Designer of Opel Experimental GT and Opel GT production car
Headed Rüsselsheim Advanced Design Studio from 1964
Also gave Opel Calibra its wind-cheating shape
Erhard Schnell, Opel Designer, Dies Aged 92
Erhard Schnell died last weekend in Trebur, Hesse. Father of the Opel GT was 92. He remained closely associated with Opel until the last and was present at many events. In 2018, the designer celebrated 50 years of the Opel GT with classic car fans from all over the world at the Hockenheimring. Born in Frankfurt, Schnell was famous for his sense of humour, which also appeared in his mischievous cartoons.
Born in 1927, Erhard Schnell studied commercial graphics in Offenbach before his career as a designer. In 1952, he started working as a designer at Opel. As a passionate graphic artist, he was always proud to have designed the curved lettering of the Opel Kapitän and Rekord. In 1961, he perfected his design skills at the GM Tech Center in Detroit.
In 1962, he began developing the first concept car from a European automobile manufacturer. His ideas took shape in the “Opel Styling Studio” opened in Rüsselsheim in 1964. Experimental GT emerged and its dynamic silhouette acquired the soubriquet "Coke Bottle Shape". The Experimental GT celebrated its world premiere at the IAA in 1965, and only three years later the production Opel GT rolled off the assembly line. Father of the Opel GT was thrilled with his big hit, whose sleek lines resembled those of the contemporary Corvette.
Opel GT
Schnell later gave shape to the first generation of the Opel Corsa and developed the form of the ultra-aerodynamic Opel Calibra. “My favourite car”, said Schnell about the cult coupé, “a new, modern design language. I had complete freedom with the styling.”
Opel Calibra
Erhard Schnell refused to retire even after he left Opel in 1992. In 2014, when asked if he would finally put his pen down, the designer replied “Not at all. I simply transferred my work to my home and designed the garden or my house. I also often paint in watercolours. I will never be able to stay away from it completely. ”
Premiere: First time one brand wins two awards in Auto Bild Klassik readers’ choice
Celebrities: Opel designer Erhard Schnell and touring car legend Volker Strycek accept awards
Vintage Car of the Year in the sports car and coupé segment: Opel GT designer Erhard Schnell next to his award-winning brainchild.
The 1968 Opel GT and the 1988 Opel Corsa GSi have won “Vintage Car of the Year”
awards. It is the first time ever that two cars made by a single brand
have celebrated victories at the “Golden Vintage Car” readers’ choice
award organised by magazine Auto Bild Klassik. The pan-European
award was established in 2010 and readers can choose their favourites
in six categories. The iconic Opel GT won the “Sports cars and coupés”
segment while the speedy Opel Corsa A GSi impressed in the “Small and
compact car segment”. Two very special Opel ambassadors travelled to the
award ceremony in Stuttgart. 91-year-old former Opel designer Erhard
Schnell accepted the award for his brainchild – the Opel GSi. Elsewhere
“Mister GSi”, Opel Director Performance Cars Volker Strycek, collected
the trophy for the Corsa GSi.
“The courage we displayed when designing the Opel GT has paid off
time and time again. I am delighted that its design still fascinates
people today and has resulted in it winning ‘Vintage Car of the Year’,”
said Erhard Schnell. “Opel has always built cars that spark emotion.
This is demonstrated by icons such as the Opel GT but also by little
sports cars such as the Corsa GSi – of which the latest variant is
currently available,” added Volker Strycek.
Vintage Car of the Year in the small and compact car
segment: “Mister GSi” Volker Strycek with the 1988 Opel Corsa A GSi.
Opel Corsa GSi was launched exactly 30 years ago. It was as
dynamic as a motorbike: extremely compact, 820 kg light, with cheeky
wheel arches, sport seats, 100 hp and a top speed of 188 km/h. It laid
the foundations for further Corsa GSi models and its DNA can still be
seen in its latest descendent. The latest generation Corsa GSi
celebrated its world premiere a few weeks ago. Powered by a turbocharged
1.4-litre petrol engine (fuel consumption[1]: urban 8.0-7.7 l/100 km, extra-urban 5.5-5.1 l/100 km, combined 6.4-6.1 l/100 km, 147-139 g/km CO2)
it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.9 second and has a top speed of
207 km/h. The new Corsa GSi and its big brother the Insignia GSi are
thus continuing Opel’s successful GSi tradition.
A groundbreaking design was already a feature of the very first
sketch for Opel’s other winner at this year’s awards, the Opel GT.
Presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1965, the Opel GT was already
rolling off the production line three years later thanks to the
excitement it stirred. The advertising slogan “Only flying is better” is
just as iconic as the “Coke bottle” shape and the “sleeping eyes”
pop-up headlights. Even back then, those responsible combined sportiness
with comfort and trendsetting efficiency – just as the Opel designers
are doing today with the Opel GT X Experimental.
The forward-looking brand concept is a bold, 4.06-metre, 5-door,
all-electric compact SUV with coupé appeal and brimming with innovative
ideas, which gives a preview of what the future holds for Opel models.
[1] Values measured according to WLTP and converted to NEDC for comparison.
Hall of fame: Opel presents the GT legend at Techno Classica
Essen-premiere: Geneva show-star Opel GT Concept makes German debut
Highly tuned display: Famous GT conversions from Conrero, Gerent and Irmscher
Still working that magic: Alongside the original 1968 Opel GT production model, the futuristic Opel GT Concept makes its first appearance in Germany at this year’s Techno Classica.
The legendary Opel GT weaves its magic again at this year’s Techno Classica in Essen (April 6-10). Alongside the original GT sports car of the late nineteen-sixties and seventies, the futuristic GT Concept – the star of this year’s Geneva International Motor Show – will celebrate its German public debut.
The legend began in 1965 when the Opel Experimental GT design study became the shooting star of that year’s Frankfurt International Motor Show. Designer Erhard Schnell’s vision of a sleek, uncompromising yet affordable sports car received such an enthusiastic reception that Opel decided to put it into production. Three years later and based on proven Kadett B technology, the GT hit the market. The rest, as they say, is history.
Back then the Kadett was the touring car to beat in motorsport, and the tuning community was eager to lay its hands on the new sports car built from affordable mass-produced components. At the Techno Classica Opel will therefore present – in addition to a classic production-GT in red – three conversions from tuners Conrero, Gerent and Irmscher.
Six-pack: At this year’s Techno Classica the futuristic Opel GT Concept will celebrate its German public debut alongside the original Experimental GT study, the production GT and three conversions from tuners Conrero, Gerent and Irmscher
In its heyday the Gerent GT in “Group 4 Appendix J” specification was a frequent contender for 2.0 liter class victories, while the example from the Italian Conrero racing team was the hero of the 1971 Targa Florio, where it finished ninth overall. Thanks to the ingenuity and race-craft of Conrero Squadra Corse, the Opel GT not only earned the respect of its 2.0 liter classmates – mostly Porsche 911 and 914/6 – it also managed to beat them. The Opel GT from Irmscher is an immaculate restoration.
The GT hall of fame in Essen will be completed by the Opel GT Concept. The avant-garde yet purist sports car renounces everything that disturbs the pure form. The GT Concept has no door handles or exterior door mirrors, and no superfluous decorative elements. It is a dynamic driving machine as symbolized by the typical sports car proportions, with a long bonnet and ultra-short overhangs, and the bold red signature line that graphically splits the vehicle body horizontally. The absence of a trunk lid, the intriguing and innovative door design, the central dual exhaust, the looks of the steering wheel and of course, the name all refer to the original GT. However, apart from striking red tires that also adorned the equally avant-garde Motoclub 500 Opel motorbike of 1928, the GT Concept does not mime its ancestor. Instead, without nostalgia or retro-design, the GT Concept re-invents the innovative, daring and exciting spirit of the original, opening a new chapter in the GT-legend.
Advanced Studio started its creative work at Opel in Rüsselsheim in 1964
Architecture and concept was modeled after GM studio in Warren, Michigan
Design icons from Opel GT to Opel Monza Concept
1964 was a year of Olympic Games – the XI Winter Games were opened in Innsbruck, and just a few months later, the Olympic flame burned at the XVIII Summer Games in Tokyo. And Rüsselsheim also extended an invitation to a special celebration. For the first time, guests were able to visit the new Opel Design Studio in building N10. For many of them it was also the last time, because after the grand opening, the futuristic-looking facilities were again closed to the public. From June 1964, forms, colors and functions of the brand’s cars were developed and decided here. “It’s easier to get into Fort Knox than into N10,” said an insider back then.
The new, ultra-modern Opel Styling facility that opened in 1964 in the N10 building was directly inspired by GM Styling in Detroit. This new set-up propelled Opel to the leading edge of automotive design in Europe.
