What with all the (Studebaker) Dictators, (Studebaker and Nissan) Presidents, (Mercury) Marquis and (Daimler) Sovereigns, cars with overt political ambitions have been around for a good while. Usually, we’re talking executives, nobility or heads of state, though high-level civil servants (Diplomats and Ambassadors) get an honourable mention, too. Opel elected to go for a legislator instead, but they gave it a fair amount of executive power, at least in this instance.
For this is no ordinary Senator. This is the gavel-banging, roll-calling, filibustering Irmscher variant, a true firecracker of a (political) beast. But first, let’s do a little bit of oppo research on this so-called upper house member.
Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 1977, the Opel Senator was GM’s new global flagship, taking the baton from the KAD (Kapitän/Admiral/Diplomat) trio. It would be produced in West Germany of course, but also in Yugoslavia as the Opel Kikinda, in England as the Vauxhall Royale and, albeit in significantly modified form, in Australia as the Holden Commodore VB/VC/VH/VK/VL and in South Africa as the Chevrolet Senator.
In the spring of 1987, a second generation was unveiled, featuring a thoroughly modernized body, but using a pretty similar platform as its predecessor. Henceforth, the first generation would be known as the Senator A, and this the Senator B. Global production carried on in Luton as we can see above, though the Royale name had been ditched (creeping republicanism, if you ask me). Holden’s Commodore VN/VP shared a lot of the Senator B’s bits, but also kept a lot of local content, including its own front and rear styling, V8 engine and marsupial pouch.
The Senator B’s new body featured pretty advanced aerodynamics. Compared with its predecessor’s drag coefficient of 0.39, the new big Opel claimed 0.30, making it one of the slipperiest customers in its segment. Initial engine choices included a 2.5 and a 3-litre “cam-in-head” straight-6, good for 140 and 177hp, respectively. Decent enough, though the 3-litre, when fitted in some markets (like Japan) with a catalytic converter, dropped to 156hp.
Clearly, there was room for improvement on the power front, so in came the good folks at Irmscher, who proposed a thoroughly revised engine. This started with a hefty amount of extra displacement, up to 3590cc, but it did not stop there.
Irmscher also replaced the connecting rods, pistons, crankshaft and valves, mostly with items made in-house. The result was an output of 197hp and a top speed of 230kph – true Autobahn stuff. Either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed auto were available, just like the rest of the Senator range.
The rest of the car’s underpinnings, i.e. the front MacPherson suspension, rear multilink IRS, brakes and so forth, were deemed good enough to handle the extra power. I’m not 100% sure if the electronic ride control (or Active Chassis Technology in Opel-speak), still a very novel concept in the late ‘80s, thus far only seen on the Porsche 959, was included on this particular car. But it is said the 3.6i included almost all the extras available on the CD, i.e. the higher trim Senator, as standard.
But the Irmscher cachet also lay in the goodies they crammed inside. Those included powered and heated Recaro seats, leather and wood here and there, A/C, plush carpets and the like. External additions included headlight wipers, a special grille and a discreet body kit.
Clearly a driver’s car, then. Which makes the ample rear seating looking a bit redundant. But then, there was no coupé version for this generation, unlike the Senator A. However, if one was after a Senator with even better legroom, a LWB version was available with an extra 15cm in the back. Those were made by Wendler, but apparently none got the Irmscher treatment and only 180 were sold in any case.
In 1990, Opel got out the big guns engine-wise and chucked away their trademark cam-in-head design in favour of a new 24-valve DOHC 3-litre six, which developed 204hp. Irmscher had to up their game as a consequence, leading to the 4.0i, boasting 272hp.
Alas, sales were not improving. In the face of constant and competent competition from the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lancia, Volvo and Jaguar, Opel’s top-tier political operator was perhaps lacking a little character and prestige. The Senator finally lost its seat in 1993, having only tallied just under 70k units in seven years. How many of those were 3.6i Irmschers? Your guess is as good as mine, but we’re probably talking a few hundred at most.
Folks who wanted a larger RWD Opel / Vauxhall had to make do with the Omega from 1993 onwards – you know, the one that GM finally (and disastrously) rebadged as the Cadillac Catera. Would the Senator have fared better had it been chosen instead? Perhaps it would have, with a suitably button-tufted interior and a lick of chrome on the nose. And a more politically-correct nameplate, of course.
Related posts:
Museum Outtake: 1987 Opel Senator B 3.0 i CD – The Last Of The ‘Big Opels’, by Johannes Dutch
Curbside Classic: 1988-91 Holden VN Commodore – Revisiting the Opel Mine, by William Stopford
Splendid find, Mr. T! I’ve always been a sucker for ‘inline-six-big-Opels’, specifically the KAD B-series, the Monza, and the Senator A/B. Always a joy when I see one.
Under the hood of the 3.6i by Irmscher it looks like this:
This is a worthy Alpina compettitor but the coolest Opel Senator would be the BRIXMIS spy cars with Ferguson all wheel drive and matte paint, for sneaking around East Germany.
That picture of the silver one looks like someone smashed up a Cadillac Catera, Audi 100 and one of the smaller (early 80’s) Ford LTD/Mercury Marquis. Not a bad looking car.
I thought that the Vauxhall versions were made on the same line as the Opel in Germany.
The first generation of the Senator, as is often the case, is the one that appeals to me the most.
Truly a luxury for a mainstream brand.
Drove these a lot – great Autobahn cars that were also pretty chuckable, if you like going sideways, as I do. They went very well for their power – a tribute to good aero. I worked with the very smart ex-Audi colleague who did these and the Omega A when we did the Calibra.The 24 valve non cat versions really liked to rev and could muster up serious (for the times) speed.
The Vauxhall version made a particularly beloved “jam sandwich” patrol car for the UK Rozzers.