Opel Classic now offers virtual tours through an extensive collection spanning more than 120 years of automobile construction and 159 years of brand history. The Opel website features the themed tours "Alternative Drives", "Rally Racing", "Roaring Twenties" and "Mobility for Millions". The German car manufacturer invites visitors to take a digital journey through Opel's rich history. The exhibition in the former K6 loading station on the Rüsselsheim factory premises can be visited around the clock, every day of the year.
Into the hallowed halls
The 360-degree tours take visitors virtually into the "hallowed halls" of the Opel Classic collection. Here, the brand with the lightning bolt is guarding a veritable treasure trove of 600 historic vehicles and studies as well as 300 other exhibits ranging from Opel sewing machines to aircraft engines. Yellow info points now light up on the vehicles that belong to the selected theme tour.
This allows interested visitors to zoom in on the respective exhibit - be it a bicycle, motorcycle, car or concept car. A click on the info point then opens up new perspectives: fact sheets describe the historical significance of the respective exhibit and explain its technical highlights.
"The virtual tours allow people to experience Opel's rich history from the comfort of their own home. It's a new experience not only for typical car fans like me, but also for anyone interested in the social component of a brand. People have vivid memories of their family cars - traveling, going to special celebrations. We are a German brand that is 'human' and approachable. We are second to none when it comes to our customers' needs - and our new virtual Opel Classic offering is a perfect fit," says Opel Sales and Marketing Director Stephen Norman.
Also a consequence of Corona
And Opel Head of Communications Harald Hamprecht adds: "A joint team from the Marketing and Communications departments came up with the idea of a digital presence for Opel Classic in the middle of the Covid crisis. We wanted to remain visible and accessible to our fans and customers. So this team really went full throttle and implemented the virtual theme tours in record time. Compliments to everyone involved and lots of fun for our online visitors."
Four themed tours
The "Alternative drives" themed tour focuses on unusual concepts - such as the record-breaking RAK 2 from 1928 with solid-fuel rocket propulsion in the rear - or early electric prototypes such as the Opel Impuls I from 1990 and the successfully tested hydrogen vehicles - most of them based on the Zafira - from Opel HydroGen 1 to 4.
Under the motto "Rallye Racing", Opel Classic will show legendary rally cars. Real highlights are the winning cars of Walter Röhrl - European Champion 1974 in an Opel Ascona and World Champion 1982 in an Opel Ascona 400 - and of Jochi Kleint, European Champion 1979 also in an Opel Ascona.
Also on display is the unique Opel Kadett 4x4 - planned for the World Rally Championship, successfully used in the Paris-Dakar Rally. The Opel ADAM R2 - four-time European Junior Champion from 2015 to 2018 - and the brand-new Opel Corsa-e Rally, the world's first electric rally racer, represent the present!
The third themed tour then takes us to the Golden Twenties - the "Roaring Twenties". A time of unbridled inventiveness that set out in pursuit of world records. Racing bikes, rocket motorcycles and even airplanes were created. In addition, the new efficient way of building vehicles was introduced with assembly line production, causing prices to plummet for customers and making cars such as the Opel "Laubfrosch" affordable for many.
The continuation of this story can be found in Tour No. 4: "Mobility for millions". After the Opel "Doktorwagen" and "Laubfrosch", it was above all the compact models from Rüsselsheim that gave millions of people mobility. The first Kadett hit the road 85 years ago, followed by ten generations of Kadett and Astra to date. At the end of this year, Opel will present the next new Astra, which will be electrified for the first time.
The four themed tours can be completed on the Opel website
