Opel reveals Opel Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo with 800 hp for Gran Turismo 7

Opel has released the first images of the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo - a wild electric prototype producing 800 hp which, as the name suggests, is headed for Gran Turismo 7. And it will not be confined to the virtual world.

As well as a physical model being shown at the Munich Motor Show in September, the concept also previews the look of the next-generation Corsa (Corsa G) - imagine it without the extreme wide arches and the full aero add-ons. It also serves as a statement of intent for the GSE sub-brand.

It is worth recalling that Opel has recently redefined the badge, making it exclusively a 100% electric performance sub-brand. The first electric GSE is the already-unveiled Opel Mokka, with 207 kW (280 hp).

An Opel Corsa with 800 hp capable of 320 km/h

The days when an Opel Corsa with more than 100 hp felt like “the end of the world” are long gone. This Opel Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo is something else entirely - a “monster”: it uses two 350 kW (476 hp) electric motors (one on each axle) to deliver a combined maximum of 588 kW (800 hp), along with 800 Nm.

Opel claims just 1,170 kg and a dead-on two seconds to reach 100 km/h, before topping out at 320 km/h… in a Corsa! Range? That remains unknown, but it is fitted with the same 82 kWh battery offered in the Grandland. For context, the current highest-capacity battery in the electric Corsa provides 51 kWh usable.

Despite being a virtual concept, Opel has used this opportunity to probe what Stellantis’ new STLA Small platform (still to make its debut) could achieve - the architecture that will underpin the seventh-generation Corsa. Does the platform really have the headroom for figures like these?

According to what Opel design chief Mark Adams told Autocar, yes. Adams says the numbers are “realistic” and that, “in theory”, they could make it into a hypothetical production model. “If we want to hit a maximum, but on the realistic side of that maximum, then these values are credible.” Opel chief executive Florian Huettl backs up that stance:

“(This prototype) not only shows what is possible on a small platform, but also offers a clear vision of the future of GSE, attracting all types of car enthusiasts”.

Florian Huettl, CEO of Opel

What will make it to the production Corsa

The Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo’s most extreme solutions may place it firmly outside the “real world”, yet once you strip away the showpiece elements there are several ideas we should expect to see on the seventh-generation Corsa.

One example is the latest take on the Opel Vizor - the car’s “face”. It drops the gloss-black panel used on today’s models; on the concept it is transparent, with the daytime running lights positioned behind it. The “Blitz” emblem is illuminated.

Opel’s Compass light signature has also been reworked, using vertical and horizontal illuminated segments both at the front and at the rear.

Meanwhile, Opel’s Detox philosophy - which has shaped the German brand’s interior design - is pushed to an extreme in the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo: there is no visible screen.

Instead, it leans into different solutions, such as the design of the sports seats. Look closely and you will see the backrest and the seat base are separated, with the backrest (and headrest) fixed to the roll cage.

When does it arrive?

The Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo will be available in Gran Turismo 7 in the autumn and will be displayed at the Munich Motor Show from 9 to 14 September. As for the seventh-generation Corsa, due in 2026, only time will tell which of this prototype’s ideas will make it onto the road.