Opel GT Love: Little Corvette turns 50 Kapitän, Admiral, Diplomat, Manta, Monza - many Opels have illustrious names and thrilling designs. But there is just one true legend of the brand with the flash: the GT. For generations of drivers the sports coupé is an eye-catcher, milestone, cult, and dream. It is regarded as the most sensational Opel ever. And as an example for today's models - especially the GT Concept, which premiered at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2016. "When I was a young boy and saw the Opel GT, I knew: When I grow up, I must have this car. My wish came true", says former Opel manager Karl-Thomas Neumann in his preface. And Bob Lutz, living automobile legend, 84 year old combat jet pilot, who, as a young marketing director at Opel, played a substantial role in starting the GT series, praises the GT: "The GT has a lot in common with my Alpha Jet: It is not very comfortable, has weak air-conditioning, the boot is almost non existent. But that is irrelevant. One hour in the Jet or GT - and you feel just happy. Almost younger." The slogan for the GT matched this feeling: "Just flying is better". A promise that also proved true in motorsports. And as an experimental diesel and electric GT, the German answer to the Corvette even achieved world records.
Im nächsten Jahr feiert Opel 125 Jahre Automobilbau. 1899 ging's los in Rüsselsheim, vorher hatte man Nähmaschinen und Fahrräder gebaut. Waren die ersten Modelle noch Joint Ventures, wie man heute sagen würde - mit Lutzmann und Darracq -, erscheint 1904 die erste Opel-Eigenkonstruktion. Das Buch zum Jubiläum hat sich Opels Kommunikationschef Harald Hamprecht flugs selbst geschrieben. Er hat bei Opel "gelernt", wurde später Journalist und kehrte 2012 zur Firma zurück, bei der schon sein Vater gearbeitet hatte. Dementsprechend ist das Werk mit viel Liebe und Detailreichtum geschrieben, es geht auch viel um die Menschen, die Opel im Blut haben. Opel Love. Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld, 272 Seiten, 532 Fotos, 49 Euro. fbs.
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