Opel GT Greder -1969

In 1968, Franco Sbarro worked with General Motors to prepare two Chevrolet Corvettes for the Le Mans 24-hour race. Through Scuderia Filipinetti, he was able to meet Henri Greder. For 1969, Greder wanted to prepare the Opel GT for rally use by his Greder Racing Team. The Opel GT, officially presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1968, was a very handsome car, sometimes regarded as a mini Corvette, but it was not at all sporty. The task was therefore a difficult one.

A completely redesigned Opel GT

Sbarro received two Opel GTs which he completely stripped down. To stiffen the car, Sbarro built a special tubular chassis with the help of Chausson in Gennevilliers, who had already supplied the bodies for the production model. The steel body was replaced by a much lighter fiberglass body. The latter retained the original shape with a few modifications. The retractable headlamps of the original model were replaced by two much more reliable fixed double headlamps. The front air intake was lowered slightly. From a technical point of view, the tracks were widened and the front axle was specially custom-built. Again to save weight, the wheels, derived from those on a Brabham Formula 2, were made of magnesium. In the end, the car weighed 800 kg in running order, 50 kg more than expected (an Alpine A110 weighed just 715 kg!).

 

Disappointing race results

Finally, in 1969, Sbarro delivered two bodies ready for assembly to Greder, who was only able to complete one. The events of 1968 in France, Chausson's low production capacity, and Greder's many racing commitments meant that the Opel GT was not raced until... 1971. Two years late. But the main problem was the Crossflow 2-liter engine, which Opel was never able to make reliable. Henri Greder had hoped for a twin-cam engine, but it never came. The Opel GT was underpowered to compete with the then-dominant Alpine A110. In 1972, GM asked Henri Greder to concentrate on a new model, the Opel Ascona, and the GT project was buried. One of the GT Greder's best sporting results was 10th place in the 1972 Lyon-Charbonnières with Jean Ragnotti at the wheel.

A lack of professionalism on the part of some of those involved, hesitations and mechanical problems prevented the Opel GT Greder from shining in competition. A failed attempt that should have benefited from greater support from GM, especially in the face of the Alpine, which was truly unbeatable at the time.