'Astra concept just a flavour'

Vauxhall’s Astra GTC Paris motor show concept is not a hint towards a new design language for the company, but an exercise in how the current models can be ‘dialed up’ into sportier cars.

This is according to Vauxhall’s design boss Mark Adams, who discussed his latest creation exclusively with Autocar.

See the official pics of the new Vauxhall Astra GTC concept

Autocar: Was ‘productionising’ in mind when you designed this concept, or were you allowed pure fantasy?

Mark Adams: This vehicle is very much suggesting the ‘flavour’ of what our next Astra three-door could be. It’s very dramatic but also very believable. This makes it a very compelling concept.

Does the three-door free up fresh areas for you to play with the Astra shape?

Obviously, with a three-door configuration there is far less restriction on ingress/egress to the rear, so this allowed us to create a much more dramatic taper of the cabin area in both side and plan views, but still maintaining decent rear interior space. In doing this, we have also been able to create even more powerful ‘shoulders’ at the rear than our other recently introduced vehicles.

Does this car have design cues that we’ll see on more than just Astras?

This vehicle’s role was not to unveil a new design language for Vauxhall, but rather to show how we can ‘dial up’ our now-established design direction by creating a very sporty and emotional interpretation. For example, all our recent introductions have had strong ‘shoulders’ with some kind of ‘blade’ signature element along the bodyside. This car has both those features but reinterprets them in a fresh and bold way.

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