When small cars were still given nicknames - Opel 4 PS

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When small cars were still given nicknames - Opel 4 PS

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Created on March 1, 1975

Text:

Dirk Tiermann

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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General Motors / Opel

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

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Opel 4/12 PS "Laubfrosch" (1924) - on the historic and now derelict Opel test site in Rüsselsheim

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Opel 4/12 PS "Laubfrosch" (1924) - three Volks-Opel side by side on the historic but now derelict Opel test site in Rüsselsheim

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Opel 4/16 PS (1926) - South German touring race including 24-hour race in the Taunus June 18 - 28, 1926. driver: chief engineer Bergmann, co-driver: E. Zoogmann.21328

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Opel 4/16 PS (1926) - Assembly line production at Opel in 1926

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Opel 4/12 PS Laubfrosch (1924) - Parade of a daily production of 125 Laubfrosches on the Opel racetrack, 1924

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Opel 4/12 PS Laubfrosch (1924) - Parade of a daily production of 125 Laubfrosches on the Opel racetrack, 1924

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Opel 4/12 PS (1925) - Chassis from the side and from above

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Opel 4/16 PS (1928) - Sedan with the new Packard-style radiator

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Opel Laubfrosch (1926) - in the transport center of the Deutsches Museum

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Opel Laubfrosch (1926) - in the transport center of the Deutsches Museum

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Opel 1.2 liter (1931) - the successor to the 4/16 PS

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Opel P4 (1935) - still close to the 1.2-liter in terms of design

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Opel P4 (1936) - Oldtimer in Obwalden OiO 2011

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Opel Kadett (1936) - a lot of car for the money

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Opel Kadett (1936) - with the technology of its predecessor, but a more modern body

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The Opel plant at the end of the thirties

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Summary

The Opel 4 PS was one of the most popular cars of the 1920s. The Laubfrosch also belonged to the 4 PS family, as did the P4 and the first Kadett. This type history traces the evolution of the Opel 4 PS up to the P4/Kadett, illustrated with several historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

A new beginning
Numbers instead of words and a nickname
More for less
From 1926 with four-wheel brakes and left-hand drive
Role model Citroën 5 CV
Further improvements
More displacement
Suitable for long distances
And then the P4 and the Kadett

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"I can say that I can beat almost any big car on the track, even on the mountain, with this little guy, which I have brought up to over 90 km/h by modifying the carburetor etc.. As you know, I have already been in the Chaussee ditch three times with the vehicle, without the machine sustaining any significant damage. Every week I cover distances of up to 500 km in a row with the 4 HP every day. My appreciation ..." So wrote Mr. 0. B. from Dortmund to Rüsselsheim on February 25, 1925. The 4 PS, about which this brave long-distance driver was so full of praise, had long since become a real people's car.

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