In the month of August, 1979, the history of the Opel Kadett of enriched of a new and important chapter: after about five million were produced, the house of the blitz started the sale of the Kadett-D front-wheel-drive.
The design of the fourth generation of the popular car, which was the forerunner of the current Astra, had required an investment of 500 million Marks and of 1.5 million kilometers of testing in all driving situations.
The Opel Kadett-D, although shorter than 13 cm compared to the previous model offered an interior that is more spacious, and a boot that ranged from 320 to 1,000 liters (depending on the configuration of the seats) much greater than that of the main antagonist of the era.
With the Kadett-D debuted a new line of engines that are more compact and lightweight of the previous and the first was a 4-cylinder 1.297 cc, 75 Hp, who had recently made his debut on the big sister Ascona.
The new Kadett proposed two re-workings of the engines 993 cc, and 1.116 cc, also the three engines of the Kadett-D were available, as well as edition N, even in the more powerful S version (the only one imported in Italy), which developed, depending on the displacement, 50 Hp, 60 and 75 Hp, all fed by a-barrel carburettor.
The engine was mounted transversely, coupled to a manual gearbox four relations flanked, differential, offset, and all versions had the front brakes are disc, brake booster, steering rack-and-pinion.
The designers of the Opel had tried to facilitate also the maintenance of the car, so much so that you could replace the clutch without having to remove the motor which, among other things, could be removed both from above and from below the housing.
And then again, you could change the bulbs without the use of tools and the front suspension did not need maintenance.
Another aspect that is particularly taken care of by the engineers of the German house concerned the aerodynamics, with a coefficient of penetration among the best on the market in the segment of city car (Cx 0,39), the result of long studies in a wind tunnel.
The Opel Kadett-D was available in a total of 14 different versions resulting from the combination of three engines, four levels of finish, and the five bodies, while prices on our market came from 4.594.000 lire 1,000 of the Base two-door and came to the 6.564.000 lire 1,300 a Sedan and five-door.
At the european level, from 1979 to 1980, the production of the Kadett went from 292.778 to 418.152 units per year, and this model won second place in the “Trophy Car of the Year 1980”.
To report, then, that in the month of may, 1980, the product range was enriched with of the station wagon Voyage equipped with the engine 75 Hp, while at the beginning of the Summer of 1981, the Kadett-D 1.200 cc received a report from the bridge slightly longer than the initial one, which allowed to reduce consumption by 5% while maintaining a maximum speed equivalent.
At the Geneva show of 1982 was presented a new diesel engine of 1.6 liters (54 Hp, which has been specifically developed for the Ascona and Kadett: a 4-cylinder in line with cast-iron block thin wall from the reduced overall dimensions and a weight of 138 kg (20 kg in most of the 1,600 petrol).
On the Italian market, the Kadett-D 1.6 Diesel was available in six different versions with prices ranging between the 8.549.000 lire 10.543.000 lire. It was certainly not a car made for racing, it reached a maximum speed of 143 km/h, but the fuel consumption was modest because enough is 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres, thus contributing to its diffusion (in Europe there were sold 154.483 unit).
For those who wanted to go fast, in the spring of 1982, made its appearance, the sports version of the Kadett-D Corsa five-door is characterized by the adhesive stripes and the alloy wheels and available with two engines, sohc,: the proven 1,300 and the new 1.600, 90 Hp. The two versions could reach a speed of 160-170 km/h, and were sold, respectively, to 8.171.000 and 8.455.000 lire.
The model is more sporty appeared, however, the following year with the debut of the Kadett-D GTE fitted with the engine head camshaft fuel injection LE-Jetronic of 1,796 cc, 115 Hp mounted on the Ascona CD, and can reach a maximum speed of 187 km/h with a sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 9 seconds flat.
The GTE was produced by Opel in the car in three and five-door in 36.513 specimens in total, and was imported in Italy only in the version with three doors.
Finally, in July of 1984 after 2.056.771 manufactured the Opel stopped the production of the Kadett-D to leave space to the next Kadett-E. (m.r)
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