February 2008
From automobile pioneer to successful global automaker
Rüsselsheim. To date, Opel has produced more than 60 million cars, making it one of Europe’s leading automakers. The first four-wheel, engine-powered vehicle may have been built in Rüsselsheim 109 years ago, but the cornerstone for today’s global company was formed much earlier in 1862, by company founder
Adam Opel with his
first handmade sewing machine (View More Images). In 1886, Opel entered the booming industry of
bicycle manufacturing (View More Images), establishing a second core business for the company. Adam Opel’s five sons were enthusiastic cyclists, and together won over 550 races on Opel bicycles by 1898. In the decades that followed, Opel grew to become the world’s largest bicycle producer.
From muscle to engine power
The
start of motor vehicle production in 1899 marked the decisive turning point in the company’s history, and makes Opel one of the most well-established automakers in the world. After Adam Opel transformed his handicraft business into an industrial-sized sewing machine and bicycle producer with around 1000 employees, his five sons were looking for new challenges. They turned their attention to the motor car – the revolutionary invention of the late 1800s. And so, on January 21,
1899, the Opel brothers acquired Friedrich Lutzmann’s motor car plant and began production of the ‘Opel Patent Motor Car, System Lutzmann’ in Rüsselsheim. In early 1902, the brothers began building French Darracq models under license, selling them with the brand name Opel-Darracq. In the fall of the same year, the brothers unveiled their own first design at the Hamburg Motor Show – the Opel 10/12 hp motor car
(View More Images).
The foundation for further development had been laid, and in 1906 Opel already built its 1000th vehicle. The
real breakthrough came in 1909 with the legendary 4/8 hp Doctor’s Car (Doktorwagen)
(View More Images). It cost 3950 German marks – half as much as competitors’ luxurious models – and paved the way for more people to own their first motor car. This model’s success, and the introduction of the modular assembly system in 1910, contributed greatly to Opel’s growth, and by 1914, the company had become the largest German automaker with annual production rate of around 4000 cars. Opel also enjoyed
great success in motorsport with works driver Carl Jörns. With Opel’s 12.3-liter race car, which could produce 260 hp – an incredible figure at this time –, Jörns won countless sprint and uphill races. He even defeated future land speed record holder Malcolm Campbell with this car. By the end of his career in 1926, Jörns had achieved 288 victories and top podium finishes racing solely in Opel cars.
Revolution in series production: Assembly line makes its breakthrough
The benefits of volume production with assembly lines, such as lower manufacturing costs due to higher production rates, were reaped by Opel customers, and the affordable prices and high quality resulted in huge demand. The first assembly line-produced car in Germany was the green Tree Frog (Laubfrosch, Opel 4/12 hp) in 1924. Just two years later, the Tree Frog was available at an entry-level price of only 1990 German marks. The car was now no longer a plaything of the rich, but instead had become a reliable means of transport for all.
Opel’s RAK rocket program in the late 1920s caused a huge sensation, and on May 23, 1928, Fritz von Opel piloted the
RAK 2 to a top speed of 238 km/h on the Avus track in Berlin. Its successor, the RAK 3, set a new speed record for track-mounted vehicles of 256 km/h. Due to the increasingly turbulent economic situation resulting from the Great Depression, the Opel family began to search for a financially stable investor. In
1929, Adam Opel AG was taken over by the General Motors Corporation, and all activities were increasingly focused on the company’s core business of automobile production. The cooperation with GM enabled Opel to not only consolidate its strong market position, but to grow it, and in 1935 Opel produced over 100,000 vehicles in one year for the first time, including the Blitz truck at the new truck plant in Brandenburg
(View More Images).
From bicycle manufacturer to Europe’s largest automaker
In 1935, the new
Olympia (View More Images) model became the first German volume production vehicle to have an all-steel integral body and frame. The reduced weight offered considerable advantages, such as improved driving performance and fuel consumption. The rigid passenger cabin increased passive safety and paved the way for modern-day volume-production safety bodies. One year later, Opel became the largest automaker in Europe
(View More Images) and the first version of the million-selling Kadett model rolled off the production lines. In 1937, the last of 2.6 million Opel bicycles was built, and in 1940, the one-millionth Opel, a Kapitän, was produced, shortly before passenger car production was forced to cease because of World War II.
