1968 OPEL GT 1.9L 4MT (90 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Dubbed the “European Corvette,” the Opel GT was a bold move made by GM’s European arm, which tried to combine a sports car with an economical one.

Opel was trying to raise its market share and introduced the GT in 1968 as an alternative to affordable sports cars. Moreover, its fuel efficiency was excellent since it was powered by small engines. As a result, even though it lasted only five years on the market, it managed to sell more than 100,000 units worldwide, including in the U.S.

The car’s design was definitely influenced by the Mako Shark concept car imagined by Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda in 1961. The GT featured a unique opening system for the headlights, which revolved and hid inside the bodywork so it could offer a more aerodynamic look. In addition, the short cabin was good just for two passengers, while the sloped rear end hosted the trunk.

Inside, the car featured a revolutionary dashboard with an instrument cluster continued by the center stack. In those times, most cars didn’t even feature a center stack, but this little Opel did. The bucket seats offered an average bolstering on the sides, reminding its customers that the car was built for handling more than just straight lines, which was quite slow even by those times’ standards.

Under the hood, Opel installed a small, 1.1-liter engine that provided a mere 59 ponies (60 PS). As an option, customers could have opted for the larger 1.9-liter unit that had about 30 ponies more. Both versions were paired to a four-speed manual gearbox. The more powerful version was available with a three-speed auto.