ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup gets more International Profile in 2022

• ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup starts second season with detail improvements
• Seven attractive events in Germany, Austria, France and Netherlands
• Performance and reliability of Opel Corsa-e Rally further increased

Opel Corsa-e Rally

As the last battery-electric Opel Corsa-e Rally crossed the finish line at the final round of last year’s ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, the preparations for 2022 began. In addition, the traction and sound of the Corsa-e Rally car underwent further development.

During the winter, the ADAC and Opel left no stone unturned in their efforts to make the world’s first electric rally cup even better. 2022 ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup promises even more excitement and variety.

Firstly, the 2022 calendar has become significantly more attractive and international. In addition to rounds of the German Rally Championship, the 100 kW (136 hp) e-cars will appear on equally challenging and exciting events in neighbouring countries. ADAC Rally Sulingen, the ADAC Rally Stemweder Berg, the ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally and the ADAC 3-Städte Rally form the German basis. They are complemented by guest outings on the ELE Rally in the Netherlands, the Rally Weiz in Austria and the Rally Mont Blanc in the French Alps.

Fine tuning: Better sound, even more traction

Despite the high reliability and impressive performance of the Opel Corsa-e Rally, the technology of the revolutionary rally car has been further optimised. For example, a revised limited slip differential ensures that the drivers can put even more of the 260 Newton meters of torque onto the road. The sound system has been optimised as part of the overall safety concept, making the electric rally car easier to hear and enhancing its acoustic appeal.

Image of electrified rallying continues to gain strength. Teams and drivers from all over Europe are showing interest in ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup. The rally youngsters have their eyes on the €100,000 prize money and unique chance, after proving their skills, to progress to the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team the following year. There they will get behind the wheel of the Opel Corsa Rally4 and compete in international rallies.

“With ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, long-standing partners ADAC and Opel have created a milestone in international motorsport”, said Opel Motorsport Director, Jörg Schrott. “We have proved that electric rallying works and is exciting. Cup will be even better this season, thanks to the highly attractive calendar and the fine tuning of the technology.”

“ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup is an important cornerstone of the ADAC sustainability strategy, in which sustainable, future-oriented motorsport plays a pioneering role”, added ADAC Motorsport boss, Thomas Voss. “Sport is undergoing great change. ADAC and Opel want to contribute actively to this transformation; and the first electric one-make rally cup worldwide already demonstrates today what the future can look like.”

ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup Calendar 2022

06./07.05.                 ADAC Actronics Rally Sulingen*                                      Germany

20./21.05.                 ELE Rally, Eindhoven                                                      Netherlands

10./11.06.                 ADAC Rally Stemweder Berg*, Lübbecke                       Germany

14.-16.07.                 Rally Weiz                                                                         Austria

19./20.08.                 ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally*, St. Wendel                        Germany

08.-10.09.                 Rally Mont-Blanc, Morzine                                               France      

14./15.10.                 ADAC 3-Städte Rally*, Lower Bavaria                             Germany

* German Rally Championship

Opel wishes Walter Röhrl Happy 75th Birthday

• Röhrl Monte winner: 1982 victory with Opel Ascona 400 was one of his best
• Röhrl Opel GT lover: Perfect mix of driving fun and social acceptance
• Röhrl Opel Corsa-e Rally fan: Respect for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup
• Röhrl birthday-boy: Up and down the mountains in snow-shoes

Walter Röhrl in Opel Ascona 400

Rally driver of the century. Best rally driver of all time. Driver of the millennium. Even the late, great Niki Lauda called him a “genius on wheels”! Who else could it be but Walter Röhrl, former Opel works rally driver, double world champion rally driver and multiple winner of the famous Monte Carlo Rally, who today celebrates his 75th birthday.

However, titles like these leave the Bavarian motorsports icon stone cold. All he ever wanted to do was prove that he was simply the best rally driver in the world. “My aim was to show that I can win in any car,” said Röhrl in the book Opel Motorsport mit Tradition. And his life’s ambition was to win the Monte Carlo Rally, which he achieved in four different cars.

Opel the reliable: Röhrl and Opel Ascona 400 defeat powerful rivals to win 1982 Monte

According to Röhrl himself (who won the 1974 European Rally Championship in a works Opel Ascona A with co-driver Jochen Berger), one of his best Monte Carlo victories of all came in 1982 with the Opel Ascona 400. “We were up against Hannu Mikkola in the Audi Quattro with four-wheel drive and at least 400 hp,” he remembers. “Our Opel Ascona 400 however, had only rear-wheel drive and 260 hp! But Opel ‘der Zuverlässige’ (Opel the reliable) did the name proud and by the second stage we were already firmly in the lead.”

Rest is history, as they say, and following the Monte win Röhrl went on to claim his second World Rally Drivers Championship title (and Opel’s first) on the gruelling Ivory Coast Rally.

Röhrl remains closely connected to Opel to this very day. For instance, he owns an Opel GT that he acquired from his former chief mechanic, Herbert Fabian. “I like to take the GT when I do the shopping,” he smiles, “it is the perfect mixture of driving fun and social acceptance – when you turn up in an Opel GT there is no jealousy, only admiration.”

ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup: “Remarkable achievement”

Röhrl, the perfectionist behind the wheel who is famous for his straight-talking, is also a keen follower of the all-electric ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup with the Opel Corsa-e Rally. “It’s remarkable what they have achieved there,” he acknowledges. “Charging is a particular difficulty. Of course, the stages have to be shorter now. Long stages that we used to drive are impossible electrically. But if that is the price for bringing rallying into the 21st century then it is the right way to go.”

