Tags: Opel Opel GT autoshow Geneva Motor Show 2006
World premiere in Geneva for sporty two-seater with exciting design
The classic slogan "Nur Fliegen ist schöner" ("Only flying is more exciting") went down in the history of advertising, and applied to a car which has become a classic itself, the Opel GT. Now the Opel brand is reviving the legend with a new sports car that echoes the successful concept of its predecessor. The new two-seat GT features an exciting design with sharply cut lines, rear-wheel drive and a potent four-cylinder turbo engine with gasoline direct injection. The new roadster will celebrate its world premiere at this year's Geneva Motor Show.
The career of the original GT began with a bolt out of the blue. When Opel presented a two-seat sports car at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show it came as a complete surprise, especially as the GT was a total departure from the prevailing design trend in Europe at that time. The curvacious lines were inspired by a new style of US-design, the so-called "coke-bottle shape". The styling cues included a low front-end with pop-up headlights, pronounced rounded wheelarches, a narrow waist in the area of the doors, and even shapelier rear wheelarches ending in an abrupt tail-end. Over 100,000 units were produced between 1968 and 1973, and the GT has since become a coveted collector's item.
