Opel Astra GTC Coming to the US as a Buick?

The last time that the Opel Astra hit US shores, it dropped its regular badging for some Saturn ones. Needless to say, that didn’t go all that well, but General Motors is willing to have another go at it with the newest model reportedly being considered as a wolf in Buick clothing.

According to Car and Driver, the big General wants to introduce the three-door Opel Astra GTC under the Tri-Shield brand, giving customers a more thrilling alternative to the Verano sedan with which it shares its platform.

We are willing to guess that the three-door will in fact have the same engine range as the Verano, including the a 2.4-liter four-cylinder pushing 177 horsepower and a turbocharged 2.0-liter variant with 220 ponies. We can expect a lot more than that for the upcoming European OPC hothatch version of the car, but we won’t dare to suggest that will come to the US.

Buick will most likely not make the same mistakes made with the Saturn Astra - offering it only with the smallest engines it had, however, the Astra OPC will still not come with the same level of refinement as its European counterpart, as this will make it too expensive. Let’s hope that Buick can do what Saturn could not. They are well qualified for the job, in our opinion, as their Regal sedan is basically a rebadged Opel Insignia, while the Verano is a sedan version of the Astra.

Another year after that, Opel will unveil the production three-door GTC in Frankfurt this coming September. The final product is still undergoing development, as GM’s German division is still working on finalizing this very important product.