Opel Kapitan Cabriolet, 1938 - 1940

Modelul Opel Kapitan, desi folosind vechiul motor 2/5 in sase cilindri de Opel Super Six, purta o carosierie noua, ultramoderna, si unitara, in stil Art Deco. A fost foarate bine primit : peste 25 000 exemplare au fost construite incepand cu 1938, si porductia a contiunat dupa razboi intr-o forma mai mult sau mai putin modificata pana in 1953. 4,560 din astea erau decapotabile, majoritatea carosate de Opel, dar 248 ajungand la firme celebre precum Glaser si Hebmuller.

S-a vandut decent si in Romania, iar, in timpul razboiului si imediat dupa, foarte multe exemplare au fost aduse, ceea ce inseamna ca Opel Kapitan e unul din cele mai raspandite modele antebelice in Romania, unele exemplare fiind folosite zilnic pana in anii 80. Robusta berlina in patru portiere, bine inteles, era mult mai potrivita pentru o masina de familie decat modelele cabrio. Stiu de cel putin zece berline care inca mai exista intr-o forma sau alta, desi nici una nu e in stare de circulatie sau cu numere noi. Iar din Kapitanele decapotabile, masina alba, destul de bine prezervata (chiar cu capacele originale), era de vanzare acum vreo zece ani in Oradea, si exexmplarul rosu se spune ca inca mai e in tara, poza fiind postata in albumul Automobilia cu ce mai exista in Romania. Ca la toate aceste modele care au supravietuit in RO, farurile hexagonale au fost inlocuite cu unele rotunde, probabil de Volga sau de TV. Intr-un viitor post am sa prezint berlinele existente, Kapitanul in parerea mea fiind una din cele mai frumoase masini antebelice, fapt dovedit de poza 1, aratand un cabriolet Opel in Romania in 1941, sau de exemplarul Hebmuller in poza 4, fotografiat de mine la Riga in mai 2010.






The Opel Kapitan, although with the same 2.5 six-cylinder engine from the Opel Super Six, had an ultra-modern Art Deco unitary body. It sold well, over 25,000 examples beginning with 1938; modified, it survived in the Opel line-up until 1953. Of these, 4,560 were convertibles, mainly Opel-bodied four-light examples but also 248 which would received elegant bodywork by famous coachbuilders such as Glaser and Hebmuller.

It was a popualr car in Romania, too, selling decently before the war. During wartime, a reat many found thier way to Romania, and under Communism the Kapitan was a frequently-seen pre-war car, some remaining in daily use until well into the Eighties. The robust four-door closed version, of course, was far more suited for a family workhorse than convertibles, and at least ten have survived to this day in Romania, none of them, unfortunately, in working order. Of the convertibles, the white one was running, in reasonably good condition, and for sale in Oradea circa 1999, while the red example is still allegedly in Romania. Like every single other Romanian example, the delicate hexagonal headlights were crudely replaced by round ones, probably from a Volga or TV van. In a future post I will present surviving examples of the saloon, as the Kapitan is one of my favourite pre-war cars. Its modernist style is I think clearly shown in photo 1, showing an Opel-bodied version in 1941 Romania, and photo 4 of a Hebmuller version I was lucky enough to see in Riga this May.