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An American in spirit - Opel Admiral in the (historic) test

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Created on October 20, 1964

Text:

Clauspeter Becker

Photos:

GM Corporation / Opel

2

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

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GM Corporation / Opel

2

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

14

Opel Admiral (1966) - Italian press photo. The mannequin wears a dress from the "Corsa" collection by Gianni Baldini

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Opel Admiral (1964) - the more elegant version of the Kapitän with more equipment

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Opel Admiral (1966) - factory photo from November 1965, still with Opel lettering on the fender and model name on the C-pillar

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Opel Admiral (1966) - The C-pillar runs out into the fender corners, almost like the Lancia Flaminia

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Opel Admiral (1964) - with the direct predecessor Kapitän L and the first Kapitän from 1939

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Opel Admiral (1966) - Factory photo from summer 1965

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Opel Diplomat V8 (1964) - shows its status with vinyl roof, 15-inch wheels and lettering on the fender

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Opel Kapitän (1964) - lettering in single letters between the rear lights

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Opel Kapitän (1964) - Radiator grille with emphasized horizontal lines. On the Admiral, the vertical is more striking.

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Opel Admiral (1964) - wide rear in US style, one-piece lettering on the right of the tailgate.

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Opel Diplomat V8 (1964) - spacious trunk despite the awkwardly placed spare wheel, of course also in the Kapitän and Admiral

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Opel Diplomat V8 (1964) - View of the interior of a model with Hydramatic and center shift

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Opel Kapitän (1964) - The interior of the "entry-level model", manual four-speed gearbox with steering wheel gearshift

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Opel Admiral (1964) - with additional equipment refinements

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Opel Diplomat (1964) - together with Admiral and Kapitän

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Opel Admiral (1964) - Sectional drawing of the six-cylinder model

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Opel Admiral (1964) - Cross-section of the 2.6-liter six-cylinder engine

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Summary

Why do we always have to be in such a hurry and squeeze small engines to the limit? The Opel Admiral teaches its driver that it's not about how quickly you reach your destination, but how comfortably. After all, what's the point of arriving early if you have to lie down for an hour afterwards to recover from the journey? Remember: if the engine is relaxed, so is the driver. This article reproduces a test report from 1964 and shows the center of Opel's luxury class in historical images.

This article contains the following chapters

In fact, it is from yesterday
A car for space travelers
Do you need a patent for long journeys?
Prosperity on firm feathers
Does it stay faithfully on course?
The old man and the bends
Tired or lively?
Because it is quiet
The admiral's uniform
Technical data and measurements

Estimated reading time: 21min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Let there be fat cars around me, with quiet, sedate engines. With this small reference to Shakespeare, after a fortnight of testing, it is not without sadness that we bid farewell to what is, by our standards, a rather large car. This final impression stands in stark contrast to all our initial impressions. At first, the car seems large, awkward and even a little sluggish. I think it is important to say this to all those whose interest is aroused by this car, but no less to those who turn five pages further to realize that such performance can be achieved even with less than half the engine capacity.

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