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by Jean Bernardet Part I Part II This is the first part of the true story of six long years of the GT project development at the Opel Styling Center.
Some rework on the nose and the deck surfaces, with the addition of the "duck tail," were necessary to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the Opel GT.
For the time being, the one and only character on the stage of this story is the Opel Styling Center.
Go to: Part II Copyright 2006: Opel Motorsports Club.
Opel designers thought that cars of this nature stir up a great deal of public interest; if the public reaction and enthusiasm are strong enough, the Opel management will be encouraged to produce a prototype of this kind.
This was the show car—called the Opel GT—introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1965.
The Opel GT was later shown in Paris, Turin and New York and, just as the Styling Center had foreseen, it stirred up a great deal of interest and acclaim.
Chuck Jordan, the present Director of Opel Styling, has contributed directly to the writing of this article.
Even earlier than this date, a great deal of thought and conversation had already gone into the idea of an Opel sports car.
This stated, you may consider this article as an exclusive, "official" report by the Opel Styling Center on its latest offspring.
Planning was well timed and even though little was known of this program outside the Styling Center, from the beginning the car was intended to be an Opel show car at the 1965 Frankfurt Auto Show.
Among the several important conclusions were the recognition of the existence of an international market for a German sports car, well designed, well built, capable of good performance and at the same time inexpensive: the price was to be set in the DM 10,000 (@$2500.
Section 107 and related statutes, the presentation of excerpts of materials relating to Opel model vehicles, is intended for educational and research purposes only.
Secondly, it was felt that a care needed to be designed that would add youthful sporty overtones to the overall Opel image.
Chausson and Brissonneau Lotz who are responsible, respectively, for sheet metal presswork/assembly and paint/trim operations of this new Opel body Its structural characteristics and manufacturing techniques—in the Paris and Creil plants of the two leading French body builders—will be described in Part II.
The production Kadett engine location, straddling the front suspension cross member, is fine for a 5-passenger sedan but not for a 2-passenger sports car.
All Kadett and Rekord power plants, transmissions, axles, brakes, and other mechanical components could be used.
There was a group at Opel at the time that felt that the position of the engine would have little effect on the handling and performance of the car.
These characteristics were responsible for the start of the Opel sports car program in the Fall of 1962.
But, fired by the determination to put the GT in production, the Styling and Engineering Departments, together, quickly discovered that it could be built on the Kadett underbody -- the same structure that won so many victories for the Rallye version in sports events such as the MonteCarlo Rallye, Tour d'Europe, etc.
The Styling Center would create a total car design, new from the ground up, that would meet the functional performance and size requirements of a genuine sports car.
On the other hand, the Styling Research engineers, and sports care enthusiasts within Opel, insisted that the GT be the best handling sports car they could produce and the engine should, therefore, be rearward.
Opel GT in Production
The question heard most was "when are you going to produce this car?" After the automobile show circuit, a certain silence began to shroud this sports car project for then it was the time to reach a decision on its future.
The final production design of the Opel GT varies in a number of ways from the prototype shown three years earlier, as shown by the pictures which appear on these pages.
Imagination, innovation, and dissatisfaction with things as they exist are key assets of the Opel styling organization.
After the total design was finished and judged correct a running prototype was constructed in the Opel Engineering shop.
As it took form under the modeler's hands, the body grew gracefully, without excessive weight or bulk and took a form which its designers feel has an appropriate and sincere sports car character.
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