Chevrolet WTCC Ultra

[thegriffon]

Zurich/Paris — An athlete takes centre stage: The exciting racecar study WTCC Ultra will be the highlight of the Chevrolet Europe presentation at the Paris Motor Show from September 30 to October 15, 2006. The ready-to-drive concept car was developed by a GM team around the globe. It is the optical vision of a new touring car generation and takes the Chevrolet body language to the extreme. The compact Chevrolet WTCC Ultra (length/width/height: 4,325/1,905/1,570 mm) will celebrate its world premiere on the Chevrolet stand in Hall 5.2 of the Expo in Paris.

http://auto-report.net/WordPress/?p=221#more-221

The WTCC Ultra will be the focal point of the Chevrolet stand in Hall 5 at the Paris Expo, and is much more than just a styling study.

For beneath the bold, muscular exterior, styled by 25-year old designer Ewan Kingsbury, is a fully working vehicle, that's not just ready for the road, but raring to go on the racetrack.

The concept clearly illustrates Chevrolet's commitment to using GM's global resources. Kingsbury himself works for GM in Australia, while development work on the concept was carried out in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. The Ultra's engine was built in Korea, and the prototype was assembled in Japan.

It's equipped with a 190 PS common rail turbodiesel engine, based on the 2.0 litre unit that will debut in the Captiva SUV and Lacetti models next year, and unlike most motor show styling studies is a fully-working vehicle, with performance to rival high performance petrol cars.

The concept exists as a vision of a new generation of World Touring Cars, and follows on from the success of Chevrolet's WTCC race team, which took its second victory of the season earlier this month at Brno in the Czech Republic. British driver Rob Huff successfully held off championship leader Andy Priaulx in his BMW, and set the fastest lap time, to lead from the first lap.

Edited September 6, 2006 by thegriffon

[Robert Hall]

Looks like an enraged Pokemon.

[NOS2006]

That looks effing sweet!

[Cadillacfan]

I hope the next Cobalt shares some styling characteristics with this vehicle with the exception of the huge ricer-boy wing and the giant grille that is way too big for this car. Add a cool interior and a hatch variant and you can sell the next Cobalt globally without anyone laughing hysterically at GM.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Can you say Saturn ION <Astra> replacement? Notice the quad-doors and that the shaping of the car is very similar to the Astra.

[Dragon]

me wantee!

[ocnblu]

That is wild... I'd welcome an experiment like this for the next Cobalt (imagine it toned down for production... nice). Honda didn't stand still with their Civic. This would put every other car in the class in the old folks' home. But we'd need a coupe, sedan and 2 door hatch in addition to the 4 door hatch shown.

I would not like to see this kind of experimentation with Chevy's larger cars, however. Malibu looks to be a beauty, Camaro is a jawdropper. Impala and Monte Carlo (yes, I really hope it continues on Zeta) need to be less adventurous, imo.

Edited September 6, 2006 by ocnblu

[thegriffon]

I hope the next Cobalt shares some styling characteristics with this vehicle with the exception of the huge ricer-boy wing and the giant grille that is way too big for this car.  Add a cool interior and a hatch variant and you can sell the next Cobalt globally without anyone laughing hysterically at GM.

190072[/snapback]

Errr, this is the WTCC race version. Expect to delete the agressive wings, ground effects and extended arches from the production Global Compact. The US version (if even related) is also unlikely to be a 5-door hatch.

(PS NOS, those images won't load here unless they're in your cache. Better get the originals from GM).

[Imaj]

This should be the next Cobalt, I like it

[HarleyEarl]

[ocnblu]

Damn, it even looks pissed from the back!

[Northstar]

I could see a production version look pretty nice. The only problem I see is that it looks rather small. It looks more like an Aveo-sized vehicle than a Cobalt-sized vehicle, but it could just be the huge wheels that make it look that way.

It would definetly need a sedan and coupe to go along with it. I'm also wondering if this could just replace the HHR. I don't know how they would really update the HHR, so maybe it's going to be a one lifecycle vehicle?

[!!!TED!!!]

Quick chop, pardon the slopiness...

[Cadillacfan]

Errr, this is the WTCC race version. Expect to delete the agressive wings, ground effects and extended arches from the production Global Compact. The US version (if even related) is also unlikely to be a 5-door hatch.

(PS NOS, those images won't load here unless they're in your cache. Better get the originals from GM).

190213[/snapback]

I'm well aware that it's a race/concept version and that the final version will be much more conservative. I was just saying of what I want from the next Cobalt: very agressive styling similar to this, and what I don't want:

a giant spoiler that takes up the entire back-end of the car like this car and the Cobalt SS. GM has been spoiler crazy lately.

Love the chop !!!Ted!!! Definately gives us a better look at the possible production model.

Edited September 7, 2006 by Cadillacfan

[thegriffon]

I could see a production version look pretty nice. The only problem I see is that it looks rather small. It looks more like an Aveo-sized vehicle than a Cobalt-sized vehicle, but it could just be the huge wheels that make it look that way.…

190310[/snapback]

It's just the big wheels. Allowing 4" for the massive front wing it would be about the same size as the 5-door Astra or European Civic. Larger 5-doors tend to be fastbacks.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

This looks very familar in, well, a few ways.

