The sporty two-door, which is being touted as the successor to the Opel Calibra, reportedly has been designed by Bertone.
European sales start in the spring.
Opel's parent, General Motors Corp., is said to be considering a proposal to rebadge several Astra variants, including the new coupe, and market them in the United States as potential replacements for the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire. Another Frankfurt debutante will be the Toyota Yaris Verso, a tall-roof people carrier that is based on the same compact chassis as the new Toyota Echo that debuts this fall in the United States. The Verso will be imported initially from Japan, and eventually will be assembled at Toyota Motor Corp.'s new plant in France. The company also is said to be studying plans to market the Verso in North America, as well as a slightly larger crossover model built on the Corolla chassis. GM is getting more serious about the booming truck market.