Opel GT X Experimental concept unveiled

Former General Motors subsidiary Opel has laid out a vision for the styling and technical specification of its future models with the unveiling of the new pure electric GT X Experimental concept car.

Revealed less than a year after the financially embattled German brand was sold by General Motors to the PSA Group, parent company to Peugeot and Citroen, in a deal worth 2.2 billion Euros, 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 General Motors engineered Mokka X and Ampera-E. 

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 headlamps 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,” said Adams. “It combines a pure design execution that signals the future for the brand.”

At 4060mm in length and 1830mm in width, the GT X Experimental is 210mm shorter and 50mm wider than the Mokka X, which is based on General Motors’ Gamma II platform and sold in China 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. It is planned to sit on the same platform as the Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Aircross, the so-called CMP structure developed by the PSA Group.

Unlike the Gamma II platform, the CMP platform supports both conventional internal combustion petrol and diesel drivelines as well as pure 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 General Motors engineered Ampera-E – a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Bolt sold in selected European markets – with an all-electric driveline that incorporates a 50kWh lithium-ion battery.

Opel has previously stated it plans to introduce a pure electric model to each of its model lines by 2024.