It’s been a good two and a half years since Stephan R. Arnold was on the lookout for an Opel calendar with sporty classics. Since he couldn’t find one, he came up with the idea of making one himself. The basic requirements were excellent: As a former long-time Opel employee, a renowned automobile photographer and equipped with a large network of Opel collectors and enthusiasts, the idea became what Stephan R. Arnold calls “my heart project”.
OPEL REKORD 1900, BUILT IN 1968 With its 106 hp, factory-tuned 1.9-liter engine, the coupé is still completely original and unrestored. The one-layer metallic paint still looks like the car just came out of the showroom of an Opel dealership in the 1960s.
OPEL ECO SPEEDSTER, BUILT IN 2002 With a top speed of 250 km/h and consumption of 2.5 l/100 km, the Eco Speedster still makes a powerful impression today. In 2002, the 660 kg lightweight broke a total of 17 international records during its test drive in Nardo, Italy.
Opel ASCONA RALLYE, BUILT IN 1971 This example also made history: none other than Walter Röhrl drove the Ascona in the Acropolis Rally. Together with co-driver Jochen Berger, the future World Rally Champion secured Opel’s first World Championship victory with a lead of 25 minutes.
OPEL MANTA i240, YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION 1985 The tuning specialist Irmscher only built 37 copies of this Manta, nine of them in the “narrow version”. This example here was only later transformed into a wide body. The current owners had been looking for a copy for ten years and found one in Denmark.
OPEL LOTUS OMEGA YEAR 1992 This Lotus Omega has been owned by the current owner for more than 18 years. 377 hp, a brute torque of 557 Nm and a top speed of 283 km/h made the car the fastest sedan in the world at the time.
The “OPEL 2023 Sporty Classics” calendar has been available from Heel-Verlag since this autumn. And the model that he noted as the first “must-have” motif at the time, the “Black Widow”, adorns the cover. It is the replica that Opel colleagues Jens Cooper and Michael Splieth created and which is now part of the Opel Classic Collection. And it’s not just the legendary black Rekord C that made it onto the calendar, four other models also come from the Rüsselsheim Opel collection.
The photo shoot with the models from the Opel Classic collection took place in August 2021.
Stephan R. Arnold photographed the “Black Widow” in front of the mirrored facade of the new design location.
The GT Aero in Michelotti blue found the right backdrop in front of a red brick wall on the factory premises.
OPEL GT AERO, BUILT IN 1969 Only two prototypes were made of this model: the calendar model in Michelotti blue and a second one in orange. The “Baby Corvette” with Targa roof is one of the most popular Opel classics. The example in the calendar belongs to the Opel Classic collection.
OPEL REKORD C “SCHWATZE WITWE”, BUILT IN 1968 A car that made history: with Erich Bitter at the wheel, the Rekord won the Group 5 touring car season finale at Hockenheim. The original is considered lost, but Opel colleagues Jens Cooper and Michael Splieth made this replica.
In August 2021, Stephan R. Arnold spent a day on the factory premises to photograph the models from the Classic Collection. He placed the “Black Widow” in front of the mirrored facade of the design, the Opel GT Aero in Michelotti blue in front of a red brick wall of the factory premises. The Ascona Rallye A, with which Walter Röhrl clinched Opel’s first World Championship victory, is also part of the calendar selection. A particularly beautiful example of the Opel Rekord 1900 can also be seen, as can the Opel Eco Speedster, which set a total of 17 international records in 2002.
The other calendar models such as the Manta B GSi Exclusiv or the Lotus Omega, at the time the fastest sedan in the world, belong to Opel enthusiasts and collectors from all over Germany, who have taken the brand with the lightning bolt to their hearts, just like Stephan R. Arnold. Every single copy has its own story. And because the photographer met so many beautiful models and their owners in the course of his research, the 2024 Opel calendar is already in the works.
OPEL CALIBRA TURBO 4×4, BUILT IN 1992 The aerodynamics world champion with a drag coefficient of 0.26 should not be missing from a calendar of sporty Opel classics. With the specially developed all-wheel drive, the Calibra is still at the forefront today – from zero to 100 in 6.8 seconds.
OPEL MANTA B GSi EXCLUSIVE, YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION 1988 Two years after it was first registered, this Manta “disappeared” in a private collection. When the current owner bought it in 2002, he was amazed: the cult car had never passed a general inspection. A 3.0 24V motor from the Senator rumbles under the hood today.
OPEL GT, BUILT IN 1971 The Opel GT has been in the hands of the current owner for over 30 years. He disassembled it down to the last screw and rebuilt it. The 2.4 liter engine also works to our complete satisfaction, meanwhile it has been in use for more than 125,000 kilometers.
OPEL MANTA A, YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION 1974 The second owner brought this Manta to Steinmetz in Rüsselsheim in 1974 to have the sports coupé converted in the style of a Group 2 racing car. Today’s third owner restored the Manta again in 2001 in a complex and true-to-the-original manner.
OPEL KADETT, BUILT IN 1967 This gill Kadett was used on racing tracks until the mid-1970s. It was then stored until it was fully restored in 2019-2020 by its current owner – a competent Opel specialist.
December 2022
Photos: Stephan R. Arnold