Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Opel GT – “The Mini-Brute’s Mini-Vette”

Color photo of a Cardinal Red 1969 Opel GT with its headlights raised, with a blue box reading "CAR LIFE ROAD TEST" superimposed in the upper left corner

Based on the compact Opel Kadett, but looking like a miniature C3 Corvette, the Opel GT offered decent performance and exotic looks for under $3,500, with the promise of easy service at Buick dealerships. It sounded like a sure winner, but when Car Life tried the Opel GT in June 1969, they had mixed feelings.

Car Life, June 1969, page 44, a color photo of a red Opel GT, viewed from a high angle

The relationship between Buick and Opel went back to the recession of 1957–1958, when desperate Buick dealers signed up to sell the German-made Opel Olympia Rekord. After the late ’50s import craze had cooled, some Buick dealers let their Opel franchises lapse, but interest increased in the late ’60s. As of January 1, 1969, 1,872 Buick dealers had Opel franchises; by July 1, that number that had grown to 1,933.

Right front 3q view of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

Buick didn’t import the larger Opel models, so until the Opel GT arrived in the spring of 1969, their sole Opel product was the compact Kadett. Although the Kadett B looked like a miniature Chevelle and offered surprisingly good performance in 1.9-liter Rallye form, the Opel GT promised a new kind of style and excitement.

Car Life, June 1969, page 45, with the headline "OPEL GT: BIG SURPRISE... ...at your friendly Buick dealers. It looks like a Mini-Vette, and handles more like a 'Vette than an Opel" above the main text and a B&W rear view of the car on a road course below, with the banner "CAR LIFE ROAD TEST"

Right rear 3q view of a red 1969 Opel GT with whitewall tires
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

Car Life began:

WHAT’S AN OPEL GT? It’s the Mini-Brute’s Mini-Vette. It’s a 1.9-liter sports car from Opel, GM’s German subsidiary. It’s a low cost, medium-performance GT car sold by America’s huge Buick dealer organization. It’s GM’s bid in the lucrative low-price sports car market currently being dominated by Datsun, Triumph, MG, Fiat, et al.

But to many Americans, it’s going to be “Buick’s new sports car.” More importantly—to its owners—it will be not only a car that will handle as well as the competition in its price range (roughly $3500 loaded), it offers two extras not necessarily available from the others—distinctive style, plus service and parts as near as your local Buick dealer.

The “Mini-Brute” was how Buick advertised the Opel Kadett, as seen in this 1968 magazine ad:

Magazine ad showing a yellow 1968 Opel Rallye Kadett under a tree, with elephants in the background. The caption reads "Loyal, colorful, dependable, powerful, long-lasting" above the headline "Meet the Mini-Brute. Buick's New Opel Kadett."

The Opel GT, the production version of a concept car first shown several years earlier, was closely based on the contemporary Kadett, albeit with a relocated engine and racy new styling. Like the Kadett, its Chevrolet flavor was not coincidental: The GT project, which originated in Erhard Schnell’s Opel advanced studio, was originally overseen by former Chevrolet chief stylist Clare MacKichan and finalized under Chuck Jordan, who succeeded MacKichan as head of the Opel design studio in 1967. Although contemporary reviewers inevitably compared the GT to the C3 Corvette, the stylistic inspiration was actually a 1962 Corvair concept car, the XP-777 Corvair Monza GT.

Front 3q view of the silver 1962 Corvair Monza GT
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT (XP-777) / General Motors LLC
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT (XP-777) / General Motors LLC

 

Car Life, June 1969, page 46, with photos to the left of the text column showing the car on a slalom course; the test crew in the front seats; the dashboard; the 1900 engine; and the area behind the seats

The photo captions on this page read: “HANDLING was nimble and responsive at moderate speeds, but cornering near the limit of adhesion revealed too much understeer and rear wheel lifting.”

Right side view of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com
Front seats of a red 1969 Opel GT with an aftermarket steering wheel and aftermarket center console cupholders
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red — the leather-wrapped steering wheel and cupholders are not original / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

“LARGE DOORS and roomy interior put GT a cut above most sports cars. Instrument panel was stylish yet logical; center dials angle toward driver.”

1900S engine in a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT 1900S engine / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

“SPUNKY 102-bhp engine has been moved back several inches and valve cover chopped as concession to GT hood. Note casual cold air package, front mounted brake booster (upper center).”

Rear area of a 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red with black interior / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

“NO trunk, à la Corvette, but luggage area is larger and easier to reach than ‘Vette’s.”

Left front 3q view of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

Car Life admitted they had been ambivalent about the GT since its show circuit appearances:

Pretty, certainly, but we had our doubts about the worthiness of the engine and chassis, even though the Rallye Kadett we tested (December, 1968) was impressive in both the performance and handling departments for an economy sedan.

