Many books have already been written about the Opel brand – but none like this one: The newly published illustrated book OPEL LOVE is not only dedicated to 125 selected series models and the 37 most important concept vehicles or the history of the Rüsselsheim-based company, which will celebrate “125 years Automobilbau” celebrates, but also the people who make up the brand.
OPEL LOVE is “the most original and best put together Opel book on the market,” writes the author of motor1.com, “Die Rheinpfalz” attests to the illustrated book “Pure Opel Love on 273 pages” and the Bild newspaper titles its book review in in an inimitable way with “Opel-super-cool!” What makes the illustrated book so special?
“An Opel is often not just a vehicle, but a companion.”
– OPEL LOVE author Harald Hamprecht –
Connoisseurs at work
OPEL LOVE was written by an absolute connoisseur who has lived and loved the brand since childhood: Harald Hamprecht, a studied businessman and trained journalist. He completed his first student internship at Opel. He has been working in public relations for the company since 2012, and since 2019 he has been responsible for global communication for the Opel and Vauxhall brands as a member of the Executive Committee of Opel Automobile GmbH. “The brand with the lightning bolt in the logo is an attitude to life,” writes the Rüsselsheim native in his foreword to the illustrated book, “fulfills longings, offers cohesion, it sometimes even becomes an obsession.”
And it is this obsession that the author, born in 1974, has incorporated into each of the 18 chapters, in addition to meticulously researched numbers, data and facts. Harald Hamprecht “takes automobile fans on a journey into the eventful history of the traditional company with the Blitz with pointed texts and magnificent images,” writes the magazine SuperIllu, while Automobilwoche finds “entertaining and interesting facts about the Opel brand” in the illustrated book.
The Bulli ancestor comes from Rüsselheim.
The Opel Egg: A streamlined car based on the Opel 13/30 HP.
OPEL LOVE reveals further secrets from 125 years of automobile construction.
Not woke, but wow: the Opel GT by the pool.
Regent: The most powerful Opel ever built.
Undiscovered secrets
In fact: OPEL LOVE holds previously undiscovered secrets, even for proven Opel experts. Including the history of the streamlined vehicle from 1912 nicknamed the Opel Egg. The Mainz inventor Max Lochner invested 120,000 Reichsmarks in the vehicle, whose cross-section is almost circular. With a top speed of 95 km/h, it is a third faster than a car without the aerodynamic setup. During the First World War the car was confiscated by the military and has been lost ever since.
The story of the Opel Regent from 1928 is no less curious: with a displacement of 5.9 liters, eight cylinders, 5.40 meters long and a weight of 2.2 tons, it is the most powerful Opel ever built. But when General Motors took over the Rüsselsheim-based car manufacturer a little later, all 25 cars delivered were bought back and destroyed. The new owner didn’t want any competition with his Cadillacs. Hamprecht’s expert look in the rearview mirror at “125 years of automobile construction” is as well-founded as it is entertaining. And in some places it even exudes sex appeal – when the gold-colored Opel GT from 1968 is parked by the pool, surrounded by beauties in leopard bikinis, with a copy of Playboy and lots of bare skin.
Harald Hamprecht portrays important personalities with a close connection to Opel, including the Opel family, all company managers and stars who are connected to the brand, but also Opel employees and collectors, including (clockwise from top left) the actress Hildegard Knef, the presenter Collien Ulmen-Fernandes, the music producer Moses Pelham, Opel Classic boss Leif Rohwedder, (Fritz) Gunter Sachs (from Opel) here together with Brigitte Bardot and the actor Timur Uelker.
Dedicated to the people who love Opel
What also makes OPEL LOVE so unique: it humanizes people. The illustrated book is dedicated to those who love the brand. Harald Hamprecht portrays important personalities with a close connection to Opel: the Opel family and all company managers – from Adam Opel to today’s CEO Florian Huettl. World stars have their say, such as the cult trainer Jürgen Klopp, the motorsport legend Walter Röhrl or the mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who set off on an expedition in the 90s with a sleigh that Opel engineers developed for him and still does today familiar with the vehicles with flash.
The illustrated book also takes a look at the less famous – the employees and fans. People with a passion for collecting like the Degener brothers, who opened the largest private Opel museum in the Eifel. Or Leif Rohwedder, who has been guarding the company’s unique treasury with great passion as Classic boss since 2022. Including valuable unique items such as the 260 hp “Green Monster”. The story of Jens Cooper is moving, as he says: “Opel is my life!” The Opel Classic employee not only brought the legendary “Black Widow” to life. Hardly any private individual has a larger collection of Opel photos and drawings, and no one is better connected in the Opel scene.
A must for every Opel fan
Last but not least, OPEL LOVE is also that: an opulently illustrated volume with the most beautiful photos of series vehicles and prototypes that every Opel fan should have in their closet. And the perfect gift for everyone who loves Opel.
Harald Hamprecht: OPEL LOVE, ISBN: 978-3-667-12755-6, 49.90 euros, published by Delius Klasing Verlag
December 2023