Opel Calibra: the world’s most aerodynamic car was the slowest one in the showroom Here’s one of the loveliest ironies the car industry ever produced. In June 1989, Opel launched a car that broke a world record and held it for ten years. The Calibra was the most aerodynamic production car on the planet, with … Read more
Opel Monza: the day Opel dared to stare down Mercedes There’s a particular kind of car the British call a gentleman’s express. Big, fast, comfortable, six cylinders up front, room for four and their luggage, the sort of thing that eats a continent before lunch without ever raising its voice. For decades that territory belonged … Read more
Opel Manta: sketched in six weeks, still standing fifteen years later Ask any British enthusiast about affordable seventies coupés and the conversation starts and ends with the Ford Capri. The car you always promised yourself. Fair enough. But cross the Channel and there was another one playing the exact same game, built by people who … Read more
Opel GT: the baby Corvette that was never actually a copy Everybody who clapped eyes on an Opel GT in 1968 thought the same thing: somebody shrank a Corvette. The nickname wrote itself. Mini-Vette. Baby Corvette. And for fifty years that lazy shorthand has buried the far better truth, which is that this little German … Read more
Opel Speedster: The German Sports Car Built in England That Saved Lotus and Embarrassed Cars Costing Ten Times More Some cars are born with an identity crisis. The Opel Speedster is one of them. A sports car wearing a German badge, built on a British chassis, powered by an economy car engine, and priced low … Read more
DTM: How German Brands Created, Dominated, and Killed Their Own Championship DTM is the story of a suicide in slow motion. A brilliant championship, with the best touring cars in the world, cutting-edge technology, and elite drivers, that was destroyed by the very brands that created it. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t bad luck. … Read more