But rebodying the Kadett, we felt, would not make a very sophisticated sports car. To our surprise, Opel has done essentially that (plus detail changes), and has come up with a nice integration of power, handling, size and style. The basic chassis is that of the Kadett. The engine has been moved back roughly 12 in. [actually 15.75 in.]; the passenger compartment was shifted to the rear a proportional amount; and the smoother, lower body was added. This brings down the center of gravity (the Kadett felt very tippy) and allows the axle ratio to be lowered numerically due to the lowered drag.

The standard engine in the Opel GT was the 1,078cc (65.8-cid) OHV four from the base Kadett, with 67 gross horsepower (60 DIN-PS). I’ve never been sure why, since demand for the smaller engine was minimal even in Europe. Most buyers paid the modest premium ($99 on U.S. cars) for the 1,897cc (115.8-cid) CIH (cam-in-head) engine from the Rallye Kadett, which had a healthier 102 gross horsepower (90 DIN-PS) and much better performance. Only 3.5 percent of all GTs had the 1100 engine, which was dropped after the 1970 model year.

Overhead view of 1900S CIH engine in a blue 1969 Opel GT
1900S engine in a different Opel GT / Bring a Trailer

The Car Life car inevitably had the 1900 engine, whose performance was very strong for a sub-2-liter engine of this era:

Our test car, with this engine and the standard four-speed transmission, came off on the specification sheet as a carbon of the Rallye Kadett previously tested. Only the rear axle ratio (3.44:1 vs. 3.67:1 on the sedan), and tire size, are different (165-13 radials on the GT, 155-13 on the sedan).

However, differences not apparent on paper are quickly obvious at the test track. Quarter-mile times are nearly a second quicker and five miles per hour faster. Top speed, 111 mph, is better by 10 mph over the sedan. Braking is slightly better, and handling is vastly improved with the lower center of gravity. We’re not exactly sure where this extra performance came from. The engine is supposed to be the same. Only readily apparent inducements for quicker acceleration is 100-rpm higher redline (6000 rpm), slightly larger section tires and a very grippy clutch. It could be moved off the line very smartly, with just a whisper of wheelspin. Snap shifts were easy and the clutch and tire grip were good enough to send a judder of torque throughout the car. The slippery shape helped on the top end.

The Opel GT had a drag coefficient of about 0.39, pretty good for the late ’60s.

Car Life, June 1969, page 47, with photos above the text showing a hand operating the headlamp control handle and four photos showing the headlamps rolling into place, with a photo below the main text showing the Opel GT next to a 1969 Corvette Stingray

The GT’s retractable headlights were operated by a mechanical lever and rolled sideways to open. They were not terribly attractive when raised:

Closeup of the four photos showing the opening of the retractable headlights, with the caption "INTERESTING LIGHT SHOW was amusing to watch, noisy to listen to. Mechanical linkage was activated by firm push on console handle. If firm enough, lights would slam home with loud thump. Last portion of movement turned on switch—sometimes."

The caption of the bottom photo reads, “ANY DOUBT about its ancestry? Though not an exact replica, the GT does borrow several styling details from the Corvette, especially the nose and tail treatments. It got more curious stares than the Improbables.”

Front view of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars
Left front 3q view of a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette (C3) coupe
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe in Monaco Orange with turbine wheel covers / Bring a Trailer

Although the Opel GT had very good straight-line performance — 10.2 seconds 0 to 60 was better than some V-8 sedans could manage — Car Life had some complaints about the powertrain:

We still don’t like the transmission ratios. First and second, and third and fourth are closely spaced, leaving a knee-buckling drop between second and third. This not only has its disadvantages in acceleration, but often one is left without a proper gear for certain corners, where the choice is lugging around in third, or buzzing along well past the power peak in second. Thankfully, the GT has been spared the horrendous fan noise of the sedan. The higher rear axle gearing reduces the engine speed for corresponding road speed, and more attention was paid to internal aerodynamics allowing a smaller and slower radiator fan. The noise is still there, more than we would like or are used to in domestic cars; but at least it doesn’t drive the passengers out of the car.

The four-speeds used in the Opel GT 1100 and 1900 actually had different ratios, but both had the same big gap between 2nd and 3rd (ratios in the 1900 were 2.156 in 2nd, 1.366 in 3rd), which hurt performance.

Left front wheel of a 1969 Opel GT seen from below with the car on a hoist
The Opel GT had double wishbone front suspension with a transverse leaf springs, standard front disc brakes / Classic Auto Mall via Classic.com

Opel didn’t offer four-wheel disc brakes for the GT, but the standard disc/drum brakes performed well: Car Life managed almost 1 g deceleration from 80 mph (31 feet/sec./sec.), better than almost any U.S. production car could manage.

Car Life, June 1969, page 48, with photos above the text showing a low-angle view of the Opel GT with its driver's door open and the car on a driving school course behind a Datsun roadster and an open-wheel race car, and the first half of the data panel (with an inset front view of the Opel GT) below the main text

The photo at the top left, which is split over this and the facing page, shows the GT on a course prepared by Bob Bondurant; the caption reads, “OPEL has its moment on competition driving school course. GT could stay with novices in prepared Datsuns, but had to be hung out to do it.”

