OPEL FRUIT

“THE ORIGINAL MANTA WAS KNOWN IN CERTAIN CIRCLES AS THE ‘PEOPLE’S PORSCHE’”

At the Nürburgring 24 Hours race a few years ago, I went a bit Louis Theroux in one of the campsites overlooking the Foxhole. As the smell of charred bratwurst drifted between the trees, I noticed a couple wedged up against the chainlink fence, spectating. The woman’s left shoulder was exposed to the elements and emblazoned on her skin was a prominent tattoo of the Opel ‘Blitz’ logo. I remember wondering if she had a British doppelganger with Vauxhall’s griffin mascot branded on her body somewhere.

It seems unlikely. A brief history: Opel began making cars in 1899 and was doing it rather well when American behemoth General Motors swept in and bought the company in 1931. Vauxhall started life making pumps and marine engines, before graduating to handsome Edwardian motor cars. GM snaffled it back in 1925. Roll forward a few