It's a Mini-Vette

Behold, what you get when you Xerox a Corvette and hit the 70 percent button: the Opel GT (1968-1973).

It's a wee German car from Opel, another company that GM keeps in its wallet like an extra credit card. Thankfully GM decided to keep Opel around instead of axing it in their bankruptcy massacre and sell off.

Anyway, back to the car. It really is like a small Corvette. It's got the classic long hood, short trunk that's long been the definitive look for a sports car.

The headlights don't pop up, they roll over. Inside the car is a lever that the driver has to crank to turn the lights over. It would be pretty annoying, but at least it's simple.

You'd never see anything like that in a modern German car. Instead, they use a voice activated button that pops up under the brake pedal and the driver has to press it three times (with their pinky toe) while reciting the refrain of "Ode to Joy" backwards.

The GT, then, is pretty much the antithesis of the German car industry as we know it today.

For proof, just look at the name: GT. It's not GX45882726il. Just two letters. It's enough.

The car is so basic that it doesn't even have a trunk lid. Seriously.

Luggage, or what little you can fit in it, has to get shoved in behind the seats. Which is fine because, really, how much cargo can you fit in a car this small?

To give you an idea of just how tiny this thing is, I've heard stories of these things driving under semi-truck trailers without any problems. Or decapitations. It's a tiny grand tourer (GT) that two people are meant to use for a short weekend getaway.

That's what's refreshing about the GT, it knows what it is and it doesn't compromise. It doesn't try to offer luxury appointments, which would add weight.

Instead, the designers just used some molded black plastic and extended the doors into the car's roof. It reflects the GT's slightly sporting intentions.


The interior has a single purpose: hold the passengers while the car moves. However, like many other interiors I've featured, it doesn't feel claustrophobic. The windshield and door windows are huge in comparison to the rest of the car. It's airy. (But the bud vase is someone's stupid idea of an add on. No self respecting car in the world should have a bud vase.)

Oh, and the lever that seems to be sticking through the steering wheel? It's the lever that the driver cranks to turn on the headlights.

All the power comes from this small four-cylinder engine.

Under that ribbed, chromed valve cover are either 67 or 75 miniature horsepowers, depending on the size of the engine.

Honestly, it's not a lot. But when the car weighs as much as an empty Rubbermaid container, you don't need a lot of power.

That's what the GT comes down to: doing a lot with a little and doing it as simply as possible. After all, when you're having fun, does it matter how complicated your car is?

I think not.