The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback will get its production-ready debut at Geneva tomorrow (March 1), which, rumour has it, has sent the staff at Maranello into a collective panic attack.
The Cruze, which has won the British and World Touring Car Championships, will be available as a five-door from September in the UK.
With the additional door also comes the option of a new 163PS engine, which is foreign speak for a 161bhp engine.
According to Chevrolet, the Cruze hatch has, compared to the four-door version, an "attractive sweeping coupe roofline and short front and rear overhangs, [so] it enjoys the same dynamic stance as the saloon model, but with even greater sleekness."
The transformation to hatch probably doesn't bring any extra cargo space - Chevrolet probably would have mentioned that - but the four-door had a big boot anyway. Its 450-litre luggage volume is about 100 bigger than the VW Golf's.
Jason Plato won the 2010 BTCC in a Cruze. "Motor sport is part of Chevrolet's DNA," said Chevrolet MD Mark Terry. "What we learn on the track is passed down to our road cars, and this latest incarnation of Cruze proves that."
Read the full Geneva Motor Show report here
Mark Nichol - 28 Feb 2011