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- Wow, dude! The Opel Manta celebrates its anniversary
- Affordable man’s dream
- Who will say a, need to say b as well
Wow, dude! The Opel Manta celebrates its anniversary
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He can also fly … Scene from the cult film "Manta, Manta".
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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In it, Til Schweiger (r.) And Stefan Gabelhoff tune a Manta.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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In the film from 1991 there is also cuddling: Tina Ruland and Schweiger on the hood.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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The blonde actress and the object of desire.
Source: picture-alliance /
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The Opel Manta A came on the market in 1970 and was sold almost 500,000 times by 1975. The successor model Manta B even screwed the production numbers well over the million…limit.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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This rally version of the Opel Manta A from 1973 has 110 hp.
Source: picture-alliance / Manfred Seger
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The four circular rear lights are characteristic.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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Different brothers – Opel presented the Manta B at the same time as the Ascona. Both models are technically largely identical…
Source: picture-alliance / gms
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…but visually differ enormously.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa
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The successor, the Manta B as a coupe.
Source: Opel
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He, too, is unmistakable…
Source: Opel
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…with the classic sports car silhouette.
Source: Opel
There’s a manta movie, manta jokes, and manta songs. The Opel didn’t want to be a Porsche hunter, but something like a Corvette for the poor. The car has never given up the chubby cliche.
VMaybe the song would have been better never written. On the other hand: Where there is smoke, there is fire, and the song did not create the car’s questionable image, but at most promoted it – because it simply suited it. The song is called "Manta" and begins like this:
"My name is’ Heinz, yes, the name doesn’t matter, you’d better say Manni to me.
Because in my Opel fan club group, everyone has the same name as their car. And I drive the Manta, that’s a tough goat.
In there, I’ll become the Pantha and drive around the block all the time.
In the late 1980s, this text was sung by a fun-oriented young man troupe from Hamburg called Norbert und die Feiglinge.
Affordable man’s dream
With the Manta song, the four conquered first the pubs in their city, then the local radio stations and finally the whole country. Seventh place in the charts, that can only mean that someone hit a nerve.
Satire only works if the target of ridicule is a real target. The Opel Manta, whose production ended 25 years ago, started as an honorable idea. Parallel to the success with the GT, a sports coupe in the style of the Corvette but at a significantly lower price, the aim was to further democratize the sports car in Russelsheim and create an affordable men’s dream that, unlike the GT, could also serve as a first vehicle suitable for everyday use.
In 1970, while the GT was still in full bloom, the first Manta hit the market, now known as the Manta A. Engines from 68 to 90 hp didn’t exactly make it a Porsche hunter (the 911 was available between 110 and 190 hp at the time), but they kept the price within a reasonable range. A manta was available from around 8300 marks.
Who will say a, need to say b as well
The car was named after a species of ray and its design was based on this fish. There was practically no ridicule for drivers of the Manta A, and the car was very successful with more than 500,000 copies produced. Just like its successor, the Manta B, which, however, built up and kept its special image as a means of transport for those who are not educated.
Tuners reacted more strongly to this car than with the Manta A, and that again attracted a very special clientele – especially when the Manta B was getting on in years and was being traded as a used car.
In the cinema, “Manta, Manta” and “Manta – The Film”, released just four weeks apart at the end of 1991, solidified the jolly cliche that the car has not been able to get rid of to this day. “Manta – The Film” also gave Norbert and the cowards a further boost, because their song was the theme song. What the hit single lacks, however, is the best verse the band has written about the Manta. It only appears in a live recording and should not go unmentioned here.
The Ford Capri is only for old men, the Scirocco is more for them.
Old 3-series BMWs are only burners, but the hater is the Golf GTI.
Put it next to my manta, you can’t think of anything.
The Manta is much eleganta, it is a car with design.
I agree.
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