Vauxhall and Opel are developing a successor to the swoopy Calibra coupé – and it could be on sale as soon as 2013.
Conceived as a bolt-on to the Insignia family, the new two-door is known inhouse as ‘New Calibra’, leaving its market position in on doubt. It’s likely to share cues with the original Insignia concept car, 2007’s rakish GTC showster.
So it’s just a coupé version of the Insignia?
Pretty much. We hear the striking four-seater is expected in early 2013 and would share its underpinnings with the Insignia. Trouble is, Vauxhall and Opel need to build about 30,000 units a year before the programme starts making money.
And that – in the aftermath of a state bail-out to keep GM afloat – is crucial before the programme is rubber-stamped.
Our mole at GM Europe HQ says: ‘We would feel a lot more confident about some of these projects if Buick, Chevrolet in North and South America and Saab were sharing volumes and risk.’
In the new, slimlined GM era, it has fewer partners with whom to develop niche products. It can only be a matter of time before Vauxhall and Opel have to reach out and co-operate with others to flesh out its product portfolio.