Left side view of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

The text explained:

We took the opportunity to evaluate the handling of the GT on both a very tight slalom course and on high-speed mountain roads, all on the same day. Bob Bondurant’s School of High Performance driving was operating at Orange County Raceway on test day and we got permission from the instructor to lap the tight course with his students in Datsun 2000s. After a few laps we began to get the feel of it and we (a) surprised even ourselves, (b) watched the instructor’s sneaky grin turn into a frown when we started catching his students, and (c) found the GT’s two worst faults.

Later, in the mountains, we reaffirmed what we suspected on the test track: Heavy initial understeer and rear wheel lifting. For easy “fun” driving around the neighborhood, the car seems nimble and reasonably responsive, but out at the limit, the car feels unpredictable and lacks real cornering power.

Car Life was annoyed that the heavy-duty suspension with rear anti-roll bar and limited-slip differential that had been described in the original launch press release was nowhere to be found on the options list for the U.S. Opel GT, although that equipment was available in other markets. U.S. options included a rear defogger, automatic transmission (the three-speed TH180), a vinyl roof (which I’ve never seen and sounds awful), and eventually factory air conditioning.

Left rear 3q view of a red 1969 Opel GT — the license plate reads "OPEL GT1"
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

As the data panel reveals, the 1969 Opel GT had a base price of $3,395, with the 1900 engine adding $99 and the rear defroster $19. A radio was standard, while automatic transmission was $190.

Car Life, June 1969, page 49, with the right half of the driving school photo and a rear view of the Opel GT on a scale above the main text, the second half of the data panel below the main text

The photo caption reads, “DISAPPOINTING weigh-in revealed a slightly heavier curb weight and worse distribution than sedan.” Their test car weighed 2,070 lb, and weight distribution with the test crew was 55/45.

Front seats of a red 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

Although the Opel GT was a two-seater with no exterior trunk opening, Car Life found it comfortable and reasonably civilized:

Inside, the Opel has one of the better people packages of the sports and GT car world. The larger members of our staff found entrance and egress better than the Corvette and most imports. The large door, which opens high (for once the stylist lost to the comfort engineers), wide (some 43 inches, close to a full-size sedan) and handsome (stylist didn’t lose all the battles). Door location relative to the seat is also good. The large seats are comfortable and pretty fair buckets. The rest of the interior is plush, logical and roomy. Dash has the tach and speedometer where it counts, and easily read engine instruments on the center section.

The GT came with full instrumentation, including a tachometer and an improbable 150-mph speedometer, but the CL editors were puzzled by the symbol for the rear defroster, which was the now-familiar heated rear window type.

Instrument panel of a 1969 Opel GT
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

Here are some performance highlights from the data panel:

  • 0 to 30 mph: 3.3 sec.
  • 0 to 60 mph: 10.2 sec.
  • 0 to 100 mph: 39.6 sec.
  • Standing quarter mile: 17.4 secs. at 79 mph

They recorded an actual top speed of 111 mph at 5,800 rpm and a test average of 17.6 mpg. When not being wrung out on the drag strip or the slalom course, they estimated the Opel GT was good for up to 26 mpg. Although the 1900 CIH engine had a relatively modest 9.0 compression ratio, it required premium fuel.

Right front 3q view of a red 1969 Opel GT parked on a curving one-lane road
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

Buick ended up selling 11,880 Opel GTs in the U.S. for 1969, followed by 21,240 for 1970, but interest faded after that, and U.S. sales never again topped 14,000 cars a year. Buick had missed their window for establishing the GT as a credible sports car — I don’t know why they chickened out on the handling package, but the buff books clearly held it against them — and the Opel would soon be caught between the Datsun 240Z and its own Opel 1900 (Manta A) cousin, as well as the Ford Capri and eventually the Toyota Celica. The Manta, Capri, and Celica were more practical, while the 240Z offered much better performance for very little more money.

Rear view of a red 1969 Opel GT parked on a one-lane road — the license plate reads "OPEL GT1"
1969 Opel GT in Cardinal Red / Davidsclassiccars

There was nothing really wrong with the GT, but it also had no outstanding virtues other than its swoopy styling (which has always reminded me a bit of a Min Pin, a cat-size dog bred to look like a miniature Doberman Pinscher), and against such formidable opposition, that wasn’t enough. Production ended in August 1973 — the final total was 103,373 cars, of which 70,251 were sold in the U.S.

Related Reading

Automotive History: The Opel GT. 1968-1973 – The Long Road From Inspiration To Production with Many Cooks Adding to the Broth Along The Way (by geelongvic)

Vintage C&D Review: Opel GT 1.9 – The First Lutz-Mobile (by Paul N)

Vintage R&T $3500 GT Comparison Test, July 1971: Opel GT & Datsun 240Z — When the Land Of The Rising Sun Eclipsed The Old European Order. (by geelongvic)

Vintage R&T Comparison: 1967 Opel Kadett Rallye & Ford Cortina GT – Mini Muscle Cars (by Paul N)