Instead, buyers will be able to point to the discreet Bertone badge on the side. Mr Cullis said the Italian design house was called in “to give us a more emotional design and a more Italian flavour”.
Last year, the coupe market in the UK was worth 73,000 units, dominated by the BMW 3 Series. Mr Cullis sees the Astra fitting in between the smaller Ford Puma, Citroen Xsara and Renault Megane class and the larger Peugeot 406, Ford Cougar and BMW 3 Series.
UK sales begin in July with Vauxhall targeting 2,000 units, rising to 6,000 in a full year. Prices are expected to start at about £16,000 for the 1.8, with the 2.2-litre at £17,500 and the turbo coming in at under £20,000.