The formal opening of the building marked a milestone in European automotive history. It was the largest design studio owned by an automaker in Europe. Up until then, most European car manufacturers often commissioned external specialists for the development of new concept cars. Northern Italy, in particular the area around the capital of the Piedmont region, Turin, was regarded as the mecca of automobile design. Pietro Frua, Guiseppe “Nuccio” Bertone and Pininfarina had all set up their coachbuilding enterprises between the Alps and the Apennines. They were responsible for the design of many of the car manufacturers’ new models and concepts.
First studies from European car manufacturers
The idea for Opel’s own design studio came from US parent company GM. In Warren, Michigan, near company headquarters in Detroit, GM Styling had already been working on the future of the automobile since the late 1950s. The first attention-getting concept car had been presented even earlier: after the Art & Color Section established in 1927 and headed by Harley Earl was re-named GM Styling in 1937, just one year later GM presented the Buick Y-Job – the first genuine concept vehicle in automotive history. The goal had been to develop a new, large convertible for the Buick brand to present to the public. The building in Warren was now built on the Rüsselsheim premises, identical in form, layout and function, just on a smaller scale.
In the early 1960s, GM Styling was the biggest and most powerful design organization in the world. By 1956, GM Styling’s 1,200 staff members had settled into the brand new building designed by Eero Saarinen at GM’s Technical Center in Warren, near Detroit. Opel benefited considerably from GM’s power and vast expertise.
However, the Rüsselsheim design studio’s task was much more complex. It was to develop not only the design language of new model lines, but its sharp minds and visionaries were to reach out beyond the confines of daily business and research the design of future vehicles. Design was seen as strategic focus for future success, not as an end in itself. And this is exactly what made the difference. While others at best developed the shape of a new body, in Rüsselsheim thought was being put into design language and emotions, including aspects like what kind of statement, what character does the customer expect from the car of the future.
Clare M. MacKichan, founder of Opel Styling in Rüsselsheim, sits in the middle of his staff for one of their first meetings in their new building. They made Opel Styling the most advanced and powerful automotive design organization in Europe.
Advanced Studio was a department in N10, free from daily design work, charged not with working on what should be on the road tomorrow or the day after, but with developing possibilities and opportunities for products that would win over customers years down the road. This was a real challenge. Because as a designer back then said, if you are a step ahead of the mainstream’s taste, you are moving around on the precipice to boredom. Take a brave step further, and you have made yourself inaccessible to most people. Or to put it more bluntly: had someone entered the king’s palace in the 19th century with a tablet PC, that person would have had to reckon with being thrown in jail for subversive behavior. Maybe that is why some automobile studies look boring and uninspired just a few years after their premiere.
Opel’s design team led by Erhard Schnell (standing right) try out the future Opel GT’s interior at Opel’s brand new Advanced Studio.
The Opel design studio’s task made it unique in Europe. It quickly turned into a European school for automobile design that had a magical attraction for the best in the industry. The studio’s personnel list from the past reads like a Who’s Who of the automotive design world: Anatole Lapine, Erhard Schnell, George Gallion, Charles M. ‘Chuck’ Jordan, Herbert Killmer, Chris Bangle, Murat Nasr and Hideo Kodama. And more than a few made their way to other manufacturers during their career after other brands had also established their own design studios years later. Many ideas, forms and design statements in automobiles originated in Rüsselsheim and reach back into the 1960s.
Following the stunning success of the Experimental GT at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Opel decided to put the car into production. While engineers were developing the chassis and powertrain of the future Opel GT, designers adapted its shape for production, which required creating new sketches and clay models.
Opel GT production started in 1968. But Opel designers had further ideas and the Advanced design team under Erhard Schnell (speaking with Hans Seer) prepared a proposal for an Aero GT with a targa roof, here as a clay model, for the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The list of design icons created by the Opel Advanced Design Studio in these 50 years can hardly be topped in its diversity. The Opel Experimental GT was the first masterpiece of work the young, committed team presented just one year after the new design studio was opened. The bold sports car already made its debut in 1965 at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). Thereafter in quick succession followed the Opel CD, a streamlined coupé with a V8 engine in 1969, the GT2 with sliding doors in 1975 and the extremely aerodynamically optimized Tech1, whose drag coefficient of Cd 0.235 was an absolute sensation in the early 1980s. The women and men from the Advanced Design Studio team presented their latest work at the last IAA in Frankfurt. The Opel Monza Concept shows design solutions and technical approaches that will appear in the brand’s model lines in the coming years.