Opel Corsa-e Rally

Today, as usual, the sports fanatic Röhrl will celebrate his birthday on snow-shoes: “Two hours, first trampling uphill then downhill – glorious! If I don’t do sport every day I get crabby, even though I’m not as fit as I used to be. But recently I was on my bike with friends – some of them only about 50 – and I still blew them off, not only downhill, but uphill too!”

That is pure Walter Röhrl, the legendary race and rally driver idolized by motorsport fans all over the world. What else is there to say but “Congratulations and many happy returns on your 75th from everyone at Opel!”

Opel to become Purely Electric in record time

• Opel offer already includes twelve electrified versions
• Electric offer for entire light commercial vehicle line-up
• Electrified version of each model by 2024, purely electric in Europe by 2028
• Opel Crossland and Opel Insignia successors also battery-electric
• Opel Vivaro-e HYDROGEN with fuel cell technology already in use with customers
• New Opel Manta with purely electric drive by mid-decade
• Production of high-performance batteries in ACC giga factory in Kaiserslautern from 2025
• Opel pioneered electric mobility in Europe with Ampera and Ampera-e

Opel is becoming a purely electric brand

Opel is becoming a purely electric brand. By 2028, Rüsselsheim-based carmaker will have switched its entire product line-up to purely electric drives. Today, Opel already offers a comprehensive selection of electrified models. Presently, customers can order twelve electrified variants – from the small Opel Rocks-e to the large Movano-e transporter. A further battery-electric model will follow by mid-decade in the new interpretation of the Opel Manta. And the successors of the Opel Crossland and Opel Insignia will also be electric – and therefore emissions free.

“Opel is on a consistent path to going electric – and in record time. We are thus making an important contribution to reducing CO2. And we will not stop with the conversion of our product range: Together with our partners, we will be manufacturing our own high-performance batteries in Kaiserslautern as early as 2025. In addition, a resource-friendly new campus is being built at our headquarters in Rüsselsheim,” said Opel CEO Uwe Hochgeschurtz, explaining the brand’s strategy.

Opel’s ultimate goal is to offer electric vehicles that perfectly meet the demands of customers: In future, this includes driving ranges between 500 and 800 kilometres and a best-in-class fast-charging capability of 32 kilometres per minute.

Opel customers already have access to a comprehensive range of electrified models. All Opel light commercials vehicles already offer an emissions-free option. Opel Combo-e, Vivaro-e and Movano-e are battery-electric, while Opel Vivaro-e HYDROGEN offers an option with fuel cell technology. 

Opel Combo-e, Vivaro-e and Movano-e are battery-electric

Opel Vivaro-e HYDROGEN 

On the passenger car side, Opel Corsa-e and Mokka-e – winners of the coveted Golden Steering Wheel in 2020 and 2021 – have long since advanced to bestsellers. In Germany, the share of the battery-electric variants of these models already makes up more than 25 percent of all sales. New Opel Grandland and the new-generation Astra are both available as plug-in hybrids. Next year, the battery-electric Opel Astra-e will follow – as a five-door and Sports Tourer variant. Offer of emissions-free electric vehicles is rounded off by Opel Rocks-e, an urban electric vehicle for young people from the age of 15.

Twelve electrified Opel models already available in 2022.

Opel Manta to return: New interpretation with electric drive

By mid-decade, Opel will reinvent Manta as a purely electric car. Opel Manta, befitting the times we live in – emissions-free and versatile, a car that fans crave.

New Opel Manta-e

“New Opel Manta will be a highly emotional car once again. With electric power that ensures first-class acceleration on tap. Our Manta will once again stand for pure driving pleasure. We will build a fascinating, astoundingly spacious new interpretation,” said Hochgeschurtz.

Production to start in 2025: Giga factory in Kaiserslautern

Together with partners Total/Saft, Stellantis and Opel founded the “Automotive Cells Company” (ACC). A few months ago, Mercedes-Benz joined this joint venture. With this partnership, the parties are creating a world-class player in the field of developing and producing high-performance batteries for automotive industry. In addition, partners announced that they would increase ACC's industrial capacity in Kaiserslautern to up to 32 GWh. This will see a true giga factory for modern battery cell production created in Kaiserslautern, a traditional location for component and engine production.

Brand with the Blitz: Pioneer of electric mobility

Opel was even ahead of its time when it came to the market launch of electric cars that were fully suitable for everyday use. As early as 2012, an international jury of experts voted the Opel Ampera "Europe's Car of the Year" (COTY). Opel Ampera was a coupé-like four-seater with a so-called range extender. As with today's plug-in hybrids, the battery was charged externally. When driving, a combustion engine combined with a 54 kW generator provided enough electricity at all times. The Ampera could already drive up to 80 kilometres purely electrically - with range extender support, the range grew to around 500 kilometres.

2012: Opel Ampera "Europe's Car of the Year"

A purely battery-electric compact car followed in 2016 with Opel Ampera-e, a car that put an end to range anxiety in one fell swoop. A single charge of the 60 kWh lithium-ion battery covered a distance of up to 520 kilometres (according to NEDC) - at this point around 30 percent more than the closest competitor in the segment. In addition, electric vehicle offered a performance of 150 kW/204 hp and acceleration from zero to 50 km/h in just 3.2 seconds, which is comparable to a sports car. In addition to its liveliness, 4.16-meter-long Opel Ampera‑e impressed with plenty of space for up to five passengers.

2016: Opel Ampera-e

Opel Ampera and Ampera-e were especially popular in the Netherlands and Norway, markets that were already supporting electric car purchases at the time. At the latest with the introduction of the Opel Corsa-e, Opel made affordable electric mobility accessible throughout Europe.

Opel Corsa-e