Welcome back - Opel CD
03/28/2015
In 1969 it was one of the stars at the IAA in Frankfurt. The Opel CD was a styling study developed by the Rüsselsheim design team under the direction of Charles M Jourdan.
The technology was taken from the Diplomat V8 (5.4 liter displacement, 230 hp, 435 Nm, Turbo-Hydra-matic three-speed automatic). Visually, however, the concept car had nothing in common with the saloon. The 1.11 meter high coupé essentially anticipated the styling trends of the 1970s and still looks breathtaking today.
The engineers were not content with a pure styling study at the time, but also created a technical mock-up at the same time, in which the shape was only indicated by a wire mesh. This model shows the mechanism required to lift the roof pulpit, including the steering wheel, to allow the crew to get in.
The controls and telephone system are visible in the interior.
The fiberglass model was restored by technicians from the Opel Classic Team in 2010 and is now on display in a shade of red together with the wireframe model at Retro Classics (Hall 4) in Stuttgart until 29 March 2015.
In fact, this study alone is almost worth a visit to Retro Classics ...
Of course, the model never went into production, but Pietro Frua created a much closer-to-production study called the Opel Diplomat Frua Coupé. But only the Bitter CD, which inherited the spirit of the two studies, went on sale. Actually, it would have been wonderful to have all three models side by side in Stuttgart.