Just make my sketch a five-door and. . .

[loki]

reminds me alittle of the tC....? but it definitly is agressive

[Gnitro]

Could somebody put a Pontiac face on this, and make some other minor changes to it? I think this (if AWD was an option) would make a great replacement for both the Vibe and the G5. If Pontiac is going to be performance oriented it only needs one entry level vehicle.

[GMTruckGuy74]

The reverse light shares it's design and location exactly with the Saturn SKY... coincidnce??? Maybe it's a Chevy overseas, but I think this car will be here next summer as the Saturn ION replacement. Just my $0.02!

And I love how the insides of the taillights have the little bowtie emblems incorporated into them. If it is a future Chevy for N/A, then that little design element has to stay.

Edited September 7, 2006 by GMTruckGuy74

[91z4me]

This looks very familar in, well, a few ways.

Just make my sketch a five-door and. . .

190359[/snapback]

Hmm...

I do like it in black though.

[Dsuupr]

That would make an awesome Cobalt replacement. And who says with the changes going on that GM won't do a 3-door hatch here.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Until I checked the height, I wasn't sure if this was a Take Two concept version of the T2X, from which it looks very inspired styling-wise. I like this a lot and can't wait to see pictures of the official concept! What platform is this based on?

[thegriffon]

That would make an awesome Cobalt replacement.  And who says with the changes going on that GM won't do a 3-door hatch here.

190512[/snapback]

That depends on whether there will be a three-door Chevrolet hatch elsewhere. While Opel (and thus potentially Saturn) has the Astra GTC, the 3-door Optra has not eventuated, despite being shown to Korean media; and as you can see this concept is another 5-door like the Optra5/Reno.

[thegriffon]

Until I checked the height, I wasn't sure if this was a Take Two concept version of the T2X, from which it looks very inspired styling-wise. I like this a lot and can't wait to see pictures of the official concept! What platform is this based on?

190521[/snapback]

As a concept it is probably not based on any platform. They don't have to meet any regulations and are usually only one-offs, often assembled by outside contractors. Something put together just for this project or a handy available chassis will do. This is merely a styling exercise which may hint at a future compact Chevy being developed by Daewoo on the new European Global Compact Architecture (also known as Global Delta). It helps if you consider Delta not as an solid structural design but rather a set of objectives or design parameters, such as "transverse 4-cylinder powertrain, compact footprint etc.), for which the European Architecture Development Team will provide a specification and common structural components; from which Daewoo (and later Opel) will then develop vehicles around.

[91z4me]

I do like it in black though.

190509[/snapback]

I forgot the pic last time

[BuddyP]

That black one is awsome looking!

[turbo200]

ouch, this car is soo hot, hehe....it would make a perfect small car here. I have been asking recently for small cars with aggressive looks and great gas mileage...convertibles, sedans, coupes, hatches....this thing would be perfect. Love the looks, though the accessories make it what it is. As a future design direction for Chevys, which is what this appears to be, they have a great design language in development.

[Sixty8panther]

Wow... one of the best looking compact cars ever.

[FunkyPig]

If GM is actually serious about being more 'global', I see no reason why this shouldn't be sold in the US as well as the rest of the world. Why redesign it for the sake of redesigning it? Ideally GM will only have two excellent small cars anywhere in the world, Astra and Cobalt, both sold all around the world under various brands. Perfect, good work GM.

As the Kalos as been renamed Aveo in Europe, I wouldn't be surprised if the Lacetti is renamed Cobalt in Europe to align the naming around the world. Lacetti is an old Daewoo name, so I don't see them retaining that anyway.

Edited September 15, 2006 by FunkyPig

[longtooth]

At age 50, I'm nowhere near the demographic for such a vehicle, but that's one sweet looker, and an original too. The Scion tc'd be invisible next to it. :AH-HA_wink:

[daves87rs]

I want to say that it would be more for Saturn than chevy...but there's nothing wrong with a Balt' Hatch too...

Though I pretty sure that the Coupe and sedan won't get that crazy...

More like the little silver coupe pic there...

[Cory Wolfe]

The reverse light shares it's design and location exactly with the Saturn SKY... coincidnce???  Maybe it's a Chevy overseas, but I think this car will be here next summer as the Saturn ION replacement. Just my $0.02! 

190495[/snapback]

Just a little FYI... that's not a reverse light. Think hotter... much hotter... like backfire.

Anywho... I really like it. It's hot. Really hot. Much better than the current Cobalt. I even like how its a hatch. A really hot hatch. Anyone think they could chop a possible production version? You know.. wing delete, tone down the wheel flares, eliminate some of the ground effects, replace the huge wheels, and just do an overall toning down of the design. Could look hot. Really hot.

[erod45]

Eh -looks too much like the 00 -04 Peugeot 206. Unoriginal styling on GM's part, if you ask me.

[thegriffon]

I can't see any similarity to the 206. There is a little to the new Civic hatch with the smaller rear door and hidden door handle (stolen from the Alfa 156), but the agressive nose and broad shoulders sets it apart.

[Dsuupr]

Agila replacement? Seems the right size.

[ponchoman49]

Gosh I sure hope not! That thing is hideous in the extreme!

[91z4me]

Agila replacement?  Seems the right size.

195747[/snapback]

Pics please.