Opel 10/40 hp

Opel
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10/40 hp / 10/45 hp / 10/50 hp
Production period:	1925-1929
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Touring car , limousine , coupé
Engines:	Otto engine : 2.6 liters (29 kW)
Length:	4150-4480 mm
Width:	1770 mm
Height:	1920 mm
Wheelbase :	3000-3250 mm
Empty weight :	1260-1550 kg
Previous model	Opel 10/30 PS

The Opel 10/40 PS, the Opel 10/45 PS and the Opel 10/50 PS were upper middle-class cars that Opel manufactured from 1925 to 1929 as the successor to the 10/30 PS model.

The car was presented in May 1925 as the Opel 10/50 PS . When series production began in July 1925, the name was changed to Opel 10/45 PS . Soon after, the same car was called Opel 10/40 PS . The car kept this name until production was discontinued in November 1929. The design of the car was similar to that of the Opel “Laubfrosch” , as such simply constructed vehicles were easy to manufacture.

The engine was a four-cylinder in - line engine with a capacity of 2620 cm³, producing 40 hp (29 kW) at 2800 rpm. submitted. The car with the shorter wheelbase reached a top speed of 85 km / h, while the heavier long versions could still be accelerated to 80 km / h.

The chassis was available with a 3000 mm wheelbase for the more common four and five-seat bodies or with a 3250 mm wheelbase for the bodies with six or seven seats.

When it was launched in 1925, the short wheelbase chassis cost 7,000 RM and the long version cost 7,600 RM. By 1928 the prices fell to 3750 RM and 4000 RM respectively. There were different bodies for this car ex works: A four- or five-seat touring car cost 8,500 RM in 1925; by 1928 the price had fallen to RM 4,800. A four- or five-seater sedan was also available , as well as long versions of these two body styles that offered space for a third row of seats. The four or five-seater "city coupé" with two doors was the most expensive body on the short chassis. It cost 10,500 RM in 1925, a price that dropped to 5,400 RM by 1928.

The Opel 10/40 PS was built right after the global economic crisis . After the period of hyperinflation in Germany , the Reichsmark had stabilized again, but reliable data on inflation over the three years this car was manufactured are not available. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the majority of the price reductions actually benefited customers. The Opel 10/40 PS was significantly cheaper than models from its German competitors because Opel was the first and then only car manufacturer in Germany to assemble its cars on assembly lines based on the model of Ford and Citroën . The car was particularly simply constructed and easy to manufacture; Opel left the major technical innovations to other manufacturers. In 1920 the government introduced protective tariffs on imported cars, but these tariffs were lifted in October 1925. During 1925 Ford and GM (Chevrolet) invested heavily in sales outlets in Germany. So you could also buy cheaper cars from Ford or Chevrolet that corresponded to the Opel 10/40 hp in size and concept. In fact, it took several years for US corporations to be established in Germany. GM bought Opel, the leading German manufacturer of automobiles produced in large series. At a time when most people couldn't afford a car and those who couldn't afford one couldn't pay top prices, the Opel 10/40 hp dominated its class in the mid-1920s.

In the 4½ years of its production time there were only a few changes to this model. In mid-1927 the radiator was changed a little and at the end of the same year the roof lines of the sedans were made a little softer.

From 1925 to 1929, 13,161 copies of the large four-cylinder car were produced. Despite the low prices, Opel earned money from these cars, while other manufacturers also took financial risks with technological advances and thus endangered their company.

literature

• Werner Oswald : German Cars 1920–1945. Volume 2, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02170-6 , pp. 298-299, 401.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Werner Oswald: German cars 1920–1945. Volume 2, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02170-6 , pp. 298-299, 401.