New Opel GT teased again

General Motors' European arm has offered the first decent look at the Opel GT Concept coupe it will unveil at the Geneva motor show on March 1.

This second teaser video and a single tightly-cropped teaser image follows the release of a first vague teaser clip a week ago, when Opel formally confirmed the show coupe's debut in Switzerland in six weeks, confirming a German report from December.

No details have been provided for what's expected to preview a compact production coupe that could serve as a spiritual successor for the original 1960s Opel GT, the video showing only a central dual exhaust outlet and a red front tyre, which Opel says pays homage to its 1928 Motoclub 500 motorcycle.

“Opel has reinvented itself. Don’t miss what happens next," said Opel Group CEO Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann in an overnight press release, which went on to say: "In 1965, Opel presented the avant-garde Experimental GT at the Frankfurt Motor Show – the first concept car ever devised by a European car manufacturer.

"The Experimental GT was already an ultra-modern coupé with a sculptural shape – absolutely clear, minimalistic while also being exciting and uncompromising. The same philosophy now defines the design of the new GT Concept."

In the video, the Opel chief says the design of the two-door GT Concept is at least partly inspired by the company's gullwing-doored 2013 Monza concept (pictured here in silver), which was expected to preview Opel's next-generation Insignia sedan.

While Opel's next Insignia will form the basis of Holden's first imported Commodore in 2018, the born-again Opel GT could in turn be sold in Australia as an all-new Holden coupe in the same vein as its Opel-sourced Calibra of the 1990s.

Despite their similarities, however, the two Opel concepts are probably very different vehicles underneath, with the Monza/Insignia likely to be based on the same front/all-wheel drive GM E2XX platform that underpins the Chevrolet Malibu, and the GT expected to be based on the latest Opel Astra's front-drive D2XX chassis architecture.

Further confusing matters is the rear-drive Buick Avista coupe concept (pictured here in blue) unveiled at the Detroit show earlier this month, where GM executives confirmed it was based on the latest Chevrolet Camaro's RWD Alpha platform but downplayed its chances of production.

That news appeared to scotch hopes that the Avista would form the basis of the mystery sports car promised by Holden – potentially badged as a Monaro -- but it does not rule out an Opel GT-based coupe from Holden, which has committed to 24 new models by 2020, more than a third of them sourced from Europe.

The mechanical make-up of the Opel GT remains unknown, but it's more likely to be powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine than the 300kW twin-turbo V6 that powered the Avista – let alone the V8 that various GM executives have promised will continue to be available from Holden after the homegrown Commodore ceases production in 2017.