Information AboutOpel Ascona |
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ASCONA A In the fall of 1970, Opel presented its completely new vehicle range in Rüsselsheim (internal project code 1.450). The Opel Manta Coupé was launched on September 9, followed by the Opel Ascona on October 28 in two and four-door Sedan forms, plus a three-door Station Wagon , called the Caravan or Voyage. These models were positioned between the existing Opel Kadett and the Opel Rekord . The Opel Ascona was developed to as a competitor to the successful Ford mid-sized car, the Taunus ). The Opel Ascona A stayed in production until 1975. At that time, almost 692,000 vehicles of the first series were produced. The range featured petrol engines from 1.2 L to 1.9 L, with power between 60 PS (44 kW) and 90 PS (66 kW). The 1.2 L had an OHV head, while the 1.6 L and 1.9 L adopted SOHC . All used a single barrel Carburetor . Even with this simple design, the Ascona 1.9 SR had a successful career in motorsports, with Walter Rohrl winning the European Rally Championship in 1974. Tuner Steinmetz developed a special version of the Ascona SR, with two single-barrel Solex carburettors, lifting power to 125 PS (92 kW). In 1975, a small number of 2 door 1.9 L sedans were exported as the "Opel 1900" to the United States, sold through Buick dealerships as the Buick-Opel. All Opels sold in the US in 1975 were equipped with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, which was not available on the European versions. The fuel injection was added because of the more strict emissions requirements that were in force that year. Due to the unfavorable Mark/Dollar exchange rate, after 1975, all Opels in Buick showrooms were replaced by Isuzu I-Mark models wearing Opel badges. Engines
ASCONA B The second generation Opel Ascona B was presented in the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show . It was available as a two or four-door sedan. There were related two and three-door coupé models in the Opel Manta range. There was no estate body. The Ascona B retained the same engine range as its predecessor, although the 1.9 L was increased to 2.0 L in 1978, and versions with higher Compression Ratio and needing 98 octane gas, dubbed S, were available alongside the 90 octane models. The 2.0 E model had a Bosch L-Jetronic electronic Fuel Injection , and a 2.0 L Diesel motor was added to the Ascona B range in 1978. In the United Kingdom , the Vauxhall Cavalier badge was used on both Saloon and coupé models, which came out of the same factory in Belgium —the first Vauxhall to be built abroad. The front ends were different, featuring Vauxhall's trademark "droop snoot", as designed by Wayne Cherry . A version of the Ascona B, featuring the front end of the Manta B, was sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Chevair . This was in addition to a Chevrolet Ascona, identical in most respects to the Opel. Over 1.2 million Ascona B units were produced worldwide until 1982. Timeline
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ASCONA C The Ascona C was launched in August 1981 as part of General Motors' J-car Project . This was Opel's second Front-wheel Drive car since the introduction of the Kadett D in 1979. This car was manufactured in Russelsheim , Germany , Antwerpen , Belgium and Luton , England , and was sold in the UK under the name Vauxhall Cavalier . The Cavalier Coupé was phased out, but the Opel Manta was retained in the UK (the last car to be badged as an Opel in the UK before the brand was phased out in 1988). There were no longer sheet metal differences between the Opel and Vauxhall models after 1982. The Ascona C won the Golden Lenkrad at the end of 1981 and was West Germany's biggest selling car. The range added an option of a five-door hatchback bodystyle, named CC in a few markets. All engines were now SOHC. The base model was the 1.3 L introduced in 1978 in the Ascona B, with 60 PS (44 kW), followed by a 1.6 L with 75 PS (55 kW). S versions with higher compression ratio had power increased by as much a 20 percent. The top of the line was the sporty GTE model, with Electronic Fuel Injection , pushing power to 130 PS (96 kW). Diesel power came from an Isuzu-developed block, with 1.6 L. Catalytic Converter s were optional in the larger petrol units starting from 1986. As before, there was no Station Wagon version of the Ascona, although Vauxhall in the UK brought in the rear ends of the Holden Camira wagon and adapted them to the Cavalier. There was also no coupé version in Europe, but in Brazil, there was a locally designed three-door fastback version, known as the Chevrolet Monza . In South Africa , the Ascona C was sold as a sedan and hatchback from 1982 to 1986 , when it was replaced by the sedan version of the Kadett , known as the Opel Monza. (In Europe, this name was used for a coupé version of the larger Senator .) Opel continued to use the Ascona nameplate until the Vectra was launched in 1988, although the Cavalier name was retained by Vauxhall until 1995. Timeline
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