- Opel convertibles with flair: 14 models as symbols of open-air driving fun
- Over 100 years of elegant automotive history at Stand 125 in Hall 2
- Visitor highlight: Photos in Opel Motor Car “System Lutzmann” from 1899
- New Cascada continues Opel mid-size convertible tradition
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| Opel Patent Motor Car System Lutzmann (1899) |
With 14 cars spanning more than 100 years of car manufacturing, Opel
exhibits a selection of its most popular convertibles at this year’s
Techno Classica in Essen, Germany from April 10-14. The glamorous
exhibit includes the first Opel Patent Motor Car, System Lutzmann of
1899, the 10/18 Doppelphaeton with its ‘American top’, the Rekord A
Cabrio from the company Deutsch, the Monza Keinath C5, and the new
mid-size Opel Cascada convertible presented at this year’s Geneva Motor
Show.
A special highlight for visitors to Opel Stand 125 in Hall 2: They
can revive the past and get their picture taken in a real “Lutzmann”
from 1899. Models from Carlottas Mode dressed in 19th century
clothing bring an extra special touch to the ambience for visitors
daily from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. from Friday, April 12 to Sunday, April 14
.The scene is set in front of a large screen that gives visitors the
feeling of driving down a picturesque, tree-lined road in a gentle
breeze. This personal souvenir photo from the Techno Classica can be
taken during the duration of the show.
As in previous years, Adam Opel AG’s historical vehicle department shares the over 700 square meter stand at the 25th Techno Classica with Alt-Opel-IG, the largest Opel brand club in the world.
Cascada as modern interpretation of Opel Kapitän and Co.
The elegant Cascada extends a tradition for premium convertibles,
like the famous Opel Kapitän presented 75 years ago which was offered as
a two and four-door sedan and convertible at its debut in 1938. At
Opel’s stand in Essen, the Cascada and Kapitän convertibles will be
flanked by conversions from renowned coachbuilders who constructed dream
cabrios based on Opel cars well into the 1980s.
Using the stately Opel Admiral of 1937 as a basis, the Hebmüller
Karosserie company in Wülfrath created a luxurious, two-seat sports
cabrio, and Gläser of Dresden took a similar approach with the Opel
Super 6 in 1936. Coachbuilder Deutsch from Cologne converted the
four-seat Rekord C in the late 1960s, and Keinath in Dettingen crafted
an attractive cabrio from the sporty Monza coupé.
Opel’s Essen display also includes: an Opel 6/12 from 1910, the successor to the legendary 4/12 Doctor’s Car, an ultra-chic 1.1-liter luxury two-seater; a sporty 1.8-liter Moonlight Roadster from 1933 and an Olympia cabrio sedan from 1950. All are part of Opel’s Classic collection in Rüsselsheim.
The very first Opel was, in fact, a cabrio. Like all cars built at
the dawn of the automobile age, the Opel Patent Motor Car, System
Lutzmann from 1899 followed traditional carriage design principles and
had a body without an integral roof. By the time production ended in
1901, 65 Patent Motor Cars had left the Rüsselsheim factory.
The Opel 10/18 hp from 1908 and the 6/12 hp from 1910 also came
without a top – a roof and side panels were available at extra cost.
While an open body was still standard as late as the 1920s, closed
bodies followed in the 1930s and open-air driving then became a symbol
of luxury and status.
Vehicles from Rüsselsheim inspired famous coachbuilders to create their own beauties using Opel models as a starting point. The Deutsch company from Cologne-Braunsfeld built 51 units of their sporty Moonlight Roadster. The basis for this racy two-seater was the 1.8-liter model line presented in 1931, with which Opel became the first volume manufacturer to introduce an affordable straight-six engine in the mid-size class.
Groundbreaking vehicle and engine design
To celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary, Adam Opel AG
presented two novel vehicles with trend-setting design on February 17,
1937: the Super 6 and the premium class Admiral model. Both cars were
equipped with advanced overhead valve engine technology. The Super 6,
for the upper mid-size class, featured a smooth-running 2.5-liter
straight-six with 55 hp, and the premium class Admiral had a powerful
six-cylinder with 3.6-liter displacement and 75 hp. Both models were
offered ex-works as a sedan, as well as a two-door, and in the Admiral’s
case, also as a four-door cabrio.
In addition to coachbuilders Buhne (Berlin), Autenrieth (Darmstadt)
and Hebmüller (Wülfrath), Gläser from Dresden built special bodies based
on the Super 6. The Gläser cabrio was a roadster-like convertible with
two jump seats in the long rear body. Based on the Admiral, the sport
cabrio from Hebmüller featured similar elegant, but even larger, design
and was more luxurious and exclusive.
Another cabrio for more discerning tastes is the Kapitän convertible
presented in 1937, which was available in addition to the sedan. The
first Opel Kapitän – whose successors were among the best-selling
six-cylinder cars in Germany into the early 1960s – achieved sales of
25,374 units, 4,563 of which were cabrios. The Super 6, Admiral and
Kapitän were, for the time being, the last cabrios offered by the
company.
The diversity of open-top driving was then reduced to one model. Unlike a full cabrio, the Opel Olympia cabrio sedan had fixed window frames connected to the windshield – a pre-war style of open-top driving that was well-established with manufacturers and popular with buyers. In 1956, the last car with this design, in the shape of the Olympia Rekord model line, rolled off the assembly line. The role of a popular compact cabrio was then assumed by various versions of the Kadett and Astra.
Into the future with the Cascada – and back to the roots of cabrios
Predecessors of the new four-seat Cascada include creations from Karl
Deutsch in Cologne. The coachbuilder converted the Rekord A of 1963
into a cabrio, as it did with the Rekord C in 1966 and its sporty sister
model the Commodore A. The entry-level price for a two-door Rekord C
base car was 7,590 German marks, and the conversion cost another 4,000
marks. Only around 30 open-air Rekord A and B models were built, while
about 50 Rekord C and Commodore A cabrios were produced before the model
change in 1972. Instead of a mid-size class sedan, Opel’s partner,
Keinath in Dettingen, chose the sporty upper-class Monza coupé as the
basis for its conversion in the early 1980s. Just like the production
model, the sophisticated Keinath C5 – with two individual Recaro seats
in the rear cabin and a modified notchback – was available with four or
six-cylinder engines with outputs up to 180 hp. The base price was
81,000 marks and the total units built of the exclusive custom-made
model remain in the two digits.
The tradition of large convertibles is experiencing a renaissance
with the new Opel Cascada. The nearly 4.7-meter long mid-size
convertible has four full-sized seats, high-quality, classic soft-top
technology and a load volume of up to 380 liters. The Cascada features a
wide range of economical, technically sophisticated engines, the
highlight of which is the 1.6-liter SIDI Turbo from the new family of
mid-size gasoline engines. The 125 kW/170 hp Turbo with direct injection
offers excellent refinement and smooth power development – the perfect
basis for gentle and calm cruising. The new Cascada is once again being
built in an Opel plant, just like the Kapitän and Admiral in their day.
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