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The Cruze is the fourth major concept car to emerge from Holden this year, following a Barina teaser at the Detroit Show and another two at the Beijing Motor Show. Photo Gallery
The future of Holden is revealed today in the compact Cruze hatch the company will build from late in 2011.
The hatchback compact was designed at Holden Design in Melbourne but will be revealed at the end of the month at the Paris Motor Show. Its European unveiling reflects the global importance of the car, which will be sold as a Chevrolet in a wide range of countries.
The shape and style of the Cruze hatchback is exactly as it will be seen on Australian roads, as General Motors now develops its production cars first and then tweaks them for motor show use.
But even the flashier stuff on the show car — including its over-sized alloy wheels and lamp treatments — could eventually be included for road use.
The Cruze is the fourth major concept car to emerge from Holden this year, following a Barina teaser at the Detroit Show in January and another two — one an electric city pod car — at the Beijing Motor Show. It shows the global reach of the Fishermans Bend design studio, as well as the importance of its work on GM's compact cars.
The Cruze hatch has a coupe-style curved roofline and short overhangs front and rear, but there is no detail yet on the cabin. Full details will not be made public until the Paris show.
Holden designers spent more than a year working on the show car says the company's chief designer, Richard Ferlazzo.
"Our brief was to create an alternative body style to the traditional sedan that retained the same dynamic proportions that has made Cruze such a success around the world," Ferlazzo says.
