Despite the fancy badge (standing for Gran Turismo Compact), many might see the Opel Astra GTC as just a three-door Astra, since its engine line-up is shared with its five-door sibling. Its looks, however, show that it's a distinctive stand-alone with sporting pretensions emphasised by the crouching, ready-to-leap posture. In its ultimate go-faster manifestation, there will be a 2.0 litre 240bhp version that will get to 100km/h (62mph) in six seconds.
Astra product manager Andreas Borner explained it all last week in southern Spain: "Formerly we would have offered the three-door derivative as entry-level, but now we see it as giving a totally different dimension to the Astra family. It's for younger folk, the looks are more emotional, it's very much lifestyle." This exciting Astra will be known as the GTC in mainland Europe, but here and in Britain it gets the plainer Sport Hatch name. The range-topping 2-litre with 240bhp, the hottest-ever Astra, will be called VXR.
Only the bonnet and front fender have been carried over from the five-door. The body is 15mm lower, with arched roofline and pronounced overhangs front and rear. There's the option of a vast panoramic windshield all the way from bonnet to B pillar.
Sport Hatch goes on sale here in the next few months and the comprehensive engine family including five petrol and four common-rail turbodiesel units. Petrol models extend from 1.4- to 2-litres, from 90 to 200bhp while the diesels, from 1.3 to 1.9 give a 90 to 150bhp choice. The top 2-litre petrol and the top 1.9 diesel have 6-speed manual transmission. The big engine showed its vigorous, torquey style in the mountains behind Malaga. As well as 150bhp, it develops maximum torque of 320Nm at only 2,000rpm. Top speed is claimed to be 210km/h (130mph) with a zero to 100 km/h (62mph) time of 8.9 seconds.
On well-cambered Andalucian roads, it coped without fuss. In this department, Astra doesn't match the latest Ford and Volkswagen Golf which both use a more sophisticated independent rear suspension system. Still, the Astra's twist beam axle has advantages which save money, weight and space. Front, side and head airbags are standard and those with bigger engines get traction control and an electronic stability programme.
Those really intent on fun driving should opt for IDS Plus, topping the list of suspension options. It essentially links suspension damping, steering and engine management with a Sport switch on the facia that controls or hardens the damping and quickens the throttle and steering responses. Switched on, it does mean a conspicuously harsher ride.