Of course there is an American role model for the Opel GT, the Corvette Sting Ray from the parent company Chevrolet. It has appeared a year earlier, but with eight cylinders and up to 7.5 liters of displacement, a corresponding suspension, different pop-up headlights pull-headlights and detachable roof halves.
In any case, an independent design is created, not a simple reduction. Even today (2008) that as a classic beauty look as almost timeless. However, such special bodies have their price. . Once the rust has set in it, it is difficult to remove free of residues.
The technical chassis is from the Kadett. Thus the maximum vehicle width is fixed. Even with the low tyre width the GT can not match its American model. Tyre diameter and wheelbase could also be slightly larger. Despite or because of these limitations, the designers have done really good work.
What the pictures above do not show, the hand-operated folding mechanism of the headlights. They do a rotation of 180 ° around the longitudinal axle. The Opel GT will be a success though neither it has four seats nor reasonable access to the trunk. For cost reasons, the GT must get by with series engines of 1.1 and 1.9 liters, which at the stronger nevertheless results in a respectable top speed.
With today's cars the Opel GT may not be compared. For this the engines are - even the with more displacement - to phlegmatic. In the American version this will lose again 3.6 kW (5 HP). After all, it reached then still 180 km/h, but tough when accelerating and revving up. After all, it is elastic and in fact quiet, although it is not so far away with the noise isolation.
The dashboard peppered as standard with watches is the last cry at that time, the lack of lateral support of the seats not unusual. Of course, the indirect steering can not entirely convince, but the relatively simple suspension does a good job, although somewhat at the expense of comfort. What is that compared to the feeling of sitting in one of the best styled cars of its time. 03/08
Opel GT