Opel Manta 400 - the best Group B rally car without four-wheel drive and turbo

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Opel Manta 400 - the best Group B rally car without four-wheel drive and turbo

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Created on January 17, 2019

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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FabPetersson Fotografie

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GM Corporation

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balmer1 gotthard 83 jk

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Christian Heuser

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Balz Schreier

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - lower drag coefficient than the production cars

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - developed as the basis for rally racing

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - the sports Opel on the move

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - looks flat and sporty

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - Plastic add-on parts

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - the wide version in road trim

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - visually close to the standard Manta

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - a rear wing and a rear panel as a distinguishing feature

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - looks racing-oriented from every perspective

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - significantly wider than the series

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - stocky and attractive

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - only minor differences to the standard Manta inside

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - red zone only above 6000 rpm, five gears

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - special Recaro bucket seats

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - a very special engine

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - 16 valves, 2.4 liter displacement, 144 hp

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - enough air for the engine, matt black trim parts

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - stylized '400' lettering

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - the cars were basically white, with the sports colors they became a little more colorful

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - wide tires on Ronal rims

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - clearly removed bodywork

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - here you can see how much wider the car was

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - no chrome, but many standard parts

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - the name '400' was inherited, significantly fewer units were built

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Opel Manta 400 - the basis for racing at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - the basic model for newcomers to rallying

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Opel Manta 400 (1982) - with 2.4-liter engine developed by Cosworth

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Opel Manta 400 (1983) - Balmer/Cavalli at the 1983 Uri Rally

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Opel Manta 400 (1984) - at the 1985 Monte Carlo Rally

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Opel Manta 400 (1984) - at the 1985 Monte Carlo Rally

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Opel Manta 2.0 S (1980) - straight lines

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Opel Ascona 400 - the basic machine for motor racing - Retro Classics Stuttgart 2015

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Opel Manta 2.0 S (1980) - the trunk had a capacity of over 300 liters

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Opel Manta 400 - Pre-race vehicle at the ADAC Rallye Köln-Ahrweiler 2012 with Rolf Möller (start number 000)

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Opel Manta 400 Group B (1984) in the "40 Years World Rally Championship" group at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2013

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Opel Manta 400 Group B (1985) - Original vehicle Sepp Haider - Eifel Rallye Festival 2016

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Opel Manta 400 Group B (1985) - Original vehicle Sepp Haider - Eifel Rallye Festival 2016

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Summary

When Opel developed a Group B successor to the Ascona 400, the decision was made to use the Manta as the basis and to continue with rear-wheel drive. There was, however, a four-wheel drive prototype, but it was never used in racing. With only 245 vehicles built, the Opel Manta 400 remained an exotic model. This vehicle report tells the story of the homologation vehicle and shows a road-going version in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Proven basis
From the Ascona 400 to the Manta 400
The four-wheel drive prototype
Difficulties with homologation
The road-going version
Limited success
Valuable today
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When Opel set out to develop a Group B car at the beginning of the 1980s, it didn't have to look far. The Opel Ascona 400 had already achieved several rally successes. But an Ascona as the base vehicle for a new rally car was out of the question, because the Ascona C was already in the starting blocks and it had front-wheel drive. The Manta, on the other hand, which had been developed in parallel with the Ascona B, continued to be built. So the Ascona 400 technology, i.e. the 144 hp cross-flow four-cylinder engine with light-alloy cylinder head and 16 valves as well as the axle designs, was taken and transplanted into the Manta.

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