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You know what the Opel GT needs? More off-road ability, that's what. This CJ5-based custom is actually overwhelmingly cool. The best part? It's for sale in Pennsylvania. Buy it now! More »
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As always, there was no shortage of BMW E30s at the last LeMons race, but we also saw representatives of British Leyland, German subsidiaries of the Detroit Big Three, and a whole squadron of Saabs. More »
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Since the main Index Of Effluency rivalry at the 24 Hours Of LeMons Gator-O-Rama is the Opular Dependence Team Israel Opel GT versus the Frogmasters MGB-GT, let's see how well y'all can guess the laps! More »
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Sometimes it happens that a 24 Hours Of LeMons team earns a punishment that involves a change of identity, and Team Opular Dependence set the stage for their name change the night before prerace inspections. More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Today we've got a pair of Missouri projects, courtesy of Schm. More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out street-parked vehicles in places besides the Island That Rust Forgot. Today we're going to look at some San Francisco cars and trucks. More »
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We were quite happy to hear that we'd be seeing the legendary Opel GT-versus-MGB-GT rivalry played out at the 24 Hours Of LeMons Gator-O-Rama later this month. Now the Opel-MG arms race is heating up! More »
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The first of two 2009 Texas 24 Hours Of LeMons races will take place next month, and our 2002-driving mole inside LeMons HQ has leaked the official team list to us. More »
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An astonishing 93% of you felt that paying $200,000 for an '81 Buick Regal with the Gale Banks prototype turbo V6 would require a trip to Booth Number Two for the crack pipe. Today's NPOCP contestant sold for far less, and we could see how driving it would be pretty damn fun… but nine grand? That's how much the winning bidder paid for this 1973 Opel GT converted to a mini-Batmobile. And (holy 1990s, Batman!) it's got a Sony Magic Link and hardwired Alpine analog cellphone! More »
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Opel's German marketers apparently figured that the German target market for the GT had to be skinny Teutonic Manson Family followers, so it made sense to show how fat, well-heeled, vaguely perved-out old car geeks would be kept away from the GT by its hopelessly cramped sporty small size. Here we see a grizzled Stalingrad survivor, wishing only for a brief moment of happiness to distract him from the waking nightmare that has been his life since 1942... happiness DENIED! More »
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Not speaking German, we're probably more frightened by this ad that might be warranted. Perhaps the target market of the Opel GT wasn't really German-style Manson Families looking for some quick, sporty wheels with which to hunt victims in preparation for the final days of Hëltër Schkëltër. Maybe it was all about good, wholesome autobahn hijinks. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip! More »
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Who says the Germans are always hung up on Bruce? Sure, the press release we just received from German tuning house Irmscher says "Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail" at the bottom; but the body of the message has an entirely different tone. Forget the standard weaksauce Ecotec 4-pot; it seems the German hordes have realized they coulda had a V8 in their Opel GT. So Irmscher is releasing their version of the wee little roadster made off the same assembly line as our Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice with a 480 PS (473 HP) 6.0-liter V8 of unspecified origin. We're sure the German Green Party will totally be happy. Full press release with all the hilarious German-English translation errors — like "V8 Power to be enjoyed" — after the jump. We're just going to sit here and dream of a V8 crammed between the rails of a Saturn Sky. Don't mind us. More »
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Seems every time I go to a certain East Oakland self-service junkyard, I find something old and unusual on its way to steelyard reincarnation. Last time it was the 1969 Jaguar XJ-6; now it's a very-well-picked-over 1973 Opel GT. These things were never plentiful in North America, and I don't think I've seen one on the street for a decade. Yet, somehow, one has survived long enough to make it to the junkyard. Make the jump for even more gallery shots. More »
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No, not this brand-new Opel GT- we're talking about the real deal here: a genuine original 1973 Opel GT with 106 miles on the clock, window sticker still in place, the works. 25 grand and it's yours! Of course, you might want to consider the V8 option for it! Thanks to MeHugTree for the tip. [Craigslist Atlanta; go here if listing disappears] More »
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We had quite the excitement yesterday, what with the virtual tie between the '81 Lancia Zagato and the '74 AMC Javelin in the polling (the Javelin wins by a nose). Now that we've breached the $2000 Project Car Hell price barrier, we might as well do away with the requirement that a Hell Project needs to be a single car... More »
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We all know the Manta was the German counterpart to the Camaro, complete with all the F-body's associated sociocultural , er, attributes, but what about the German Corvette counterpart? We're talking about the original Opel GT, of course, and what better car for the upwardly-mobile bemulleted V8 Manta driver to add to his stable than a GT with a V8 swap? Here's a site put together by a guy who's been tracking V8 Opel GT prices for a while, and he's got some photos that will bring a tear to Günter's eye! – Murilee Martin More »
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With Opel relaunching the GT as a roadster based on the Saturn Sky (which would make it not quite a GT car, am I right?), we thought it might be fun to look back at the original "mini Corvette" Opel GT. Then we reconsidered. What would be fun would be to see what some Opel GT buyers have done with their cars over the years — body kits, shooting brakes, tow trucks. Yeah, then again, maybe we should stick with preparing for a new Saab Sonnet. [Thanks to Brian for the tip.] – Mike Spinelli More »
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It could have been any of us hacks, behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car on a picturesque but potentially treacherous road, possibly poking at the limits of adhesion so we might return a colorful review that conveys the experience poignantly. But it was French automotive journalist Michel Barelli who was killed this past weekend when the 2007 Opel GT he was driving went out of control on a mountain road and plummeted down an embankment, the AP reports. Barelli, a writer for the French daily newspaper Nice-Matin, was reportedly on a press drive for the car, the European version of the Saturn Sky, when the accident occurred, approximately 40 miles east of San Diego. Condolences from all Jalopniks, everywhere. – Mike Spinelli More »
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More cowbell! GM's Opel outfit released details and visuals on the Saturn Sky variant that will revive the Opel GT badge. Like the Sky Red Line, the GT will get GM's turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injection four, producing 264 hp — good for a zero-to-60 time of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph. It's been given the once-over by GM Europe's Design Studios in R sselsheim, which added a few Opelesque cues to highlight its association with the European brand's GTC sports line. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Though the Saturn Sky shares an architecture with the Pontiac Solstice, at least the first has unique body-shape characteristics to distinguish it from the second. The Opel GT, on the other hand, is a straight-up Saturn Sky from basement to (cloth-topped) attic, which makes sense, since Saturn's getting a cornucopia of Opels to fill out its US line in the next few years. Maybe GM should consider a brand merger between the two divisions. (Saturopel? Opelurn? Lanspoutrel?) Considering its less-than-unique comportment, evoking the name of the quirky "Mini 'Vette" of the early '70s to give the SkyGT retro appeal feels awkward; a patronizing stab at distinctiveness by association. C- More »
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