Tibor Mikolasek has been lucky for nine years: he gets hold of the original back seat, he finds trim rings and hubcaps at a classic car meeting, and he gets one of the coveted slots at the specialist in Rüsselsheim to have the V8 engine reworked. But in the end, one detail was missing: the chrome trim strips along the black roof – “they couldn’t be found anywhere.” So Mikolasek built a hot press and made it himself without further ado. A few weeks ago he completed his work: for the premiere of his Diplomat A Coupé, the Hungarian building contractor drove a good 860 kilometers from Györ to Rüsselsheim today.
It is no less than the crème de la crème of the classic and classic car scene that presented itself last Sunday (September 8th) in Rüsselsheim am Main: The city has invited 750 owners and their vehicles to the 20th classic car meeting with a new concept came. Tibor Mikolasek’s vehicle is particularly impressive. Even Opel Classic specialist Jens Cooper, who comes into contact with the most beautiful Opel models every day, acknowledged the luxury model with the finest road cruiser design with a delighted “To kneel down!” The Hungarian Opel enthusiast put countless hours into the restoration . With so much meticulousness that the “new car” status is entirely appropriate.
“More junkyard than street”: Tibor Mikolasek shows the condition of the Diplomat A when he bought it nine years ago.
“To your knees!”: The Hungarian rebuilt the vehicle from scratch with absolute meticulousness and great attention to detail.
Thanks to the best contacts, Mikolasek – he has been a member of Alt Opel IG for many years – brought together the original parts.
He put countless hours into the restoration. However, he left the reconditioning of the V8 engine block to a specialist.
Opel love: It started with a record 35 years ago, today Mikolasek owns many other models with flash in addition to the Diplomat.
“There is no better place for the premiere of my Diplomat A Coupé than here in its hometown.”
– Tibor Mikolasek –
It is these automotive treasures that make people flock to Rüsselsheim. Hotspots are spread across the city center – from Motorworld to the banks of the Main, from Verna Park to the Opel villas. From the Opel Classic collection alone, there are a dozen top-class cars to admire – from the original patent motor car “System Lutzmann” to the Speedster Turbo. Another rarity is parked right next to the Diplomat A Coupé: a beautiful Spider based on the Opel Kadett. “It is the study designed by Pietro Frua that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964,” says the owner Stefan Dierkes, who not only tracked down and restored the Opel Kadett Italsuisse Spider, but also researched and wrote down its eventful history .
Every single automobile on display tells a story – one of passion and love. Ariane Dörhöfer tells her story: “This car does something to me,” she says, placing her hands on the sunny yellow roof of her Trabant, “you can smell us, you can hear us, you can see us.” The Berlin native has lived in Groß for 27 years -Right. With the Trabant she brought a piece of her childhood memories to her new home. As deputy site manager at Motorworld Rüsselsheim, she also lives out her passion for “beautiful old things”. It helps to lead the Opel old factory site into the future. Trade, workshops, restaurants and service providers related to mobility on two and four wheels have settled on the former production area: “Interlinked with the pedestrian zone of the city center, we are developing a lively district on historical grounds that is accessible to everyone,” says Dörhöfer.
New, decentralized concept: Motorworld’s old Opel factory is just one of many hotspots spread across the city.
Lightning and rain: A yellow Opel GT from the Opel Classic collection rolls up to the parade on the market square.
Beautiful rarity: Stefan Dierkes preserves the memory of the Opel Kadett Italsuisse Spider, the study that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1964.
A passion for old things: Ariane Dörhöfer drives a Trabant in her private life, and in her professional life she advances the development of Motorworld.
In addition to around 750 parking spaces for classic and classic cars, the 20th classic meeting also offers a colorful supporting program for families and children.
“We are happy to be there – after all, Opel is celebrating two special anniversaries this year.”
– Opel Head of Communications Harald Hamprecht –
Just in time for the start of the vintage car parade at 1 p.m. on the market square, the rain is joined by lightning. Moderator Bernd Schultz bravely presents the 50 vehicles at the meeting, which were previously selected by a jury. A yellow Opel GT from the Opel Classic collection rolls up: “We are happy to be there today – after all, this year Opel is not only celebrating “125 years of automobile manufacturing”, but also “60 years of the Opel design studio,” says Opel’s head of communications Harald Hamprecht. And so, with the Experimental GT, you can also see the first study with which the design studio caused a sensation at the IAA six decades ago – and which, just three years later, resulted in one of the most beautiful series models, the Opel GT.
