Opel 1.8 litre
| Opel 1.8-litre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Opel (General Motors) |
| Production | 1931 - 1933 |
| Assembly | Rüsselsheim |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Body style |
4-door saloon/sedan 2-door Cabriolet with four seats but two side windows ”Touring” (Torpedo bodied 2- door 4-seater) ”Sonnen-” Limousine & coupe bodied incorporating steel sun-roof also offered in “bare chassis” form |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1790 cc side-valve 6-cylinder |
| Transmission |
till 1933: 3-speed manual No synchromesh |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,540 mm (100 in) |
| Length | 3,800 mm (150 in) - 3,960 mm (156 in) |
| Width | 1,480 mm (58 in) - 1,490 mm (59 in) |
| Height | 1,490 mm (59 in) - 1,670 mm (66 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Opel Regent |
| Successor | Opel »6« |
| Opel 1.8 litre | |
|---|---|
Opel 1.8 Liter series 1833 cabriolet 2 seater
|
till 1933: 3-speed manual
No synchromesh
The Opel 1.8-litre is a luxury car manufactured by Opel. Production commenced in January 1931, and continued till November 1933. The Opel 1.8-litre was the first new Opel to be launched following the purchase of an 80% share in Opel by General Motors (GM), and the first Opel to have been designed and developed by GM in North America .
The 1.8-litre has been seen as a replacement for the Opel 4/40 which had gone out of the production in September 1930, although in terms of advertised performance the new model was less powerful and, as launched, a little slower than the older car as well as being approximately 300 kg lighter.
The car came with a 1790 cc six cylinder side-valve engine fed by a Solex 30FV carburettor. A maximum output of 32 PS (24 kW; 32 hp) at 3,200 rpm was claimed. Advertised top speed was 85 km/h (53 mph). Power was transmitted to the rear wheels using a three speed gearbox controlled with a transmission stick beside the driver, in the middle of the floor.
1933 saw a small increase in both the compression ratio and the claimed power output. The transmission was replaced with a four speed unit, but still without synchromesh. This was now the transmission that would be fitted in the Opel »6« 2-litre when it appeared the next year. The claimed top speed now increased to 90 km/h (56 mph).
When production started in January 1931 with the so-called Opel 1.8-litre Series 18B, there were essentially three different body options. The entry level model was a two-seater cabriolet with fixed side windows and a fold-out “Dickey-seat” at the back, aggressively priced at 3,175 Marks. There was a four-door Limousine (sedan/saloon), and there was also a two-door “Sonnen-Coupe”. The “Sonnen-Coupe” had a black imitation leather roof covering, which the casual observer might mistake for a folding roof, and which curiously adumbrated the vinyl roof coverings which became fashionable among several mainstream auto-makers and their customers in Europe in the 1970s. The “Sonnen-Coupe” was in fact a style already familiar in France where cars with this type of body were called “Faux-Cabriolets” (False cabriolets). An added twist with the Opel 1.8 Litre “Sonnen-Coupe” was an openable steel panel sun roof, denoted by the reference in the car’s name to the sun.
Other body types that soon became available were a Torpedo style two door “Touring” body, a “Roadster” and a two-door “Limousine” (sedan/saloon).
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Wikipedia