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It’s no secret that the Vauxhall GTC Paris Concept is basically the production three-door Astra, due on sale next year.

Well, to keep those intrigue fires burning, Vauxhall has unveiled a new set of pictures and a little more information on the Paris show car.

The front sports seats are its most unusual feature. They’re both finished in contrasting red and black leather with text printed onto them.

The steering wheel has metal inserts, and some of the interior detailing is of polished chrome. Strip back the metal and sporty add-ons, though, and you have the basics of your next diesel Astra Sport Hatch – if that is indeed what Vauxhall calls it.

The gloss piano black on the dash is

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Here’s the star of Vauxhall’s Paris Motor Show stand, the Astra GTC Paris concept.

The car previews both the three-door Astra, which is likely to retain the Sport Hatch name, and its high-performance flagship.

Vauxhall says the production Sport Hatch will look very similar to this, with an obviously sportier stance than the five-door Astra. Apart form the ’signature blade’ design motif, taken from the Insignia, the Sport Hatch gets a tight crease over the rear wheels, from taillight to door handle.

It sits on 21-inch wheels and has a bonnet crease that is apparently inspired by ‘Vauxhalls of yore’. We believe ‘yore’ denotes the pre-GM period, circa 1910-1925.

There’s also talk of keeping the GTC badge for the hot version. Those are

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11 Aug: The dragster Red Victor 3, ‘the world’s fastest Vauxhall’, will appear at the VXR Power festival at Silverstone on August 28-29. Based on a 1967 Vauxhall Victor, it has over 3,000bhp from its GM V8. The festival will raise funds for Help for Heroes. [photo]

More headlines…

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12 Aug: Jaguar Land Rover has signed up as an ‘Official Supporter’ of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Four Range Rovers, a Discovery 4 and four Jaguar XJs will be supplied to the FIFA Inspectors to use later this month. [photo]

11 Aug: Suzuki has created a web site to celebrate 40 years of the Jimny, www.globalsuzuki.com/jimny/. The compact off-road vehicle started out with a 360cc two-stroke engine; its modern equivalent has an 84bhp unit, capable of 39.2mpg. [more...] [photo]

11 Aug: The dragster Red Victor 3, ‘the world’s fastest Vauxhall’, will appear at the VXR Power festival at Silverstone on August 28-29. Based on a 1967 Vauxhall Victor, it has over 3,000bhp from its GM V8. The festival will raise funds for Help for Heroes. [photo]

More headlines…

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12 Aug: Jaguar Land Rover has signed up as an ‘Official Supporter’ of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Four Range Rovers, a Discovery 4 and four Jaguar XJs will be supplied to the FIFA Inspectors to use later this month. [photo]

11 Aug: Suzuki has created a web site to celebrate 40 years of the Jimny, www.globalsuzuki.com/jimny/. The compact off-road vehicle started out with a 360cc two-stroke engine; its modern equivalent has an 84bhp unit, capable of 39.2mpg. [more...] [photo]

11 Aug: The dragster Red Victor 3, ‘the world’s fastest Vauxhall’, will appear at the VXR Power festival at Silverstone on August 28-29. Based on a 1967 Vauxhall Victor, it has over 3,000bhp from its GM V8. The festival will raise funds for Help for Heroes. [photo]

More headlines…