Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular,
but they’re not exactly new. Far from it actually as they’ve been around for
over a century and a number of companies have experimented with them over the
years. Opel was no exception and they used the Frankfurt Motor Show to
highlight both the past and future of electric vehicles. While the Corsa-e is
the future, the company also showcased the 1971 Elektro GT.
As the story goes, Georg Von Opel – a grandson of
the company’s founder – was convinced that electric vehicles were the future.
However, they weren’t popular in the 1970’s so he decided to showcase their
potential by conducting a record attempt at the Hockenheimring in 1971.
In order to prove electric vehicles could be
competitive with their conventionally-powered counterparts, he created an
EV-based on the Opel GT. It featured a host of modifications including a more
aerodynamic exterior that had a streamlined front fascia and partially covered
wheels.
Of course, the biggest change was to the powertrain
as the four-cylinder petrol engine was replaced by two massive electric motors
from Bosch. Each produced 118 hp and this setup enabled the
car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in six seconds. That’s pretty
impressive even by today’s standards, but the car only had an “operating
radius” of 44 km. Given that, it’s not surprising the car didn’t
achieve its goal of being able to travel 100 km on a single charge.
While the Elektro GT was limited by the technology
of the day, modern electric vehicles don’t face the same problem as many can
travel more than 322 km on a single charge. Opel knows this and is preparing
to launch an assortment of new EVs in the coming years. At the Frankfurt Motor
Show, CEO Michael Lohscheller confirmed the company’s entire lineup will be
electrified by 2024 and there are four new electric vehicles on the horizon.
The Vivaro Electric will arrive in 2020 and be followed by electric versions of
the Combo Life, Combo Cargo and Zafira Life in 2021.
If that wasn’t eco-friendly enough, Opel reconfirmed
their commitment to fuel-cell vehicles. The company was coy on specifics, but
confirmed the Zafira Life will become the “first model to feature the new
generation of fuel cell powertrain.”
