Opel GT

What is Opel an GT

This was the car which changed people’s perception of General Motors owned Opel: changing from a German maker of stodgy looking, conventional saloons and estates to producers of stylishbut- sensible cars.

Although it used off-the-shelf mechanical components, these were clothed in a dainty, pretty coupe body, which managed to look both like a scaled down Chevrolet Corvette (small wonder as the same bloke designed that as well) and a thoroughly European coupe.

The car stayed in production for five years, has never been replaced, and so remains a unique product in its maker’s history.

History

By the mid 1960s Opels had changed from looking like scaled down American sedans (wrap around screens, column changes, etc) to chubby, stolid Europeans with uninspired bodies. These were cars bought for practical rather than aspirational reasons. Then in 1965 the company displayed a stunningly pretty show car based upon the Kadett ( a sort of German Vauxhall Viva HA). A fastback two seat coupe with swivelling pop up headlights, it attracted a lot of attention.

Three years later the styling exercise had morphed into a production car which bucked people’s perceptions of what Opels were about. It was also a nod to a change in direction the rest of Opel’s range would take stylistically.

When it was axed in the summer of 1973 the first energy crisis had struck, and car makers were cutting back on ‘frivolous’ models. Letting the GT quietly die of old age was easy to justify. However,, by then it had done its makers a very good turn as an image builder, proved popular in America, and formed a lasting fan base which continues to this day Changes during its run were few; auto was an option plus in ‘71 came the GT/J with a 1.9 Manta engine and stripped out trim. Reputedly, at least three Gts were converted to UK spec but all the remaining 103,000 odd built are left hookers, including the 170 Opel officially imported into Britain. Most went to the US.

Driving

Mark Jennings, magazine editor of the Opel GT’s club, reckons the car’s name rather than its looks tells you more about the GT’s driving characteristics. Powered by either a milksop 1.1 engine lifted from the Kadett (‘a real rarity,’ says Mark), or an early incarnation of Opel’s heavy, long lived cam-in-head 1.9, the GT was never blindingly fast –top whack is about 115mph though. Factor in that rather quirky transverse leaf front suspension, and you have an easy going driving GT experience rather than aggressive, pin sharp dynamics. No matter. In 1.9-litre form the GT remains a pleasant, lively companion on today’s roads, and there are plenty of mods, such as five-speed gearboxes, and even sixteen valve engine transplants, that can transform or improve the way it goes. And like the Morris Minor, modded GTs don’t seem to suffer in value terms compared to their stock siblings either.

Prices

Anything costing under a grand is likely to be in a sorry state, and could take a lot of cash and time to fix. If you can splash out between £2500 £3500 as it buys an honest, usable car that’s worth having. Real mint condition motors (and you see plenty at car shows, many hotted up and customised) can fetch more than eight grand!