Opel confirms Astra GTC for Australia

Swoopy hot hatch rival will make it down under to give the VW Golf GTI some stick

Opel Australia has officially added the Astra GTC to its local line-up, the importer announced yesterday.

The slinky liftback sports coupe will arrive, along with the rest of the model range, during the third quarter this year. It joins the bread-and-butter Astra hatch and Tourer (wagon), the light-segment Corsa in three or five-door form and the mid-size Insignia sedan and Tourer.

“Opel designers wanted the Astra GTC to be the ultimate expression of Opel’s design language ‘sculptural artistry meets German precision’ and to embody our passion for the automobile,” Opel Australia Managing Director, Bill Mott, was quoted saying in a press release.

“We are excited to be able to present this dynamic car games to Australians, as it offers the ideal blend of emotion and functionality, and expect our “hot hatch” to bring a breath of fresh air into the sports compact segment.”

Opel advises that launch line-up is now locked in place following the announcement the Astra GTC will be imported along with the other models for Australia. The importer is revealing nothing more about the car for Australia, other than mentioning the vehicle will feature Opel's HiPerStrut (high performance front strut). However, motoring.com.au has driven the car in Europe and the specifications for that car are unlikely to change much in compliance with Australian Design Rules.