Chevrolet Ultra: Diesel Touring Car Concept
Although the Chevrolet nameplate is about as American as apple pie, the brand has been broadening its reach internationally. Since its launch in Europe back in 2004, Chevrolet has slowly been edging into the market. Interestingly, the vehicles sold across the Atlantic have little to do with the products that were designed, engineered and built in North America. Instead, Chevrolet’s European lineup consists of rebadged Daewoos - GMDAT products - like the Chevrolet Epica, Optra and Aveo, currently sold here, plus a few other quirky models such as the citycar-sized Matiz and the Tacuma compact minivan.
Despite a fair breadth of models, Chevrolet of Europe has been busy trying to expand its range. Earlier this year, it officially launched the Captiva, a seven-seat crossover vehicle, the first all-new GMDAT model designed under the guidance of Chevrolet. What’s more, this year’s Paris motorshow will hold the introduction of the next-generation Chevrolet Epica, but probably more important to the brand’s European future, an all-new concept car dubbed Ultra, which foreshadows Chevrolet’s next C-Segment hatchback.
In Europe, Chevrolet has had great success in the World Touring Car Championships with its Nubira (Optra) sedan. It’s done an admirable job fending off BMWs, Seats (a Spanish brand owned by VW) and other European carmakers. In celebration, Chevrolet decided to use the WTCC as a theme for the Ultra. The vehicle itself, much like the Nubira WTCC car, has been a global effort, with styling from Australia, development work from the UK, Germany and Switzerland (Chevrolet of Europe’s HQ), and the final build done in Japan. The Ultra’s engine comes from Korea.
Speaking of which, the Ultra is powered by a tuned version of a new diesel that Chevrolet will be launching in various non-North American products later this year. The 2.0-litre inline-four common-rail turbodiesel normally makes 150 horsepower, but it’s been heavily tweaked to churn out a whopping 190 horsepower. Alright, so it’s a fair bit less power than the average WTCC car, but it’s still a substantial figure for a hatchback of this size, and remember that diesels are best known for high torque ratings. The Ultra also reflects the growing movement of touring car racers that have switched to diesel. Many private teams in different forms of touring car racing have experimented with diesel with great success.
The thing that’s bound to attract the public to Chevrolet’s stands, and fulfill the brand’s claim that the Ultra is a true “show stopper” is its outrageous styling. Penned by 25-year old Ewan Kingsbury, the 4.2 metre long (Golf/Focus-sized) hatchback looks so wild, the sketches you see here make it look like a caricature. It starts with a massive grille, moving on to broad wheel arch flares, features a towering spoiler, with sharply creased bodywork formed in between. It does look functional though, and that’s because it is: Chevrolet says that the Ultra is road and race ready, even in its first appearance as a concept car.
We wouldn’t be surprised to find out that underneath its racing suit, the Ultra is the next-generation Optra hatchback, but we’ll have to wait around and see. Of course, even if something as radical as the Ultra Concept gets built, everyday Optras will be more conservatively penned, and being that the model competes directly with the Cobalt in Canada, it’s entirely possible that the car’s next generation won’t be sold here; it isn’t available south of the border, for instance. If Chevy does choose to sell an updated Optra here, and if that model gets an Ultra edition like this concept, the Cobalt SS had better be paying close attention to its rearview mirror.