Accurately described by its design team as “wild”, WTCC Ultra’s short, high bonnet, tiny race-style door mirrors, huge air dams, slick tyres, gigantic spoiler, electric blue paintwork and bold 3D Chevy bow-tie badges answer the muscle car brief thoroughly.
“We wanted to explore the concept of a Chevrolet muscle car reinvented for Europe," says David Lyon, an Executive Director of Design at GM.
And despite its quintessentially American badge, this car is also unmistakably European – in its hatchback bodyshape, its common-rail turbodiesel engine, and its World Touring Car Championships inspiration.
The concept is a fully operating, drivable car, with a sophisticated sports-tuned suspension, 190bhp common-rail engine and fully fitted interior complete with rollcage. But as a design exercise, it ‘bends the rules’ of the WTCC race series, uses extensive carbon and glass fibre composites and is certainly not a road-going vehicle. Nevertheless, it does show that Chevrolet understands what matters to European car buyers. Like the American Camaro muscle car concept from Detroit’s show earlier this year, it’s indicative of future models this increasing global marquee would like to make.
Enjoying a less spectacular but arguably more important world premiere in Paris is the production version of the Opel/Vauxhall Antara that was first shown in concept form a year ago at the 2005 Frankfurt show. Officially, it’s billed as an ‘SUV-wagon crossover’ offering flexible interior space, extra headroom and a higher stance, in a compact and technically advanced package.
In essence this is a modern five-door estate car enhanced with SUV flavouring – and given that speakers at motor show press conferences miss no opportunity for hyperbole, GM’s description of Antara’s off-road capability as merely “good” is significant.
But it’s certainly in tune with what today’s family car buyers are looking for. Styling is what you’d expect from Opel/Vauxhall: smart, well executed, well equipped and thoroughly mainstream. It has electro-hydraulic four-wheel drive, and clever features like a “FlexFix” integrated cycle carrier. A choice of petrol and diesel engines tops out with a 3.2-litre V6. Prices will start at €26,850 in European markets. “Perfect for everyday use,” said GM’s Karl-Peter Forster. Looks like a sound choice.
Need a van but wish you had a sportscar? Then Corsava concept is for you: with its upscale paint finish, VXR-style sports bodykit, and red-painted brake callipers visible through pretty17-inch alloys, the only clue it’s a van is the blacked-out rear windows. It might look pretty tame beside the WTCC Ultra, but this is the sportiest outfit yet for the new generation Corsa.
Corsavan is only a concept for now but it won’t be hard to put in production. A fully lined loadbay and half-height bulkhead mean this would be a competent small van conversion. It’s very likely that both sportier Corsas and Corsavans will reach showrooms – but necessarily a van that’s quite as good looking as this.
