RUSSELSHEIM, Germany – Former General Motors subsidiary Opel has laid out a vision for the design and technical specification of its future models with the unveiling of the new all-electric GT X Experimental concept car.
Revealed less than a year after the financially embattled German brand was acquired by PSA Group in a deal worth €2.2 billion ($2.5 billion), the compact crossover showcases a new design that Opel Chairman Michael Lohscheller says will be closely reflected on a range of new models, including a replacement for the GM-engineered Mokka X and Ampera-E presently being developed in partnership with its new French parent.
Created in-house at Opel’s design studio in Germany, the simple and largely unadorned design lineage of the GT X Experimental advances the styling treatment first revealed on the company’s GT Concept in 2016, albeit with a new-look front end featuring a black panel element known as the Visor.
Set to be adopted by upcoming Opel models as part of what the company’s British-born design boss Mark Adams calls a “visual detox,” the Visor element incorporates distinctive LED headlamp graphics and an illuminated Opel badge in a single panel set in the place of a traditional grille on existing Opel models.
“The Opel GT X Experimental is an approachable concept that people can identify with,” Adams says. “It combines a pure design execution that signals the future for the brand.”
At 160 ins. (4,060 mm) long and 72 ins. (1830mm) wide, the GT X Experimental is 8.3 ins. (210 mm) shorter and 2 ins. (50 mm) wider than the Mokka X, which is based on General Motors’ Gamma II platform and sold in the U.S. as the Buick Encore.
Although Opel is keeping details under wraps, the German car maker’s Mokka X replacement is claimed to be in an advanced stage of development. The new model, due to be unveiled before the end of 2019, is planned to sit on the same platform as the Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Aircross, the so-called CMP structure developed by PSA.
Unlike the Gamma II platform, the CMP architecture supports both conventional internal-combustion and, in e-CMP form, all-electric drivelines.
As well as hinting at a replacement for the Mokka X, the GT-X also provides clues to Opel’s replacement for the Ampera-E, a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Bolt sold in select European markets, with an all-electric driveline that incorporates a 50-kWh lithium-ion battery.
Opel has previously stated it plans to introduce a pure electric model to each of its model lines by 2024.
2018 Opel GT X Experimental interior.
