Opel Kapitän
Encyclopedia
The Kapitän was the last new Opel model to appear before the outbreak of the Second World War, developed during 1938 and launched in the spring of 1939 at the Geneva motor show. The first Kapitän was available in many different body styles, the most popular one being the 4-door saloon. 2-door coupé
cabriolets were also built. The pre-war
Kapitän featured a unitary body, a modern feature for its time. The car inherited its 2.5 litre engine from its predecessor
: in this application a maximum speed of 118 km/h (73 mph) was reported.
Civilian automobile production by Opel ceased in the Fall / Autumn of 1940, by which time 25,371 Kapitäns had been produced: a further three were assembled during 1943, giving a total production volume for the version launched in 1939 of 25,374. In addition, 2 were assembled in 1946, and one in 1947, but these were not officially recorded in the statistics.
Included in the production total were 248 of the two seater cabriolets built for Opel by independent coach builders Gläser of Dresden
and Hebmüller
of Wülfrath in Wuppertal
. There would, however, be no resurrection for the cabriolet Kapitäns in 1948 when the sedan / saloon version was reintroduced.
Up to February 1951, 30.431 Kapitäns were built.
rose from 6.0:1 to 6.25 to 1, its output from 55 PS to 58 PS.
From the outside the car was readily distinguished from the first post-war Kapitäns, thanks to an abundance of chrome and a US style grill at the front.
From March 1951 up to July 1953, Opel built 48,562 cars of this series.
, a rear stabilizing bar and slightly enlarged drum brakes.
Model year 1956 saw a mild facelift with a more up-to-date grille, bezeled headlamps, larger front indicator lights and revised side trim. The ´56 reached a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) and consumed 13 L/100 km.
From May 1957, a semi-automatic 3-speed overdrive transmission with an additional fourth gear became available on request.
From November 1953 to February 1958, 154,098 Kapitäns were built. In its time, this generation was the third most popular car in Germany behind Volkswagen
´s Beetle and Opel's own Rekord
(Oswald, p. 73).
From June 1958 to June 1959, 34.282 cars were built.
and pushrod design. Carried over were the 3-speed and 4-speed overdrive transmission; the latter was replaced from December 1960 by a version of GM
´s 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic.
The P2 climbed to a top speed of 150 km/h (93.2 mph), reached 100 kilometre per hour in 16 seconds and consumed 12 L/100 km.
From August 1959 to December 1963, Opel built 145,618 units of this Kapitän series.
The large Opels were never dominating players in their market segment on the same scale as the smaller Rekord
and Kadett
models, possibly due to the strength of Mercedes-Benz
in the big car sector. Nevertheless the highpoint for the big Opels was 1960 when together the Kapitän and Admiral
were Europe's top selling six cylinder saloons, with nearly 48,000 sold.
, Diplomat
) models; the Kapitän served as the base model of this three-tier model range.
It was powered by the same engines as the contemporary Opel Admiral
, namely a 2.6 l-inline six or a 2.8 l-six; a few Kapitäns even received the Chevrolet
-sourced 4.6 l-V8. For the Austrian market, 580 Kapitän and Admiral models received a 2.5 l-six with an output of 112 PS in 1966/67.
Like its more expensive brethren, the Kapitän was reworked in late 1967 and received rub strips, a new ZF
steering and a collapsible steering column
. At the same time, a new HL (Hochleistung = high performance) version of the 2.8 l-six became available that put out 140 PS.
Sales of the Kapitän A fell sharply off; up to its discontinuation in November 1968, a total of 24,249 cars left the factory.
Production ended in May 1970. The Admiral and Diplomat lived on for another seven years until they were replaced by the Senator
in 1978.
Just 4,976 Kapitan B models were built in 15 months.
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
cabriolets were also built. The pre-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Kapitän featured a unitary body, a modern feature for its time. The car inherited its 2.5 litre engine from its predecessor
Opel Super Six
The Opel Super Six is an automobile built by the German car manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1938. The car was equipped with a 2,5 litre straight-6 with a top speed of . It was available in three different versions, a 4-door sedan, a 2-door coupé and a 2-door cabriolet....
: in this application a maximum speed of 118 km/h (73 mph) was reported.
Civilian automobile production by Opel ceased in the Fall / Autumn of 1940, by which time 25,371 Kapitäns had been produced: a further three were assembled during 1943, giving a total production volume for the version launched in 1939 of 25,374. In addition, 2 were assembled in 1946, and one in 1947, but these were not officially recorded in the statistics.
Included in the production total were 248 of the two seater cabriolets built for Opel by independent coach builders Gläser of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Hebmüller
Hebmüller
The coachbuilding company Hebmüller And Sons was founded in 1889 by Joseph Hebmüller, it was established in the town of Wuppertal in Germany....
of Wülfrath in Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
. There would, however, be no resurrection for the cabriolet Kapitäns in 1948 when the sedan / saloon version was reintroduced.
1948–50
In October 1948, the Kapitän was re-introduced as a large six-cylinder saloon only, based on the 1939 version. The main differences were round headlights as opposed to hexagonal ones. From May 1950 the shifter was relocated from the floor to the steering column. The first post-war Kapitän reached a top speed of 126 km/h (78.3 mph), needed 29 seconds to reach 100 kilometre per hour and consumed 13 L/100 km in the process.Up to February 1951, 30.431 Kapitäns were built.
1951–53
The 1951 Kapitän, introduced in March 1951, was a stylistically slightly modernized version of the old model; technically it was much the same. The engine's compression ratioCompression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
rose from 6.0:1 to 6.25 to 1, its output from 55 PS to 58 PS.
