![]() ![]() I have always felt manufacturers don’t want to try as hard to make economical good reliable 2 door sports cars. The space in hood area in front was not flat and only good for a soft briefcase you wouldn’t be putting there to begin with). Yet if the Opel GT had a hatchback, it would have had a run similar to Toyota MR2, yet more practical than the MR2 (my MR2 had a rear trunk, but put your ice cream there by the engine and you spilled a milkshake in the trunk. It’s almost criminal the back 1/3rd of the car is essentially useless because it’s only accessible behind tall bucket seats that a larger guy like me aren’t keen on fumbling around behind. What price do you think will send this one to a new owner? Prices have strengthened for these pretty cars in the last several years this seller could achieve a much better result if he were more forthcoming with the car’s history and condition. Still, the GT’s swoopy looks are a strong selling point. Its dimensions are diminutive and the hood opening is not generous. This mechanism can fail, and speaking of failures, this car is a tight squeeze when repairs are needed. The headlamps are operated manually, and they rotate around a longitudinal axis. Still, some 70,000 copies were sold in the US through the end of production in 1973. The Opel GT was sold through Buick dealerships, a slightly confusing strategy since Buick’s image was about as far from sporty as you could get. We can’t see behind the seats, but that’s the access to the trunk – through a vinyl “curtain”. On the other hand, the floor we’re shown is clean. The carpets, upholstery, dash, and steering wheel are cracked or torn. A revision to the listing indicates that the car does run and drive. The transmission was usually a four-speed manual but a surprising number of GTs arrived with a three-speed automatic. The factory-supplied carburetor was a Solex, but Weber replacements are incredibly common, usually topped by the rectangular aftermarket air cleaner seen above. In 1971, the 1.1 liter was discontinued, leaving the roughly 90 hp 1.9 to carry the flag. Through 1970, the Opel GT could be ordered with either a 1.1 liter or a 1.9 liter overhead valve four-cylinder engine situated far back in the engine bay for better weight distribution – which still wasn’t great at 54%/46% front/rear. Built around Kadett mechanicals but with a complex shell manufactured by French firm Brissonneau and Lotz (known for locomotives), the car was replete with quirks including door openings cut into the roof, rotating headlights, and no exterior trunk opening. The public loved the little car, but it took three more years for the GT to enter production. That moment was at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show. Only when Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen became GM’s Overseas chief did the prototype see the light of day. ![]() Sports cars were nowhere on the company’s résumé, so management was not particularly keen when the project was revealed. The GT was conceived in 1963 by Chevy Tri-Five designer Clare MacKichan, who had been sent to Germany to run Opel’s creative studio. Opel was owned by General Motors for decades, forming the cornerstone of GM’s European operations. The car is located in Martinsville, Indiana. In an eBay listing that is distinguished by its brevity, we find this 1971 Opel GT, bid to $5401, reserve not met. ![]()
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