Chevrolet Opala: Бразильская легенда General Motors

The Chevrolet Opala is a Brazilian executive car sold under the Chevrolet brand in South America from 1969 to 1992, by General Motors do Brasil. It was derived from the German Opel Rekord Series C and Opel Commodore Series A, but used local design styling and engines derived from North American designs. GM manufactured about one million units including the Opala sedan,Opala Coupé, and the station wagon variant, the Opala Caravan. It was replaced by the Chevrolet Omega in 1992, also an Opel derived project. It was the first passenger car built by GM in Brazil by the General Motors do Brasil division. A luxury version of the Opala was marketed as the Chevrolet Diplomata. It was used by the Brazilian Federal Police for many years. The military government issued Opalas to its agents through the 1970s. Its reliability and easy maintenance made the Opala the choice of many taxi drivers and was also popular on racetracks. The Opala "Coupé" continued as a pillarless hardtop well into the late 1980s, long after U. S. automakers dropped the body style. The Opala's long lived 250 cubic inch (4.1 L) engine was also used in its replacement, the Chevrolet Omega (which featured electronic fuel injection in the GLS and CD trims) from 1995 to 1998. Some of the Opala's components and chassis were used in other Brazilian cars such as the Santa Matilde, Puma GTB, and the Fera XK (a Jaguar XK replica).

Founded in January 1925, General Motors do Brasil originally only assembled, and later, manufactured, light trucks and utilities until the late 1960s, when they decided to produce their first Brazilian made passenger car. The options varied between the traditional, large, more expensive American style cars that GM was already selling in the United States line, such as the Impala, and the lighter and more economical models from German GM subsidiary Opel (such as the Kadett, Olympia, Rekord and Commodore) which were already imported to Brazil in small quantities. After wavering between the small Kadett and the somewhat larger Rekord/Commodore line, GMB opted for the latter, but later introduced the Kadett as well. On November 23, 1966, in a press conference at the Club Athletico Paulistano in São Paulo, GM publicly announced "Project 676", which would become the Chevrolet Opala.

The name Opala may come from the opal, which is a precious stone, colourless when extracted from the soil, but which acquires multiple tones when exposed to light. Some commented that the name was a portmanteau of the brand name "Opel", and the Chevy Impala, as the model was derived from the German Opel Rekord, and one of its engines (the 230 in³, and later, 250 in³ Chevrolet straight six) was also used in the North American Chevrolet Impala. GM claims that this was not their intention, as the name Opala one of six finalists from thousands of suggestions was chosen by a journalist. Its rapid acceptance with the general public led to the approval of the choice.

At the opening of the sixth São Paulo Auto Show, on November 23, 1968, the Opala appeared on a rotating stage on a stand. Around the novelty there were several spectacles, including an appearance by Stirling Moss. Several Opala models were shown every half hour. The first model was the four door sedan in the trims "Especial" (Special) and "Luxo" (Deluxe). Its attractive lines curved from the windscreen to rear fender, a styling practice that was referred to as "Coke Bottle styling", already in use at the time on the sporty 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird and the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette, among numerous others, but hints of the upcoming style were already clear on the more "family" oriented 1965 Chevrolet Impala fastback coupé. A hardtop coupe was also offered with a silhouette resembling the first generation Camaro/Firebird. The round headlamps (not squared, as in the Opel Rekord and Commodore), egg crate grille, styling cues borrowed from the 1968 Chevy II Nova, and lamps fitted below the front bumper separated the Opala from its European Opel siblings. In the back, a chrome strip with "Chevrolet" in black was included with the more expensive trim. Small rectangular taillights (similar to those on the American 1967 Chevelle) were mounted on the tip of the rear overhang, and small reverse lights were mounted in the rear bumper, just below the fuel tank cap. An "Opala" badge (spelled in a similar font to the American Chevrolet Impala badge) was fitted on the rear fenders, and the badges denoting the rounded displacement of the engine in cubic centimeters (2500 or 3800, later 4100 as well) were placed next to the front doors. Chrome hubcaps complemented the whitewall tires. Both versions came standard with front bench seats (bucket seats weren't available early in production, but were later introduced) and column mounted shifter lever. Reverse lights, fuel tank lock, and rear valance chrome strip were available only on the "Luxo" trim level. In 2016 Rogério Ferraresi, in the city of São Paulo, created a pedal car of the Chevrolet Opala. It was the first time that this type of toy based on an Opala was produced. 1 2 3

When endurance races resumed in Brazil in 1973, the Opala found a great competitor, the Ford Maverick, which was powered by an engine with a displacement almost a full liter larger. It took Bob Sharp and Jan Balder, who placed second in the "24 Hours of Interlagos" in August of that year with an Opala, to convince GM do Brasil to field a more powerful engine. By coincidence, engine development manager Roberto B. Beccardi was already working on an engine hop up project on his own, but GMB wasn't interested in it until Sharp and Balder's loss. Thus, in July 1974, GMB introduced the 250 S engine as an option for the Opala 4100. It was slightly different from the version that would be launched two years later: it didn't have a vibration dampener and the cooling fan came from the standard 2500, with four blades instead of six. The Opala was now much faster than the Maverick GT, and Ford did not waste time. It quickly homologated a version of the Maverick with a four barrel carburetor. On the racetrack, the determining factor for victory was the driver's skill and the pit crew's organization. The rivals walked side by side.