Open All Hours: Opel Classic Launches Virtual Theme Tours
Opel Classic now offers virtual tours through an extensive collection of more than 120 years of automobile manufacturing and 159 years of brand history.
To begin with, the theme tours “Alternative Drive”, “Rally Racing”, “Roaring Twenties” and “Mobility for Millions” can be found at opel.com/opelclassic. The German car manufacturer is offering a virtual trip through the highlights of Opel’s history. Visitors can tour the exhibition in the former loading station K6 on the Rüsselsheim factory grounds around the clock and on any day of the year.
During their 360-degree tours, visitors first virtually enter the “hallowed halls” of the Opel Classic collection. This where the brand with the Blitz houses its real treasures from more than 600 historic cars and studies as well as 300 other display items, from Opel sewing machines to an aircraft engine. Yellow info points light up at those vehicles that belong to the selected theme tour. This allows interested visitors to zoom in on the respective exhibition object – such as a bicycle, motorbike, car or concept car. A click on the info point opens up new perspectives: profiles describe the historical significance of the respective exhibit and explain its technical highlights.
“The Virtual Car Collection will allow people to experience the rich history of Opel from the comfort of their own home”, says Stephen Norman, Senior Vice President Sales, Aftersales and Marketing. “It is an experience not just for ‘petrol heads’ like me, but for those interested in the social history of a brand. People have vivid recollections of their Opel family car. Going on holiday. Visiting family. We are the proudly ‘menschlich’ and approachable German brand – second to none in putting the customer first. The Virtual Car Collection is another brilliant demonstration.”
“A team from Marketing and Communications had the idea for a digital version of Opel Classic, right in the middle of the Covid crisis”, adds Vice President of Communications, Harald Hamprecht. “We wanted to stay visible and accessible for our fans and customers. The team pulled out all the stops and created the Virtual Car Collection in record time. Compliments to all involved and enjoy the tour to all our online visitors!”
The “Alternative Drive” theme tour is about unusual concepts – such as the record-breaking RAK 2 car from 1928 with solid 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 “Rally Racing”, Opel Classic also virtually displays legendary rally cars. Real highlights are the winning cars of Walter Röhrl – European Champion 1974 in Opel Ascona and World Champion 1982 in Opel Ascona 400 – and of Jochi Kleint, European Champion 1979 also in Opel Ascona. In addition, there is the unique Opel Kadett 4x4 on display – planned for the World Rally Championship and used in the Paris-Dakar Rally. Representing the present day is the Opel ADAM R2 – four-time European Junior Champion from 2015 to 2018 – and the brand new Opel Corsa e-Rally as the world's first electric rally car!
The third theme tour then takes us to the “Roaring Twenties”, that period of unbridled inventive spirit that set out in pursuit of world records. Racing bikes, rocket motorbikes and even aeroplanes were created. In addition, assembly line production was the new efficient way of building vehicles, which caused prices to plummet for customers and made cars like 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 the “Laubfrosch”, it was above all the compact models from Rüsselsheim that made millions of people mobile. The first Kadett hit the road 85 years ago, followed by ten generations of Kadett and Astra. At the end of this year, Opel will present the next new Astra, which will also be electrified for the first time.