Opel’s values of “German, approachable, exciting” will be fine-tuned and the automaker’s design DNA will be “emotional and confident, clear and intuitive”, with a new focus on the brand’s blitz emblem.
While Opel is working hard on becoming a highly efficient automotive company within Groupe PSA as announced by Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller during the presentation of the PACE! strategic plan last November, it is also busy strengthening and fine-tuning its profile. Before the end of the year, a Brand Concept vehicle currently being created in the design studio will show where Opel is heading to.
German, approachable, exciting – these are the three brand values that are embedded in the DNA of every Opel model and initiative and will continue to do so in the future. In recent months, Opel design, marketing and engineering teams have been finding answers to the question how these values can be better embodied by the design, the technology, the substance of the Opel automobiles and the approach the company takes towards its customers.
The team around Vice President Design Mark Adams has revisited Opel’s design philosophy and intends to apply some significant fine-tuning when creating the future bestsellers from Rüsselsheim. A first glimpse of what the future holds and what Opel models will look like by the mid-2020s has now been revealed – still hidden under a cover but already showing noteworthy details.
One element the design team was keen to take to a new level is how modern new “Germanness” can be expressed in future products, thus sharpening the brand profile. Two fundamental pillars of Opel’s future design philosophy are directly derived from this expression of new Germanness: “bold” and “pure”.
Previous iconic designs from Opel’s past clearly relate to these qualities. One of the most stunning examples of this “bold” and “pure” principle is the Opel CD that wowed an international audience when it celebrated its world premiere at the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show. These key elements are also clearly visible in the most recent brainchild of the Rüsselsheim Design Centre – the critically acclaimed GT Concept.
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The Opel Compass organises the design elements of Opel’s future face around two strong axes that intersect the brand emblem, which becomes the focus point more than ever before. The centre-crease line on the bonnet represents the vertical axis, which will become bolder and purer in its execution. The horizontal axis is symbolised by the typical wing-shaped daytime running light signature, which will continue to be further strengthened and developed on all future Opel vehicles.
Opel’s 2018 Brand Concept, to be revealed before the end of the year, will be the first vehicle to showcase the future face of Opel designed according to the principles of the Opel Compass.
