KMII
[Montblanc Moderator]
50641
Near miss - the Opel Omega V8 🇩🇪
In 2000 Opel was still a prominent player in Europe (Vauxhall in the UK) and after the relative success of the Lotus Omega / Lotus Carlton, as well as all German premium players offering a V8 option, the appetite to compete in this part of the market was high.
So at the Geneva Motor Show of 2000 Opel presented a V8 version of what was to be the final Omega generation, the Omega B. Sporting a very subtle exterior (darkened rear light clusters and a small, easily removable V8 sign being the telltale signs), it had a Corvette sourced LS1 small block under the hood.
Sadly it was not to be, with the project being shelved soon thereafter. While the challenging aspect of fitting the larger engine under the bonnet succeeded, the final death blow was the inability of the engine but even more the gearbox to survive sustained high speed running common on the German Autobahns. GM did not have an appropriate gearbox in its portfolio and reengineering the existing one would take longer than the predicted lifespan of the model, so it was quietly dropped. Most of the 30 or so development vehicles were crushed.
A shame really, since it would have both a power and torque advantage for ver the BMW 540i, Audi A6 4.2 and Mercedes 430 of the era and Opel knew how to make their RWD cars handle.
Picture from: Autobild
Near miss - the Opel Omega V8 🇩🇪
In 2000 Opel was still a prominent player in Europe (Vauxhall in the UK) and after the relative success of the Lotus Omega / Lotus Carlton, as well as all German premium players offering a V8 option, the appetite to compete in this part of the market was ...
I remember the Lotus Carlton well it was a beast of a car.
But I was always a fast Ford guy and before the Lotus Carlton came out I had a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth in moonstone blue but after the 4th attempt of it being stolen and the insurance becoming unreasonable I sold it. I think the Lotus Carlton actually ...
Sounds like pleasant (and slightly less pleasant both) memories 😊👍🏻
The Sierra was a true marvel in its time and the Lotus Carlton likewise, even if only around 280 were sold in the UK. Was a much bigger hit in Germany, where the unlimited highways allowed it to be enjoyed more of the time. However it was heinously expens...
Indeed…
Just like the Audi RS2 one of the projects that tied Porsche over, while the brand was skirting around bankruptcy in the late 1980s, early 1990s. And a glorious machine 🦾
In this case Porsche handled the production and integration work, the engine was a standard 5.0l V8 from Mercedes…
In the then regular time, as also available in the R129 SL, for instance. Porsche had unused production and R&D capacity so both Audi and Mercedes jumped in. They also helped Skoda (before both became part of the VW empire), as well as Subaru for a while....
Bingo 👍🏻
When GM was trying to get out of Europe there were several buyers in the first round, including Oleg Deripaska (US sanctions prevented it) and Magna. Finally in the second attempt PSA (Peugeot & Citroen) bagged it and brought it into the marriage with FCA...
That it certainly was 🦾
Legendary but not that often sold. But definitely a great car 👌🏻👍🏻 Ever experienced it?