Vauxhall Monza concept revealed
* Frankfurt motor show car previewed * Showcases new styling direction * Points to coupe version of Cascada...
This is the Vauxhall Monza concept, a show car designed to preview the company's new styling direction - and a hard-top coupe version of the Cascada.
The concept is due for a public reveal at the Frankfurt motor show in September, but Vauxhall has taken the unusual step of revealing two 'teaser' images featuring the chairman of General Motors Europe, Karl-Thomas Neumann. The pictures focus on the nose of the car, but a coupe-esque rear roofline is clearly visible.
Neumann says the Monza 'will have a long-term impact on the next generation of Vauxhall and Opel models - an indicator that its styling, particularly the front end, will influence the 'family look' across the line-up. The Monza appears to have an evolution of the current Vauxhall grille bar, plus aggressively scalloped air intakes beneath the slim headlights.
Vauxhall claims the Monza will also showcase new connectivity solutions (this is likely to be a further evolution of the Adam's Intellilink system, with downloadable apps) and 'a ground-breaking powertrain solution'. The car will also have a digital dashboard display - probably an LCD screen-based system that could incorporate head-up functionality.
The company has not detailed any production plans for the Monza but What Car? sources say that a fixed-roof companion for the Cascada is in the works. The Monza name could well be used for that vehicle, for while it has not appeared on a Vauxhall before, it does have a history in the UK. In the 1980s the Monza was a large six-cylinder coupe (in effect a two-door version of the old Senator) and it was one of a handful of Opel-badged products sold in British showrooms.
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