![]() ![]() While major corrosion is a common issue, the Manta is enormous fun, a little bit left-field and eminently affordable. As the last of the line these models are the fastest of the breed but also the ones most likely to be suffering from really bad rot. While pre-1982 cars are desirable because they’re rare and feature a relatively pure design, it’s the later fuel-injected GT/E that’s the most sought after Manta, along with the GT/E Exclusive (later just Exclusive) that arrived in 1986. From 1982 there was also a 1.8-litre overhead cam option, but few of these are left, so you’ll be doing well to find one. UK buyers got a 1.9-litre powerplant until 1978, when a 2.0-litre lump took over. At first there was a 1.6-litre unit which was soon killed off, while for Europe there was a 1.2-litre option. Not only did the Opel continue, but it was refreshed in 1982 to become the Manta C in the UK (the Europeans retained the Manta B tag), and it would remain in production until 1988.Īlong the way the Manta was offered with a choice of engines, most based on the same cam-in-head design. Both the Opel and Vauxhall were sold alongside each other with a choice of bodystyles until the Cavalier was dropped in 1981. First seen as the Manta A in 1970, this was followed up by the heavily revised Manta B in 1975, offered solely in coupé form alongside the identical Vauxhall Cavalier GLS coupé.įor 1978 there was an extra bodystyle for those seeking extra practicality – a hatchback, or as the Cavalier was known, a Sports Hatch. ![]() But while the obvious choice wears a blue oval, there’s a less predictable alternative and that’s the Opel Manta. There’s something that’s just so Seventies about a rear-wheel drive coupé. And figure out how to put this one into production.Looking for a stylish coupé but you don’t have much cash to spend? Then check out GM’s Opel Ascona-based Manta, which offers far more fun per pound than some more obvious alternatives. ![]() And they even point out that it would be possible to revert this example to its original condition. Keeping sensitivities of the collector scene in mind, Opel is quick to point out that the Manta GSe was created from a car that needed restoration anyway no pristine example has been touched. As a fun touch, the recuperation rate can be adjusted with a classic slider positioned below the central screen. The interior is enhanced with ultra-futuristic display panels, the original airbag-less steering wheel gets a 12-o'-clock mark, and the headliner is now clad with Alcantara. The black hood, a signature element of Opel's sporty models, remains, and the "visor" that takes the space of the grille can display messages, such as the slightly cringeworthy "I am on a zero e-mission." Visually, it is a highly successful restomod effort: the glass and panels remain untouched, the chrome bumpers are gone, the quad headlights make way for Opel's current headlight style, and the quad taillamps are replaced with LED units. Opel calls the one-off EV the Manta GSe even though, back in the Manta A's time, the GS and GS/E designations were reserved for the upmarket Commodore range. And so Opel's engineers took a Manta A and turned it into a compact, sporty stand-alone EV that makes us long for a time of smaller, lighter cars-and perhaps even look forward to an electrified future. Prices for vintage Manta A models have long been on the rise, and given its cult status, it was a natural fit when Opel was looking for a suitable candidate for a restomod as a showcase for electrification. ![]() But while the Manta B was long seen as a tacky pseudo-racer, its image just recently beginning to recover, the Manta A has always been regarded as a real designer piece: a car priced for the masses, but of almost stunning beauty and sensuality. Too bad Opel has no plans to manufacture one.įew Americans remember the Opel Manta, even though it has been sold here from '71 through '75 and, as we wrote in our November 1976 issue, "has always found favor with this magazine." It's a different story in Europe, where the original Manta had a successor that was built into the late 1980s.
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