A little south of the market square, in the premises of the “Rind” cultural center, Jürgen Pavolka and Carsten Ritter promote a special cultural asset: every hour on the hour, the makers of the “Opel-Rennbahn” cultural initiative show three short films about the historic site in the cinema hall between Rüsselsheim and Trebur, which was a magnet for tens of thousands of motorsport enthusiasts a century ago. Their goal is to preserve the Opelbahn, a symbol of an era of technical breakthrough, and to create a new usage concept for it. “After all, it was the first permanently built race track on the European continent – years before the Nürburgring, the AVUS in Berlin or the Hockenheimring began operations,” says Carsten Ritter.
Where Fritz von Opel caused a sensation with the track racing machine in 1922: Jürgen Pawolka and Carsten Ritter are keeping the memory of the Opel racetrack alive with their cultural initiative.
Music is trump: With charm and temperament, the “Wonderfrolleins” sweep across the Rüsselsheim market square and through the music world of the economic miracle years.
With a petticoat and a message: Despite the constant rain, thousands of visitors flock to the hotspots – from Motorworld to the banks of the Main, from Verna Park to the Opel villas.
Powerful team: The city’s organizers with Mayor Patrick Burghardt (center) at the head together with Opel communications director Harald Hamprecht (left) on a Blitz fire engine.
Space for mobile passion: Motorworld is also one of the hotspots – it brings new life to the historic and charming buildings of the Opel Altwerk.
“The new concept offers a lot of variety – that’s what visitors like.”
– Jürgen Pavolka, cultural initiative “Opel-Rennbahn” –
And visitor interest in the history of this milestone in early racing is great, and more chairs are being brought in. The Opel track racing machine with which Fritz von Opel triumphed in the 100,000-mark race on the racetrack on July 2, 1922 sits enthroned in the middle of the cinema hall, and there are drinks and music from the 1920s to match. “The new concept of the classic meeting – it works,” says Jürgen Pavolka. So far he has only heard words of praise from visitors. “It is the variety that makes this new form of meeting so exciting,” he says.
The collector Volker Thull led a particularly passionate team to Rüsselsheim – all of them Opel fans through and through, owners of sporting icons. The brothers Alois and Thomas Juchmes from the Eifel region represent the motorsport era of the 80s with the Kadett Gsi 16 V. They work together and take part in rallies together. Same goes for Steven Kaiser. When Opel installed the tried-and-tested technology of the Ascona 400 with rear-wheel drive in a front-wheel-drive Kadett D in 1984, it wasn’t even born yet. But the technology and history of the prototype, which was mainly used in South Africa, fascinated the now 32-year-old so much that he first built a replica of the Kadett 400 and later bought an original factory car. Better safe than sorry.
Well connected: Volker Thull gathered the owners of sporty Opel icons in Rüsselsheim.
Team spirit: At the invitation of Maximilian Dünkel, Motorworld site manager, the motorsport enthusiasts took a stand in front of the old Opel factory.
The exotics: Steven Kaiser (front, together with co-driver “Queen Frank”) owns what are probably the last examples of the Kadett 400 – once as a replica, once as an original factory car.
In a double pack: Thomas and Manuela Griesche came to Rüsselsheim with an Ascona 400 (in the background) and an Ascona B i2000.
Eight years ago, Uwe Sturm got his dream car. The model for this Ascona, built by Georg Berlandy in 2007, is the one in which Klaus Miersch took part in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1973.
The love of his youth: At the age of 16, Herbert Heimrich cheered on his hero Walter Röhrl at the Rüsselsheim Rally. Today he owns the winning model from 1973 himself.
The brothers: Alois (right) and Thomas Juchmes from the Eifel have a common hobby – the Kadett Gsi 16 V. Together they work on it and take part in rallies.
“Opel and motorsport – they simply belong together.”
– Collector Volker Thull –
Herbert Heimrich knows exactly to the day when he was finally infected with the Opel virus. “It was the last weekend of February 1973,” he remembers. Walter Röhrl drove the Ascona to victory in the Rüsselsheim Rally, Heimrich was at the track as a 16-year-old. Today he owns an Ascona Rallye “Irmscher Tuning”. No Opel motorsport parade is complete without the Ascona 400. Thomas and Manuela Griesche contribute it. And because it is so beautiful, they also brought an Ascona B i2000 with them to Rüsselsheim. Uwe Sturm has another special Ascona specimen in his luggage. The one with which previous owner Georg Berlandy won the Cologne-Ahrweiler Rally countless times. Lively conversations are held, contacts are made, hoods are opened. Even if the storm clouds don’t want to go away until the end of the event in the afternoon, that doesn’t stop the love for automobiles. Passion and lightning belong together.
September 2024
Photos: Alex Heimann, Isabella Groth