And so Opel's engineers took a Manta A and turned it into a compact, sporty stand-alone EV that makes us long for a time of smaller, lighter cars-and perhaps even look forward to an electrified future. Prices for vintage Manta A models have long been on the rise, and given its cult status, it was a natural fit when Opel was looking for a suitable candidate for a restomod as a showcase for electrification. But while the Manta B was long seen as a tacky pseudo-racer, its image just recently beginning to recover, the Manta A has always been regarded as a real designer piece: a car priced for the masses, but of almost stunning beauty and sensuality. Too bad Opel has no plans to manufacture one.įew Americans remember the Opel Manta, even though it has been sold here from '71 through '75 and, as we wrote in our November 1976 issue, "has always found favor with this magazine." It's a different story in Europe, where the original Manta had a successor that was built into the late 1980s. It's small, light, and low on horsepower and range, but we love it anyway.The earlier Manta A has become a cult favorite, so it makes sense that Opel chose it as the subject of a restomod to showcase electrification in the Manta GSe ElektroMod.The 1970s-era Opel Manta was mainly a Europe-market car, although it was sold in the U.S.We have had the engine checked by a well known tuning specialist, and the car was also checked on a dyno/rolling road, producing exact factory figures. The only non original item that has been fitted is a stainless steel exhaust, and the car sounds absolutely incredible – Just like a 80’s Group B rally car should!Īlso worth noting, is that the correct stamping is in place on the airflow meter, as these meters have a different calibration to the standard GTE airflow meter. Naturally this still has the original 2.4 block fitted. This can be identified by the sizing and positioning of the 2.4 stamp within the casting of the engine block. What has also happened to some of these vehicles, is that the original engine removed, and put into a rally car (as the engine has had a gentle life being in a road car so is ideal for a rally car in need of an engine) and then a non original 2.4 block/engine, or even a 2.0 block put in to the road car. Whilst this does show significant power gains, it also removes from the originality of a 400 road car, as such, making this vehicle all the more special with it retaining the original fuel injection system. Many 400 road cars had the injection system removed, and carbs fitted in place. No corrosion was present, and no welding was needed, it was simply a case of giving the car a fresh lease of life – we have pictures prior to the light restoration. In 2010 the car was brought out of storage and had light restoration work completed to a very high standard. The last owner purchased the car from the Dutch collector in 1995, and upon the car arriving in the UK, the owner drove the car for 1km, and put the car in to storage for 14 years! Although this may sound crazy, the buyer had many other Opel Manta’s, including other 400’s. The owner sold the car on in the late 1980’s to a Dutch collector. #Opel manta drivers#Within the history file, are pictures of this vehicle at the Opel Homologation meeting in Russelheim, and is pictured with famous Opel rally drivers Jochi Klient and also Walter Rohrl along with the original Belgium owner and his daughter. The original owner, was a gentleman in Belgium, who purchased the car from his local Opel Dealer who was the main agent for Opel Sport and Irmscher at the time.
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