First Post-War Opel, 1946 The reconstruction of the plant, which had been almost completely destroyed in the war, began immediately after VE day on May 8, 1945. All intact sections of the Kadett production facilities were dismantled and sent to the Soviet Union as war reparations. Nevertheless, the first post-war Opel, a 1.5-ton Blitz truck, left the plant in
1946. Passenger car production recommenced in 1947 with a
re-engineered version of the pre-war Opel Olympia (View More Images). By 1950, the plant was fully operational again and reached pre-war annual production rates of over 100,000 vehicles three years later. The
two-millionth Opel (View More Images) was built in 1956: the pastel-colored, partly gold-plated Kapitän with three-box body became the star of many exhibitions.
Growth with new plants
To celebrate its centenary year in 1962, Adam Opel AG
opened a new plant in Bochum. The
new Kadett (View More Images) was produced there, marking Opel’s return to the popular compact car class for the first time since World War II. The choice of location also provided a huge boost to the Ruhr area. The Kadett quickly became a bestseller and by the time its successor, the Astra, was launched in 1991, over 11 million models had been sold worldwide.
Dudenhofen Test Center, 1966 A third plant was opened in Kaiserslautern in 1966, which primarily produced vehicle components. The small town of Dudenhofen in Hesse also benefitted from Opel’s success in 1966 with the opening of a state-of-the-art test center. The proving grounds at the plant in Rüsselsheim had been in use since 1951, but by 1966 they were no longer suitable for the tougher vehicle testing requirements. Even today, every new Opel model undergoes rigorous testing at the Test Center in Dudenhofen before it goes into series production. The 2.6 km2 site has 32 kilometers of roads, bump tracks, potholed courses, salt baths, mountain sections and a skid pad. The high-speed loop with a diameter of around 1.5 kilometers enabled speeds of up to 225 km/h even in 1966.
Sporty high-flyer – Opel puts the pedal to the metal
The
Opel GT began to roll off the Opel’s production lines in 1968 – an unforgettable coupé that won sports car fans’ hearts. Under the advertising slogan "Only flying is better", Opel established a reputation as a producer of cars with high levels of driving dynamics. In 1972, Opel set an economic record in Germany and once again became the largest German automaker with a market share of 20.4 percent. The years that followed were distinguished by the success of the new mid-size class Ascona
(View More Images) and its two-door coupé offshoot, the Manta
(View More Images). The Manta continued the line of successful sporty Opel models and became a cult car, selling around 500,000 units. In 1974, Walter Röhrl
(View More Images) took Opel’s motorsport successes to new heights when he and his co-pilot Jochen Berger became European rally champions in an Ascona A. In 1982, Röhrl went on to win the Rallye Monte Carlo and the World Rallye Championship together with Christian Geistdörfer in an Ascona 400 against strong competitors.
The effects of the first oil crisis and changing customer preferences prompted Opel to develop a completely new model portfolio at the end of the 1970s. Customers now wanted cars with good driving performance and the lowest possible fuel consumption. The aerodynamic Rekord E was the first car to meet these new requirements, and was highly popular among customers. The top-of-the-line Senator model
(View More Images) and Monza coupé
(View More Images) took these qualities into the luxury car class. The fifth-generation Kadett
(View More Images), the first Kadett to feature front-wheel drive, completed the new model portfolio. It was one of the most aerodynamic compact cars of its day, with a drag co-efficient of just 0.39.
Sporty Zaragoza – Birthplace of bestselling Corsa
To meet customer demands for a smaller car, Opel
developed the Corsa and opened a plant in the Spanish city of Zaragoza in 1982. The Corsa
(View More Images) quickly became the top-selling car in its segment and achieved great success over the decades that followed. In 2007, for example, the fourth-generation Corsa topped the supermini segment in Germany, and in January 2008, the 10-millionth Corsa left the assembly lines.
In 1983, the 20-millionth Opel – a Senator – left the production lines at the company’s home plant in Rüsselsheim. The highly successful Rekord model was succeeded in 1986 by the Opel Omega
(View More Images), which set new standards in chassis design and fuel economy. With a drag co-efficient of 0.28, the Omega was the most aerodynamic production sedan in the world, and featured a state-of-the-art injection engine. The Omega was named ‘European Car of the Year’ in 1987. The Vectra
(View More Images) was launched in 1988, replacing the highly successful Ascona model, and in 1990 Opel revived its coupé tradition with the Calibra
(View More Images), which immediately jumped to the top of its market segment.
