According to our British sources, the Opel GTC Paris concept premiered in... Paris, does not preview the future Astra VXR, but a slightly less powerful, 3dr Opel Astra SRi. Apparently, the VXR version will be even more powerful than the just under 300 hp 3dr Opel Astra SRi. This will put the future Opel Astra VXR above the current Focus RS in terms of power output.
As far as the 3dr Opel Astra SRi goes, the production version will most probably come next year. According to company's officials, the 3dr Opel Astra SRi will have most of the features seen on the Paris concept, except the red paint and the large wheels. The red paint is just too expensive to offer on the production 3dr Opel Astra SRi and the alloys will be replaced with
slightly smaller ones. 21 inch of alloy rims is just a bit too much for a car the size of the 3dr Opel Astra SRi. Other than those two elements, Mark Adams, the brand's Vice president of design, said all the styling elements of the concept will find their way into the production 3dr Opel Astra SRi. The interior seen on the concept is actually the production version, which will be featured on the 3dr Opel Astra SRi. How about those cool sport bucket seats...
The 3dr Opel Astra SRi will be powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine that will develop
just under 300 hp. The power of the 3dr Opel Astra SRi will go to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and a Limited Slip Differential.
With front-wheel-drive and around 300 hp, the 3dr Opel Astra SRi will probably develop torque steer. Let's see what they're going to do about it.
[Source: AutoExpress]
