Opel's staid German flagship had an unlikely heart option: a small run of Kapitän A sedans could be ordered with a Chevrolet-sourced 4.6-litre V8.
Lead trim: Kapitän A 2.6 OHV I6 · up to 187 hp
Opel Kapitän A1964–1968
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Opel Kapitän A yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactOpel's staid German flagship had an unlikely heart option: a small run of Kapitän A sedans could be ordered with a Chevrolet-sourced 4.6-litre V8.
In 1964 Opel introduced the completely new KAD (Kapitän, Admiral, Diplomat) models, of which the Kapitän was the base model of the three-tier range, designed by Clare MacKichan with a styling similarity to the Vauxhall Cresta PC. It was powered by the same engines as the contemporary Opel Admiral, a 2.6- or 2.8-litre inline-six; a small number of Kapitäns even received the Chevrolet-sourced 4.6-litre V8, and for the Austrian market 580 Kapitän and Admiral models received the 2.5-litre version of the CIH six with 112 PS in 1966 and 1967. Transmissions were a 2-speed Powerglide automatic or a 4-speed manual. Like its more expensive brethren the Kapitän was reworked in late 1967, receiving rub strips, a new ZF steering and a collapsible steering column, and a new HL (Hochleistung) version of the 2.8-litre six became available with 140 PS. The new KAD was considerably larger than its predecessor, which proved a hindrance in the marketplace: sales fell sharply and up to its discontinuation in November 1968 a total of 24,249 cars left the factory, while the costlier Admiral and Diplomat actually sold better.
Collectors Spotted in the Opel Kapitän Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Opel Kapitän yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
5 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapitän A 2.5 CIH I6 Austria (112 PS) | 1966–1967 | 2.5 L Inline-6 | 110 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Kapitän A 2.6 OHV I6 | 1964–1968 | 2.6 L Inline-6 | 99 hp | 134 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Kapitän A 2.8 CIH I6 | 1964–1968 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 123 hp | 152 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Kapitän A 2.8 HL CIH I6 (140 PS) | 1967–1968 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 138 hp | 164 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Kapitän A 4.6 Chevrolet V8 | 1964–1968 | 4.6 L V8 | 187 hp | 256 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Opel's last Kapitän flopped hard — only 4,976 were built in 15 months, as buyers of big cars kept choosing the pricier Admiral and Diplomat for more prestige instead.
Opel's staid German flagship had an unlikely heart option: a small run of Kapitän A sedans could be ordered with a Chevrolet-sourced 4.6-litre V8.
Opel built 145,618 of this Kapitän in just over four years — more than any Kapitän before or since, making the P2 the best-selling generation the nameplate ever had.
The Kapitän P1's showy wraparound glass and American-style roofline looked like a dream car, but it cost the driver visibility and left the rear doors oddly narrow.
This Kapitän outsold almost everything else in 1950s Germany — only the Beetle and Opel’s own Rekord beat it.
A bold claim that still holds up: the 1951 Kapitän was the most modern large mass-produced car in Europe during the immediate pre- and postwar years.
Opel's six-cylinder engine for the postwar Kapitän was ready a year before the car actually launched — Allied occupation rules banned civilian sales of any car over 1.5 litres until October 1948.
This Kapitän’s unibody construction was advanced enough that Soviet engineers studied it — and its influence shows up in the GAZ-M20 Pobeda.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.