Stumbled across this Opel GT, mistakenly labeled as an Opel "Manta", on Facebook Marketplace the other morning while I was searching for rear end and suspension parts for my 1977 Corvette. That's fitting seeing how some of the design work on these cars were done by the same team that penned C3 Corvette's and these were known as "Junior Corvette's". Asking price is a not unreasonable $10,500. Especially so when you consider it's stuffed with a "built" Chevrolet 350 V-8. I mean, I'd never pay that but I wouldn't chide you and say you over paid for this if you bought it.
Like many sports cars used to be and some still are (looking at you, sixth gen Chevrolet Camaro), the 1969-1973 Opel GT was based on humble sedan underpinnings. In this case, Opel's 1965 B Series Kadett which was as bland looking as Euro-mobiles got back in the '60's. Well, save for stuff that rolled out of Russia and East Germany. Shoot, the Kadett even made Rambler's look cool.
It's not that the Kadett was ugly, it was just boring and uninspired looking. It was, however, a fairly competent little handler; especially compared to the plowing, truckish oafs pushed out by the Big Three over here back then. In that regard, amazing what a set of sexy clothes will do for a dowdy but smart wall flower. I don't know about you but I find something veddy alluring about a smart, sassy, bookish librarian.
However, I can say with all certainty that had I been of car buying age and means back then I'd pass on one of these instead opting for its big brother, the Corvette. Despite the fact that the GT could run circles around it. And for a lot less money. Hey, never confuse me with someone who's makes smart automotive purchases.
Well, run circles around it once it got moving. These things were powered by either Kadett's 1.1 liter overhead valve or 1.9 liter cam-in head four-cylinder engines making sixty-seven and one-hundred and two horsepower respectively. The 1.9, of course, providing significantly better acceleration for the one-ton two seater than the 1.1 but still no C3 of the same vintage with even its base engine.
Speaking of engines, aside from saying this thing is "built", there aren't any details in the ad about either what went into this or even a boast about what it can do. So, I'm left to merely speculate. And rather than get all engine geeky about it, much as I'd love to, I'll just leave it at that and just assume that this big engine would provide exhilarating acceleration. I'm not crazy about the little air cleaner sticking up out of the hood but aside from that, sure looks fast. don't it?
Opel brought back the "GT" nameplate for a short lived sporty two-seater back in the '00's that while quite fetching, didn't quite check all the boxes on the purity of form that the original had. Even if it was a vastly superior automobile all the way around. GM also sold that car as the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice.
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