Vauxhall GT could get rear-wheel drive system adapted from Mokka SUV

Vauxhall-Opel engineers are looking at adapting the all-wheel drive componentry from the Mokka crossover to make the handsome GT coupé concept a production reality.

The proportions of the compact two-seater are built around a rear-drive powertrain, but parent company GM has no suitable ready-made platform in its global portfolio. “It is true we have no rear-drive platform,” Opel boss KarlThomas Neumann told Autocar, “but engineering is looking at a solution. There are possibilities.”

Vauxhall GT - full details

Sources said the rear differential and suspension from the Mokka could be adapted for the GT. The search is also on for a suitable compact gearbox that can channel drive from an in-line mounted engine to the Mokka rear diff. Other key aspects of the GT have already taken into account a production future.

Vauxhall-Opel design chief Mark Adams has chosen production-feasible dimensions, ensuring details such as bumper heights, vision lines and myriad legal requirements are fulfilled by the design. The production future of the GT has also been boosted by the Astra’s Car of the Year win, which has lifted confidence at the car maker.

However, sources also caution that the business case for the investment in a compact coupé has yet to be clearly established, although work on that project is continuing.