Opel Love: A Journey Through Over 150 Years of History with 25 Unique Pieces

Opel Love is the exhibition currently on display at Mobility City Zaragoza, offering a journey through unique vehicles from the Opel Museum in Rüsselsheim, which represent significant milestones and can be admired at Mobility City. Visitors can see motorcycles and bicycles, such as the surprising 5-seater Quintuplet from 1895 or the 1928 ZR III racing bike, paying homage to an activity where Opel was a world leader a century ago. However, the highlight is the venerable and pioneering Opel Patent Motorwagen Lutzmann. Launched in 1899, it marked the beginning of the brand's automotive saga. Its rear-mounted single-cylinder engine and two-speed gearbox allowed it to reach 20 km/h. The vehicle on display, a 2+2 convertible from 1901, is the last unit produced of this model.

All these emblems will be available until early March 2026; and until October 21, the futuristic Opel Corsa GSe Vision Gran Turismo will be a major attraction alongside its two driving simulators. It is an ultra-sporty and 100% electric vision of the Corsa designed to compete in the well-known video game Gran Turismo 7, making its first appearance in Spain, specifically in Zaragoza, where the Corsa is manufactured for the global market.

With 800 horsepower, 800 Nm of torque, and a top speed of 320 km/h, this concept car reinterprets the Opel Compass aesthetic with precise horizontal and vertical elements and features optimized aerodynamic solutions: aerodynamic hood, aerodynamic fenders, aerodynamic diffuser, and active aerodynamic spoiler.

The muscular and powerful appearance of the Opel Corsa GSe Vision Gran Turismo underscores its exceptional performance. The bodywork is characterized by sharp and precise contours, combined with technical and mechanical details. The leitmotif running throughout the vehicle is the even sharper Opel Compass. Additionally, this high-performance show car shines with numerous aerodynamic solutions, from special aerodynamic curtains in front of the front and rear designer fenders to particularly efficient aerodynamic wheels, the active aerodynamic diffuser, and the aerodynamic spoiler.

"German technology at your fingertips," said an old advertising slogan of the brand. Opel's drive to bring automobiles and the latest technical advances to the public is evident throughout its history. This exhibition showcases two cars that embody this philosophy. The Opel 4/8 HP "Doctorwagen" from 1909 is an elegant two-seater convertible that revolutionized the market with its affordable price, low maintenance cost, and easy handling, bringing the automobile to the middle class and professionals like doctors, hence its nickname.

The other model is the Opel 4/12 HP "Laubfrosch" from 1924, the first mass-produced car in Germany, which turned Rüsselsheim into the largest vehicle factory of its time. This compact, open, green two-seater (hence its nickname "tree frog") saw 120,000 units produced until 1931, solidifying the brand's commercial leadership in Germany. Today, 100 units of the Laubfrosch remain, making it a highly sought-after piece among classic car collectors.

The future is the realm of dreams and the expression of confidence in the technical progress of an era and society. In Opel Love, prototypes and concept cars can be seen with which the "Blitz" attempted to open windows to the development of the automobile years or decades in advance. For example, the 1969 CD Concept Wireframe was presented as the "car of the special generation," with its futuristic vision of a luxury two-seater coupe with a single-piece fiberglass body. Two years later, the Elektro GT demonstrated, half a century before the start of the energy transition, that an electric motor could rival a combustion engine in terms of performance and speed, breaking several records. Prototypes like the 1974 OSV 40 opened new avenues in safety, while the 1994 Scamp 2 anticipated the compact SUV craze, and the RAKe used electrification to blur the lines between car and motorcycle.

In Opel Love, more recent concept cars can be found, such as the 2018 GT X Experimental, a compact electric SUV that previewed the brand's new identity, with the Opel Vizor front, integrating headlights, daytime running lights, cameras, and assistance sensors in a dark plexiglass frame alongside Opel's modern lightning bolt, or the Manta GSe ElektroMOD, a futuristic reinterpretation of the iconic sports car from the 70s, with powerful torque on the rear axle, zero emissions, and a redesigned look with modern features inside and out, and the already iconic Opel Vizor.

Saying Opel Corsa is synonymous with Zaragoza. The already legendary compact urban car of the brand could not be absent from the exhibition. Opel Love reviews the history of this model, whose six generations have been manufactured in Aragon. Mobility City not only hosts the Opel Corsa A, the vehicle that began production in Figueruelas in 1982 and revolutionized urban mobility, setting a style with its straight lines, dynamic stance, and aerodynamic coefficient of 0.36. Alongside it, the extravagant Opel Corsa Spider, a two-seater convertible that anticipated the major design features of a car that has sold over 14 million units in its more than four decades of history. In Opel Love, concept cars based on the silhouette and platform of this model can also be seen, such as the 1997 Opel Corsa B "Moon."