UK’s rarest classic car with 83 motors left on roads boasts ‘outstanding finish’ & iconic ‘yellow & black tartan’
THERE are just 83 models of this classic motor on British roads and it still boasts “an outstanding finish” and distinctive yellow and black tartan interior.
The Opel Kadett made a name for itself in the 1960s and 70s and became the template for fellow General Motors brand Vauxhall’s Chevette.
Nowadays, it’s thought there are just 83 Kadetts of any version produced still going strong.
The first Kadett A made its debut in 1962 and was then replaced by the B-series three years later.
At the start of the 70s GM started its T-Car programme for a series of rear-wheel drive small cars with the aim for them to be built across its global empire.
The German subsidiary of GM, Opel, developed the chassis and suspension for the entire programme.
First off the production line was the Brazilian-built Chevrolet Chevette which rolled out in 1972 and followed by the Opel Kadett C a year later.
Initially, the car was offered as a two or four-door saloon, a coupe or a three-door estate – with the latter being dubbed a “car-a-van”.
In the UK, the Kadett B had been the best-selling model with Car magazine praising the Kadett C’s “outstanding finish” said “the people who designed the device knew what they were about”.
When Vauxhall made its own version, they took Opel’s basic bodyshell, gave it some Vauxhall styling and popped in the Viva HC’s 1,256ccc engine and rolled out the Chevette in 1975.
The engineers at Vauxhall devised the attractive three-door hatchback bodywork which then Opel took for the Kadett as the City model.
At the time, the Opel brand seemed to be more upmarket than the UK alternative with the Kadett seen to embody the sense of how to be able to afford German engineering and reliability without having to pay a fortune for it.
Then in 1977 Opel GB produced the limited-edition City SR which came with “deluxe orange and black tartan seats”, halogen driving lights and “special sports wheels”.
Opel said it would only make 410 models and slapped a price tag of £2,664 on it, making it more expensive than a Ford Escort Mk2 Sport.
The Ford though couldn’t match the attention-grabbing interior.
Fitted with a 1.2-litre engine the Kadett City though was no match for the fuel-injected 1.9-litre GT/E Coupe version of the Kadett.
Over its lifespan, 1,701,076 Kadett C’s were produced with the last leaving the factory in July 1979 with the introduction of the front-wheel-driver Kadett D, also known as the Vauxhall Astra Mk1.
In 1981 the Opel and Vauxhall dealerships were merged and official imports of Opels stopped in 1988 with the demise of the Mantra B.
In 1991, GM Europe decided to standardise model names across its two brands, and Opel adopted Vauxhall’s name for the Kadett, the Astra.
While in their time, a Kadett could be bought for just a few thousand pounds, you’ll need rather a lot more nowadays although prices do vary depending on the model.
Models currently advertised for sale on the Car and Classic website, range from a 1964 Opel Kadett A for £5,500 (€6,500) to a 1976 GTE Gr.4 Conrero which is going for £35,900 (€41,900).
The average price a Kadett currently sells for, according to Classic, is £6,500.