The greatest success of the Ascona B 400 came just after the presentation of the successor, when Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer won the world championship title in 1982. This was to succeed the Ascona B 400, which was built according to Group 4 regulations.
When the regulations for Group B in the World Rally Championship became known, Opel decided to develop a corresponding car based on the Manta B. This led to the fact that their products were officially available through the Opel dealer network and special edition models were developed together. At the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, Irmscher had already proven several times that tuning should not necessarily be equated with tinkering. Nowadays, this chain of words alone rings all the alarm bells among the tie-wearing business economists who now sit in decision-making positions at most car manufacturers.
A German subsidiary of a major American corporation collaborated with an independent tuning company to create a homologation vehicle for rallying. When it killed the Manta, Opel pretty well lost its sporty reputation too.At the 1981 Geneva Motor Show, a car debuted that would probably no longer be possible in this form today. The Manta gave a credible sports image to a brand which up to then had been regarded only as a producer of reliable but dull road cars. The last car, a GSi, is in Opel's museum. Production of the Manta B ceased in 1981 after some 550,000 cars. For the road market a small number of 125bhp and 136bhp Mantas were produced, the i200 and i240 respectively - and 1984 saw a 110 2-litre GTE. Despite initial problems of excessive power to the back axle, it developed quite successfully until Group B rallying was stopped in 1986 for safety reasons. In 1983, a 1.8-litre version was badged the Manta GT, and Opel built the Manta 400 specifically for rallying with a 275bhp 2.4-litre engine. The limited edition GT/J Coupé added more matt black paint and sport stripes, as well as an all-black interior. If you wanted to stand out further, you could have a front spoiler. With chrome becoming unfashionable in the late 1970s, 1980 saw the bumpers covered in black plastic (full plastic bumpers had not yet evolved). The hatchback CC (combi coupé) was added. Soon afterwards Opel dropped the 1.6 engine, and in 1978 a new 100bhp 2-litre engine replaced the 1.9. A special chassis kit could be ordered to beef up suspension and tighten steering. In 1977, the SR and Berllinetta specs were merged and the 1.9 engine became standard. For those who wanted a bit of visual pizzaz, the SR Rallye came with black matt bonnet and "rally" stripes and some extra instruments. You could order it with a 2.8-litre six lifted from the big Commodore saloon tuned to push 142bhp - or, in some markets, you could have a Manta with a 1.2-litre engine from the Kadett. In Europe, the car went from success to success.
The Manta had a 1.6-litre engine that came in 68bhp and 80bhp power output - and eventually a 90bhp 1.9-litre. Its fastback styling seems to have been significantly influenced from US designs, giving it a more macho edge than the Capri's rather sweet curves. It quickly gained street cred among what we today call the "racer" brigade.ĭeveloped at a time when Ford's Capri had established a European style copying America's sporty "pony" cars, the Manta A immediately hit the button with those who found the Ford's name a little on the hairdressing side. The Opel Manta was Europe's first affordable "muscle" car. If selling more than a million of a non-mainstream model over an 18-year period doesn't make a car special, nothing will.
0 kommentar(er)
