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Colleagues and Opel fans open the garage door
And which piece of jewelry did you park at home? Write us: opel.post@opel.com
The Ascona? “That’s just the boring brother of the Manta,” say Manta fans. The manta? “Without the Ascona there would not be any,” countered Ascona-Afficionados. It should be noted that one party expresses only a subjective feeling, the other states a fact. For the Manta is just the coupe version of the Ascona and therefore without his base model unthinkable.
The Manta may have made the masses more emotional, but the Ascona has not less successfully written history – especially its “B” version. It came on the market in 1975 and presented itself significantly changed compared to its predecessor. With a 20 centimeters longer and four centimeters wider body Ascona B was much more spacious, and only half an inch lower. The axles were 8.8 centimeters farther apart, the smooth, flat appearance corresponded entirely to the taste of the 70s.
Racing optics: The specially reconditioned and painted Ascona B bears the names of its biggest drivers – Holger and Irene Fuchs.
That paid off. By 1981, the Ascona B was sold 1.5 million times, making it the best-selling Opel ever. His Vauxhall version “Cavalier Mk. 1” enjoys the reputation today, to have led the then troubled British sister brand from the economic bottom. Legendary are the numerous successes of Ascona B as a rally car. The greatest triumph was celebrated by Walter Röhrl in an Ascona 400, for which the second Ascona generation formed the technical basis – with him he became World Rally Champion in 1982.
“I’m a fan of him since I saw him for the first time.”
—– Holger fox
But that’s the way siblings are. It’s a bit of a bob, but you’re never seriously angry. Not for long anyway. And in public, the kinship is already not denied. That’s why Ascona friends are always welcome at Manta meetings. In the Manta-Team Kaiserslautern, which has been in existence since 2017, the Ascona driver Holger Fuchs is even a permanent member.
Deep, broad, evil look: Even the front of the 110 hp Ascona makes something.
Spoiler, thick exhaust, tinted glass: Even the rear of the restored classic car makes a sporty impression – not least because of the appropriate lettering.
Holger Fuchs’ Opel Ascona B
Year of production 1980 Engine 2.0 cylinder Displacement 1.979 cm³Max. Power at 5,400 min-1 81 kW / 110 PS torque at 3,400 min-1 159 Nm
Carriage Dimensions: Wheelbase 2,518 mm Length 4,321 mm Width 1,670 mm Height 1,380 mm
Top speed 182 km / hacceleration from 0 to 100 km / h 10.5 seconds
The column leader in the transport and dispatch area of the Kaiserslautern plant has realized a dream last year, which he carried around for 20 years: finally to own an Ascona B again. “I’ve been a fan of him since I saw him for the first time. When I was around 20 years old, an acquaintance of mine owned an Ascona B, but unfortunately he scrapped it, “recalls the 44-year-old. “Then I bought myself an Ascona B. But when we announced new blood, we bought something bigger. “That was in 1998.
Meanwhile, the tribe owner has grown up and has created his own home. This gives his parents time and opportunity to seek new hobbies – or to rekindle old passions. So Holger Fuchs started looking for an Ascona B. In Saarbrücken he was successful. However, the Ascona B of 1980, which he acquired there, was in a deplorable condition. Last winter, Fuchs completely disassembled him, rebuilt it, and gave him a new livery.
Once Ascona lettering with Opel flash, please: The grill of the two-door sedan holds particularly nice delicacies ready.
Irmscher spoiler, “sport” lettering: Even these details make the hearts of Ascona fans beat faster.
Opel Ascona B
The successor to Ascona A, which was built in November 1970, was presented at the IAA in September 1975 and manufactured in Bochum and Antwerp. The two- or four-door sedan had the same technology as the presented at the same time coupe Opel Manta B. In the UK, he was offered as a right-hand drive with a Manta B equivalent front end under the name Vauxhall Cavalier Mk. 1. In South Africa, the model was as Chevrolet Ascona and Chevrolet Chevair on the market.
Now the car is there like a one. In May, at the first Manta meeting in the Palatinate, he caused a stir – between about 120 Manta and Ascona copies from Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Above all, the delight in detail with which Fuchs restored his model was admired. So he built about camshafts and a contactless ignition, as they had been used in the “i2000”, the Irmscher interpretation of the Ascona B.
However, the proud owner is especially pleased with the heart of his jewel, a 2.0-liter injection engine. The 81 kW / 110 hp engine was installed in the Ascona B only in 1980 and 1981 and comes from the so-called “Family II” – the engine series, which was then manufactured by his current employer. Thus, the Fuchsian classic is also a reminiscence of the Lautr Opel story.
And as if someone would have rewarded him for this hard work, offered him another opportunity a few weeks ago: another Ascona B was for sale, also built in 1980, but already perfectly built and in bright, flawless white. “The previous owner was a painter,” says Holger Fuchs. A real bargain. Fuchs struck, only had to put a little hand on the engine.
With this, his wife Irene is also able to take a seat behind the wheel of her own Ascona B. She is just as pleased with this Opel of the old school. Finally, she comes from the same vintage in which her husband and the first Ascona B saw the light of day: 1975.
Attention to detail: even the valves in the drop center wheels adorn the Opel logo.
Proud owners: Irene and Holger Fuchs with their two rare Ascona specimens.
What exactly fascinates the two on the model, they can not say at first glance: Perhaps it is the flair of the successful rally winner, which underlines the couple on his vehicles with a number of stickers. But maybe it is also the feeling of driving a car, which is becoming more and more a rarity. Because the former bestseller is rarely seen on the street. According to Holger Fuchs’ research in the district of Kaiserslautern only five Ascona B are reported, in the nearby district of Kusel is only one copy on the way.
“Almost everywhere we are greeted with flares and pointed thumbs.”
—– Irene Fox
Holger and Irene Fuchs especially like to take exits with the Manta family, in small columns, at a maximum of 130 km / h. Last we went to Thuringia. “Almost everywhere we are greeted with flares and pointed thumbs, people just like these cars,” says Irene Fuchs. During the long journeys to dispense with today’s comfort of Opel, had initially been getting used to. But that quickly developed its own charm: “It stinks, rappels, is loud – but beautiful.”
October 2019
Text: Eric Scherer, Photos: Katrin Denkewitz