I’ll admit up front that I’m guilty of calling the original Opel GT a “poor man’s Corvette” — that was back in my CCS days when I was young and impressionable.  While there are some vague similarities to the C3, I think dismissing this classic as a wanna-be is a bit extreme.  It’s like dismissing the Fiero as a “poor man’s Lamborghini.”   As design professionals, we can be a bit more discriminating than that…

When someone brings up the original GT, I immediately think of the egg-shaped headlamp shuts.  These quirky graphics reflect the car’s basic form language:  Soft, rounded curves with very few hard edges.  The front end is defined by two crisp lines that cone open as they wash into the fenders.  The gentle slopes in the profile are restful to the eye, like rolling hills in the countryside.  These slopes lead to an abrupt Kamm tail, similar to that of a Ferrari Dino.  The chrome, while sparing, is cleanly executed.

Today’s Opel GT is a different animal, of course.  The purest expression of the brand’s current design philosophy, very technical and exact — which definitely has its place.  But it’s rare anymore to find a new sports coupe that has the calm, quieting presence of the original GT.  To those who would label this car a wanna-be Vette, I would counter that its subtle exterior form indicates the exact opposite.  If it had dramatic, exaggerated curves like the C3, that would be one thing.  But this car seems quite comfortable in its own skin.  Self-assured.  Content to cruise the winding back roads, leaves blowing in the wind, without a care in the world.  That’s what this design professional sees, at least.