Dou you think that the true German people’s car appeared only after WW II with the Volkswagen?

Actually, nothing is further from the truth…  

One should not forget that  Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen put pre-war Germany on wheels with its famous DKW F1 to F8 series,  front wheel drive cars with 2 cylinder two-stroke engine, of which not less than 250.000 models were sold.

But also Opel built a “car for the people” between 1936 and 1940, and this car was nothing less than its legendary Opel Kadett. A nice publication sent to us by the Opel Communication Team reminded us of this, and we share the story and photos with you here on our site.

Hans Knol ten Bensel

A car for the masses from Opel…

More than 100,000 of these four-seater models were built from 1936 to 1940 in Rüsselsheim, which was then also one of the most advanced car-making plants in Europe.

This car was a minor sensation, both from a technical point of view as in terms of price. The car sported a revolutionary unitary body construction, and was available both as sedan or convertible. The list price was only 2,100 Reichsmarks…

For this modest sum you got a “grown up” car with a four cylinder 1073 cc watercooled engine with produced 23 hp and propelled the compact four seater to a top speed of almost 100 km per hour.  We show you here a period drawing of the car speeding along the new German Autobahnen, and the comment really tells the story: “the Kadett is not only fast, it can maintain this high speed for hours on end”

The myth of German cars being able to maintain high cruising speeds for hundreds of kilometers was then already alive and well… and the myth was also a proven fact!

The car was “grown up” indeed. Instead of the DKW’s  body made of light but strong composite material, the Kadett had an advanced monocoque all steel construction with self-supporting unitary body.

It started at the Berlin Motor Show in 1935…

At the Berlin Motor Show in 1935 — the forerunner to the "IAA" — Opel attracted a lot of attention when it showcased a car with an almost transparent body. The roof, door panels, engine hood and trunk of the exhibit were made of plexiglass to illustrate the new form of the frameless structure. This Olympia — like the Kadett presented a year later — was built according to an Opel patent granted in 1934, and was the first German production car with a unitary steel body. A news release at that time draws parallels with architecture and aircraft construction: "The customary separation of the chassis and the body no longer applies. The rib structure of the body is built like a bridge support, a design that makes it possible to effortlessly absorb high forces and with a minimum of weight. This carcass structure consists of profile supports joined to each other as in metal aircraft design."  

A replica of this unique plexiglass exhibit now stands in the Deutsches Museum in Munich…

Modern production methods…

With the premiere of the monocoque body in the Olympia and Kadett, Opel also introduced a new production method still used today, for which the company also received a patent. The self-supporting structure opened the door to a new production method that is still commonly used today: The body and the powertrain (engine, transmission, axles) are "married" on the production line with the help of hydraulic elevators. In 1936, the company operated the most modern drop forge in the world and the largest body press shop in Europe.

Saving costs…

In those days already, modular standardization was used by Opel to reduce costs further where possible. The chassis with Dubonnet independent front suspension and leaf-spring rear axle stemmed from the Opel Olympia, and the L-head four-cylinder gray cast-iron engine was taken from the Opel P 4.

Looking at the shape of these first Kadetts, one can clearly see that these cars had a distinct styling of their own, and indeed they are the product of GM’s first overseas styling department, which was established shortly after the company’s integration into the General Motors Group by GM chief designer, Harley Earl. Just admire the purity of the rounded shapes of these early Kadetts on the accompanying photos.

A second life in… Russia

The car actually proved not only popular in Europe, but put after the II World war also Russia on wheels. The Kadett was there built as the… Moskwitch, of which not less than 247.439 examples were made.

We will tell soon more about the following generations of the Opel Compact Class, with the name “Kadett” soldiering on for more than five decades, until the debut of the first Astra in 1991.

Hans Knol ten Bensel