A unique event in automotive history
Opel was the largest German vehicle manufacturer at the time. The market share was 37.5%. On November 8, 1928, the eight-cylinder "Opel Regent" was presented at the Berlin Motor Show. With a displacement of 6 liters, it was the most powerful German eight-cylinder. When it was unveiled, experts described the Opel Regent as the pinnacle of German automotive engineering. The Opel Regent was available in three different versions: roadster, touring car, and Pullman luxury sedan. The chassis cost 15,000 Reichsmarks, another five to six thousand had to be paid for the body and interior fittings, and another 1,000 Reichsmarks for the Maybach overdrive transmission, if desired. Careful observers see that the Regent did not have an Opel emblem. That was because the Regent was marketed by an Opel subsidiary.
The `Regent' not only had an imposing name, it was also a very impressive car. With a standard body, the Regent was 5.40 m long and 1.83 m wide. The wheelbase was always 3.70 m and the curb weight was 2.2 tons. The tire manufacturer Continental supplied the low-pressure balloon tires with a size of 32 x 6.75 inches. The Opel Regent developed 110 hp and accelerated the vehicle, which weighed more than two tons, up to 120 kilometers per hour. A sixth “overdrive” was offered for an additional charge, with which 130 kilometers were reached. 23 liters of petrol and 0.7 liters of oil were used over a distance of 100 kilometers. Because of its high weight of 2.1 t - the chassis alone weighed 1550 kg - it was also equipped with four built-in hydraulic jacks.
Wilhelm and Friedrich Opel sold 80% of their company to the American automobile manufacturer General Motors in March 1929. The purchase price was $ 33.35 million, at today's value more than half a billion euros. As agreed in the sales contract, GM demanded from Opel - in what was probably a unique event in automobile history - to buy back all 25 "Opel Regent" sold by the end of 1929 and to scrap them immediately - under supervision. Existing tools, parts, brochures, technical plans and drawings as well as press materials also had to be destroyed. In short, everything was destroyed. GM feared otherwise competition for the GM types in the upper class, Cadillac and Buick, which were significantly more expensive. GM practically wiped out the Opel Regent. As a result, there is very little information and photos. It would not be surprising, however, if information / photos were still available in the GM archives.
There are some freely available photos of the coupé version of the “Regent” (Autopioneer 04 with registration number VS-16589, registered in the Starkenburg province, bodied by Kruck). There are very few photos of various limousines that we bought from the Historisches Bildarchiv Dr. Paul Wolff & Tritschler. These show limousines at the Wiesbaden Autorevue 1929 with the license plates: IT-3919 (start number 333, registered in Hessen-Nassau), IID-9477 (start number 431, registered in Palatinate), and VS-8166 (start number 430, registered in the province Starkenburg).
Imagine: What if a real Opel Regent had survived ......
…… .but through our ‘small‘ model car, the Opel Regent becomes visible again and thus lives on.
Do you have photos, information or design drawings of the Opel Regent? If so, please let us know! We are very happy to forward this to the Opel Historical Archive. Because that's where the information and photos belong. Not possible? With our 1936 Maybach SW 38 Authenrieth model car for Heinrich Müller (Schuco), we have already received valuable and previously unknown information and photos about the original car: A model car solved an automobile-historical puzzle. A very important contribution for friends and experts of automotive history. Please also help us with the Opel Regent !!
