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The Opel 4 PS What the first car from a German automotive company has been mass produced on an assembly line.
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Under the partly glazed roof of the old factory, the oldtimers stood in the dappled light and cooled down from the morning’s exertions. They are all at least 90 years old and this is one of the rare occasions when they return to Ruesselsheim for a reunion.
The first Opel 4 PS, affectionately known as the “tree frog” on account of its dark green bodywork, left the Rüsselsheim plant in spring 1924. It was the first car from a German automotive company that had been mass-produced on on assembly line. Opel built around 120,000 units of the 4 PS before production ended in 1931.
Now they are sought-after rarities among vintage car enthusiasts. Today, there are around 100 roadworthy examples in Europe, lovingly cared for by their proud owners. Twenty-nine of the Opel oldies, from Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, braved the hot weather on August 17 and drove to the Rüsselsheim “Altwerk” (old plant) for the 2018 “meeting of the Opel 4 PS type group” ,
Variety in mass production
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Glorious view Various Opel 4hp models congregate in the “Altwerk”.
The meeting was organized by dr. Joachim Busshardt, a safety engineer at Opel, supported by his colleagues Andrew Leuchtmann and Christian deity. “The members of the 4 PS Group are part of the ‘Alt-Opel Interessengemeinschaft’,” explains Busshardt, whose own Opel 4 PS, which is undergoing renovation, dates back to 1928. “We get together every year in another place to share our love of the 4 hp. We decided that the 15th anniversary of the 4th PS group should be held at the historic cradle of the car’s birth. “
Historic cradle
From the pilgrimage to the “Altwerk”, a guided tour of the “Opel Classic Workshop” oldtimer collection and “petrol prattle” over schnitzel with mushroom sauce and “apple wine” at the hotel, another highlight of the three-day program was a visit to the “Opel racetrack”.
↑ Video: “Meeting the Opel 4 PS Type Group”
Key position The Opel 4 PS is a milestone in the history of the German automotive industry.
The “Racetrack” racetrack was built by Opel in 1919. With its banked curves, the top speed of almost 140 km / h, the circuit was the fastest in Europe during the 1920s. Famous racing drivers of those days, like Rudolf Caracciola, were among the daring starters.
Fastest racetrack in Europe
Heinz Zettl welcomes the 4 hp group to the “racetrack” and explains the oval’s special significance to the history of the “tree frog”. Zettl is a former Opel PR manager and founder of the “Opel Classic Workshop” – no one knows more about the history of the Opel family. The lifelong Opel Enthusiast is also the driving force behind “F40 Las Brisas meets Classic Cars”, which has become a Mecca for regular oldtimer meetings at the eponymous restaurant in Rüsselsheim.
Dynamic trio The Rüsselsheim homecoming for the Opel 4PS was organized by Opel engineers Christian Deity, Andrew Leuchtmann and Joachim Busshardt.
The Opel racetrack 1925 Opel presents a day’s production of the Opel 4 PS.
“Today, the” racetrack “is a ‘technical cultural heritage site’, only some remnants of the original banking are still visible,” says Zettl. 1925, a whole day’s production of more than 100 cars were paraded around the circuit in front of thousands of spectators in the grandstand, accompanied by the Opel company orchestra. “
1925: More than 100 “tree frog” on parade
Following a guided tour of the mysterious Oppenheim cellar labyrinth, the “Opel 4 PS Meetings” reached its “Hessian Ried” (Hessian marsh, drying up in this summer’s drought) and a ferry ride across the Rhine final destination in Trebur on the evening of August 18.
Connected to Ruesselsheim in more ways than one Lutz Maier-Rehm at the wheel of his Opel 4 HP. Maier-Rehm’s grandfather was an Opel employee in Rüsselsheim at the time the car was produced. He then moved to Eisenach in 1925 where he established a successful Opel dealership.
“Tree Frog” The (not always) green bodywork earned the Opel 4 PS its affectionate nickname.
Jean-Marc Bach, chairman of the “4 PS Type Group” and proud owner of the 1927 4hp that amazed the oldtimer community by crossing the Alps in 2004, declared the 2018 meeting a resounding success.
Despite the heat: A mega-weekend for the “tree frog”
“That was a mega-weekend,” concluded Bach, whose passion for Opel began with his boyhood admiration for the 1966 Cadet C Coupe. “The highlight, of course, what the visit to Ruesselsheim, the ‘racetrack’ and the ‘Opel Classic Workshop’. 120 km in our oldies but only one minor technical fault – despite the hot weather! A big thank-you to Joachim Busshardt, Andrew Leuchtmann, Christian deity and their families for the top organization! “
September 2018
Text: Andrew Marshall, Photos: Andreas Liebschner, Video: Zweitblick.tv