From the outside the car was readily distinguished from the first post-war Kapitäns, thanks to an abundance of chrome and a US style grill at the front.
From March 1951 up to July 1953, Opel built 48,562 cars of this series.
1954–57
In November 1954, Opel launched a completely new Kapitän that was longer and wider than its predecessor. Carried over was the six-cylinder engine, though its compression ratio was raised to 7.0:1, giving 68 PS initially. For 1955, output rose to 71 PS and was further enhanced to 75 PS for 1956. The ´54 featured a revised rear live axleLive axle
A live axle, sometimes called a solid axle, is a type of beam axle suspension system that uses the driveshafts that transmit power to the wheels to connect the wheels laterally so that they move together as a unit....
, a rear stabilizing bar and slightly enlarged drum brakes.
Model year 1956 saw a mild facelift with a more up-to-date grille, bezeled headlamps, larger front indicator lights and revised side trim. The ´56 reached a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) and consumed 13 L/100 km.
From May 1957, a semi-automatic 3-speed overdrive transmission with an additional fourth gear became available on request.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
´s Beetle and Opel's own Rekord
Opel Rekord
The Opel Rekord was a large family car/executive car which was built in several generations by the German car manufacturer Opel.-Naming:The Rekord name evolved into the main name of the model; at first the name was used in close relationship with the Opel Olympia name, which pre-dated the Rekord...
(Oswald, p. 73).
Kapitän P1
The 1958 Kapitän (series P1), introduced in June 1958, was both wider and lower than its predecessor, and featured panoramic windows. It was only built for one year. This time, the 2.5 l-six's output was raised to 80 PS. Wheelbase, track widths, length and width were all slightly stretched, while a flatter roof made the car some 6 centimetres (2.4 in) lower.From June 1958 to June 1959, 34.282 cars were built.
Kapitän P2
The P2 Kapitän came to market in August 1959 and while it still had the panoramic windscreen, it gained a new grille and a redone body with a more angular roof and a new rear. It was driven by a stronger new, oversquare 2.6 liter-inline six (bore x stroke: 85 x 76.5 instead of 80 x 82 mm), still of OHVOverhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
and pushrod design. Carried over were the 3-speed and 4-speed overdrive transmission; the latter was replaced from December 1960 by a version of GM
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
´s 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic.
The P2 climbed to a top speed of 150 km/h (93.2 mph), reached 100 kilometre per hour in 16 seconds and consumed 12 L/100 km.
From August 1959 to December 1963, Opel built 145,618 units of this Kapitän series.
The large Opels were never dominating players in their market segment on the same scale as the smaller Rekord
Opel Rekord
The Opel Rekord was a large family car/executive car which was built in several generations by the German car manufacturer Opel.-Naming:The Rekord name evolved into the main name of the model; at first the name was used in close relationship with the Opel Olympia name, which pre-dated the Rekord...
and Kadett
Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...
models, possibly due to the strength of Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
in the big car sector. Nevertheless the highpoint for the big Opels was 1960 when together the Kapitän and Admiral
Opel Admiral
The Opel Admiral was a luxury car made by the German car manufacturer Opel from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1964 to 1977.-Admiral :...
were Europe's top selling six cylinder saloons, with nearly 48,000 sold.
Kapitän A
In 1964, Opel introduced the completely new KAD (Kapitän, AdmiralOpel Admiral
The Opel Admiral was a luxury car made by the German car manufacturer Opel from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1964 to 1977.-Admiral :...
, Diplomat
Opel Diplomat
The Opel Diplomat is a large car manufactured by Opel. Opel's range-topping models were traditionally the Admiral and Kapitän, introduced in 1937 and 1938 respectively....
) models; the Kapitän served as the base model of this three-tier model range.
It was powered by the same engines as the contemporary Opel Admiral
Opel Admiral
The Opel Admiral was a luxury car made by the German car manufacturer Opel from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1964 to 1977.-Admiral :...
, namely a 2.6 l-inline six or a 2.8 l-six; a few Kapitäns even received the Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
-sourced 4.6 l-V8. For the Austrian market, 580 Kapitän and Admiral models received a 2.5 l-six with an output of 112 PS in 1966/67.
Like its more expensive brethren, the Kapitän was reworked in late 1967 and received rub strips, a new ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
steering and a collapsible steering column
Steering column
The automotive steering column is a device intended primarily for connecting the steering wheel to the steering mechanism or transferring the driver's input torque from the steering wheel.-Secondary functions:...
. At the same time, a new HL (Hochleistung = high performance) version of the 2.8 l-six became available that put out 140 PS.
Sales of the Kapitän A fell sharply off; up to its discontinuation in November 1968, a total of 24,249 cars left the factory.
Kapitän B
The Kapitän B was introduced in 1969 and was the last car bearing the Kapitän name. Engine options included a 1-bbl 2.8 l-inline six or a 2-bbl version of same, coupled with a 4-speed manual or Opel's 3-speed automatic transmission.Production ended in May 1970. The Admiral and Diplomat lived on for another seven years until they were replaced by the Senator
Opel Senator
The Opel Senator was a large automobile, two generations of which were sold in Europe by Opel, from 1978 until 1993. A saloon, its first incarnation was also available with a fastback coupé body as the Opel Monza and Vauxhall Royale Coupe....
in 1978.
Just 4,976 Kapitan B models were built in 15 months.
Sources
- Werner Oswald, Deutsche Autos 1945-1976. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1975. ISBN 3-87943-371-8.
- Phil Seeds' Virtual Car Museum
- KAD Historie