Opel 2.0 litre

Opel 2.0-litre
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel (General Motors)
Also called	Opel »6«
Production	1934 - 1937
Assembly	Rüsselsheim
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car
Body style	2-/ 4-door “Limousine” (saloon/sedan) 2-door Cabriolets with four seats and two or four side windows ”Cabrio-Limousine” 2- door 4-seater with fixed side windows and roll-back soft top long wheel base (lwb) 6 seater “Limousine” (saloon/sedan) lwb “Pullman-Limousine” lwb ”Cabrio-Limousine” Open topped lwb Landaulet lwb “Droschken-Laundualet” (taxi special) also offered in “bare chassis” form, and used by coachbuilders for various specialist bodies
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	1932 cc side-valve 6-cylinder
Transmission	4-speed manual No synchromesh
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,642 mm (104.0 in) or 3,050 mm (120 in)
Length	4,390 mm (173 in) or 4,800 mm (190 in)
Width	1,565 mm (61.6 in)
Height	1,600 mm (63 in) –
Chronology
Predecessor	Opel 1.8 litre
Successor	Opel Super Six

Opel 2.0 litre
Opel 2-litre cabriolet interior

Opel 2.0 litre
An Opel 2-litre that survived the war, photographed professionally in Leipzig during the 1951 Trade Fair

The Opel 2.0-litre, also known as the Opel »6«, is a luxury car that was manufactured by Opel. Produced from January 1934, the 2.0-litre replaced the Opel 1.8 litre which had ceased production in November 1933. Production continued till June 1937, but the replacement model, the Opel Super 6, was already in production in November 1936, after which production volumes for the 2.0-litre were very much diminished.

The Opel 2-litre was noteworthy for the appearance in August 1934 of a long wheel base version, available with several different six seater bodies. This was a rapid response to the appearance the previous year of a longer version of the Mercedes-Benz Typ 200 which had managed in a very short time to capture practically the entire German taxi business.

Like other Opels of the period the 2-litre was designed and developed for Opel by the manufacturer's parent company, General Motors, in North America.

The 2-litre, like the smaller 1.3-litre which appeared at the same time, came with a newly developed "Torsion resistant" box frame chassis with lateral reinforcement. The brakes were now controlled using a hydraulic mechanism. The suspension involved the new , a suspension based on the Dubonnet system for which General Motors in France had recently acquired the license. The General Motors version, which had been further developed by Opel’s North American parent, provided a soft ride, but the suspension generated criticism of its impact on handing and control, especially in the early applications of the system such as that on the Opel 2-litre.

Transmission of power to the rear wheels was achieved using a four speed manual stick-shift gear-box. There was no synchromesh. The car was fitted with conventional steel disc wheels, with perforated wheel discs (featuring a ring of holes between the hub and the tyre) replacing the plain discs in 1937.

The standard wheelbase was 2,642 mm (104.0 in). A lengthened version of the Opel 2-litre, with a 3,050 mm (120 in) wheelbase, appeared in August 1934, targeted unapologetically at taxi operators. It was no coincidence that a rival model was the longer wheel base version of the Mercedes-Benz Typ 200 which since its appearance in 1933 had achieved impressive sales volumes in Germany primarily because of its popularity with taxi operators.