Catalytic Converter, 1989 Two key issues facing the automobile industry in the mid-1980s were the reduction of fuel consumption and the optimization of exhaust gas emissions. Opel also took a pioneering role here, becoming the first German automaker to offer its
complete model portfolio with a catalytic convertor. In April 1989, Opel was the first European automaker to fit all its models, from supermini to large sedans, with a catalytic converter ex works.
Astra & Co: Broad range with high levels of safety
In early 1991, production of the Kadett came to an end after 55 years and 11 million units, and was replaced by the new Astra. Opel also fought off fierce competition from Japanese automakers in the off-road vehicle segment with the Frontera
(View More Images), which powered to the top of its segment right from its launch. In 1992, Opel opened its fourth German plant in Eisenach
(View More Images), a city in the former GDR with a rich automotive heritage. It was here that Opel first implemented its new production system, which set new standards in productivity and quality. The plant became a benchmark within the concern for all production centers worldwide. The list of locations in Europe expanded in 1998 with the opening of a new plant in Gliwice, Poland.
Besides the constant improvement in environmental compatibility and economy of all Opel cars, the brand continues to have a strong focus on optimizing safety features. Once again, Opel took a pioneering role in the market and in 1991, the Astra was fitted with the Opel Safety System, which included side-impact protection
(View More Images), anti-submarining ramps in the seats and seat belt tensioners. Since 1995, all models have come with full-size driver and front passenger airbags as standard. The safety package was later expanded to include seat-integrated side airbags, the Pedal Release System (PRS) and pyrotechnical seat-belt tensioners.
100 years of Opel cars: Non-stop development
Opel
celebrated 100 years of automobile production in 1999 with the Opel Millennium Express train, which traveled around Europe, and its 50-millionth car – an Omega
(View More Images). The Rüsselsheim automaker also established a new compact van segment with the Zafira
(View More Images) and its highly variable Flex7 interior concept. The first German microvan, the Agila
(View More Images), was launched a year later. Opel also supplemented the Combo in its commercial van segment with the Vivaro van
(View More Images) in 2001 – a smaller counterpart to the Movano, which was launched in 1999. The passenger car range was expanded by the Meriva, Signum and open-top Tigra TwinTop and Astra TwinTop
(View More Images).
The Opel Performance Center began designing high-performance sporty versions of many popular Opel cars, the newest of which is the Corsa OPC. Based on the fourth Corsa generation, it boasts 192 hp and helped Manuel Reuter set a new supermini circuit record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in August 2007.
Facing new challenges: Green technology for the next Millennium
Ecotec 1.2 TWINPORT, 2004 Together with sportiness and practicality, Opel engineers have another top priority going into the new millennium: the development of environmentally friendly cars. To this end, Opel began an engine initiative in 2003 with new CDTI common-rail diesel engines and TWINPORT gasoline-saving technology. The Zafira 1.6 CNG
(View More Images) and Combo 1.6 CNG with their monovalentplus concept have taken a pioneering role in natural gas propulsion. Opel has consistently developed and optimized this concept for natural gas operation. At the IAA 2007, the Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX
(View More Images) made its premiere. Equipped with a diesel particulate filter as standard, the supermini emits just 119 grams CO2 per kilometer and has an average consumption of just 4.5 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers.
It signaled the start of the economical ecoFLEX range, which consists of the lowest emission car from each model line. The
Opel Flextreme at the IAA 2007 provided a look into the future of automotive transportation. A milestone in the development of a new propulsion concept, it features an electric engine, which receives its power from batteries. A combustion engine is onboard purely to charge the batteries. The Flextreme is fitted with the completely new, environmentally friendly E-Flex system, which could enable commuters to travel distances of up to 55 kilometers every day while emitting no CO2 emissions.
Around 26,000 employees in four German plants and the International Technical Development Center (ITDC) are working together to ensure that Opel cars meet future standards in environmental compatibility, yet remain sporty and practical. With its broad model portfolio, Opel has something for everybody: from the bestselling Corsa supermini, sporty Astra range, flexible Meriva and Zafira MPVs, Combo, Vivaro and Movano vans, the four-wheel drive Antara
(View More Images) launched in 2006 to the Opel GT roadster
(View More Images), which was unveiled in 2007 – Opel offers over a dozen different models. The sales figures speak for themselves: to date, Opel has sold over 60 million vehicles. The next product highlight, the Opel Insignia, is already in the starting blocks. The brand new model will be unveiled to the public this year.
Additional Images
 First Sewing Machine, 1862 |
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 4/8 PS Doctor's Car, 1909 |
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 Post-War Olympia, 1947-1949 |
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