Now that the new Opel Mokka is popping up more and more on the streets and the new Astra makes its appearance, the so-called vizorgrille will become a familiar sight. At the unveiling of the Astra Sports Tourer we spoke to Mark Adams. The Vice President of Design at Opel explains how important the GT X Experimental Concept was in defining the new face of the brand within Stellantis.
How do you guarantee Opel’s right to exist in a group with many direct competitors?
“It is important to look at the aspects, both visible and tangible, that the average consumer cares little about. You can save a lot as a group on these points. Within the group, we look at the hard points of the platform before drawing even one model on that basis (for example, the windscreens and the A-pillars of an Opel Corsa and a Peugeot 208 are the same, ed.). So those parts are the result of negotiations between all brands that will use the platform. The similarities that you may see between models are not imposed by one brand on another, but jointly and agreed in advance. That is important to know, because within Stellantis we attach great importance to the fact that each brand remains itself, without compromise. Of course, we are always looking for smart synergies to ensure that the customer gets the same value for money.”
How does that manifest itself in practice?
“When we joined PSA – which has now been merged into Stellantis – I was given a clear mandate to define how Opel should be, with a distinctive face for our models only, worldwide. The GT X concept car served that purpose, showing the world the path we were going to take. The new Mokka was the first exponent of that design language. In the facelifts that came after that, we implemented some of that language as far as possible; think of the Grandland and Crossland, which got some of the Vizor face. But the Astra was the next really big step.”
The full interview with Mark Adams was featured in AutoWeek 6 2022.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl