Opel Calibra

According to Autozeitung magazine, Opel is developing a coupe version of the next Astra. The novelty here is that the new car will adopt a more separate design and a new name, probably Calibra, in order to establish a tie with a sort of iconic model. This is not a new strategy as witnessed recently with VW and the Scirocco model, although I think that the Golf nameplate is today more iconic than the Scirocco. But it works nicely allowing to ask a premium for the derivative version and the Scirocco is indeed a fine car.

The technical bits of the new Calibra are predictable being based on the new Astra model. This is actually not a good thing if the Astra does not receive a multilink suspension at the rear. The Calibra nameplate deserves more technical excellence than a torsion beam. But then, this is a Opel so I guess one should not expect technical excellence.