhaull brand is Britain's own little version of Opel, the General Motors brand sold throughout the rest of Europe. While it may seem cool the Brits don't have to buy the same Opels as the rest of the old country, there are drawbacks. One big one is the announcement recently that Vauxhaull will not be getting a version of the Opel GT, which itself is a version of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sold here in the States. Apparently there's not a good business case for converting the car to right-hand drive for sale in the U.K. and slapping a Vauxhaull badge on it, as is the custom with much of Opel's lineup. They must not expect the car would sell in very large numbers in the U.K., or at least in not in the numbers required to cover the cost of the conversion and promotion. But Brits should take heart that more performance is on its way in the form of a new Vauxhall Monaro, according to Auto Express. The new four-door Monaro will feature a 6.0-liter V8 producing 362 horsepower, which is more of a muscle car than the Vauxhall GT could have ever hoped to be, anyway.
[Source: Auto Express]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John 8:35PM (10/16/2006)
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=116370/pageNumber=1
Edmunds.com found a major engineering fault with this car: The rear tires rubs the wheel well when you launch the car.
Better luck fixing it in the 2008 model.
Reply
francis 8:52PM (10/16/2006)
Wow!!
I love this car, I got to drive this baby when I visit my cousin last summer. how I wish I could buy this baby in the future lol..
Reply
Steve B. 9:02PM (10/16/2006)
God knows the British abhor tiny 4-banger-powered two seat roadsters! I mean, could imagine a Brit in an Austin Healey or an MGB? Ridiculous!!!
Reply
Zane Ryder 11:01PM (10/16/2006)
John - your the editor and chief of this "fine" autoblog that I visit far to often, yet you fail to point out the fantastic irony of this story, and this is the type of irony that should smack an auto journalist right in the face, makes me wonder what kinda shop your running there
the Saturn Sky's design was based on the 2004 Vauxhall VX Lightning concept car, which was originally penned as a replacement for Vauxhall's Lotus inspired VX220 Turbo. So Vauxhall goes out and designs a fanatic looking replacement for the VX220, a car that it worked hard on building a business model for in the first place, a business model stolen by the Solstice, only to have the rug from pulled out from underneath it. I am sure their are some pissed off Vaux executives out there ... oh well ... bad luck
here's a link to some of VX Lightning pictures and the original press release ... it worth a laugh and this quote is priceless ""The VX Lightning says everything about where Vauxhall is heading." Sure is.
Reply
Zane Ryder 11:02PM (10/16/2006)
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z7802/Vauxhall_VX/default.aspx
Reply
stirling 11:38PM (10/16/2006)
yeah, that's Insane!!
I was sure the brits designed the original, working with Lotus...
oh well, at least they're getting our chest-thumping Monaro... or is it a Pontiac GTO? no... it has the right nose... it's the Monaro..
Reply
Eminem Sux 11:41PM (10/16/2006)
Ha ha!
Reply
stirling 11:40PM (10/16/2006)
oh yeah, and if it's a "four-door monaro" then it's just a normal HSV, Monaro is reserved for the Coupe's...
Reply
cheezedog420 11:47PM (10/16/2006)
Wow, sucks to be a British car enthusist for once. All I got to say about that is, "HA ha! We finaly get something you don't!"
Reply
R. Brugel 12:50AM (10/17/2006)
There was a 4 door Monaro in Australia in the 1970's so it is a genuine model!
Reply
ca6 2:51AM (10/17/2006)
The Kappa platform was designed only for LHD. They skipped to work on
a RHD version, since that would have delayed the release and made it
mandatory for the new cars to follow the new pedestrian protection
laws.
Evo magazine wrote about this even before there officially was a Kappa-based Opel GT, so this is old news. (Weird that Auto-express is the source for this since they have the same owners as Evo...)
Reply
Jason 2:47AM (10/17/2006)
That looks way better than the Saturn version! NO SEDAN GRILLE!
Reply
Dave 3:20AM (10/17/2006)
And even stranger is that the UK purchases more cabrio's than the rest of Europe.
Reply
DPC car videos 6:03AM (10/17/2006)
Saturn Sky in the US should do this.
Reply
automercato 2:01PM (10/18/2006)
This car was draw by GM Advanced Design Studio in Birmingham. The car will be sold under the Vauxhall brand. Thats all
Reply
Vega 7:01AM (10/17/2006)
Don't think it's a problem, cause by British standards, the car sucks:
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-1794313,00.html
Gotta love Clarkson...
Reply
James 8:47AM (10/17/2006)
oh, and by the way, it's VAUXHALL (at least your journos have no trouble spelling Opel...)
Reply
UK-KID 10:46AM (10/17/2006)
Vega
Perfect Article
I think that pretty much sums up American Vehicle Designs (Excluding the ZO6)
I am Impressed with JC's ability to sum up the facts in a funny but Sensible way.
Reply
The other Bob 11:31AM (10/17/2006)
Clarkson is an idiot. He's very alone in saying this car "sucks."
A real auto enthusiast might say it has more American style gearing, or other attributes that make it less Euro, or different than say a Miata. But sucks? His simpleton statement about the car says more about him than the car itself.
Wish "auto journalists" would just crawl under a rock. Everyone else should just test drive the cars themselves instead of relying on these idiots.
(Sorry autoblog, my criticism of "auto journalists" doesn't necessarily apply to you. I actually enjoy your auto tests, because they are more thorough and less snobby than most.)
Reply
Jerome 5:39PM (2/18/2007)
If you're interested in the new Opel GT, be sure to check my blog, with news, road tests, pictures, videos and just about everything related to the 2007 Opel GT.
http://newopelgt.blogspot.com
Reply