Opel Admiral: Opel’s luxury car of 1937 and of the KAD years

The Opel Admiral was Opel’s luxury car from 1937 until 1939 and again from 1964 until 1977. The first Admiral took on the big Horch, Mercedes-Benz and Maybach in the 3.5-litre class at a much lower price; the second was the middle model of Opel’s KAD trio.

Opel Admiral at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Opel Admiral. The article covers the 1937 car and the Admiral A in detail; the later Admiral B is mentioned only through the production years of the range.

History of the Opel Admiral

The Admiral of 1937

The first Admiral was presented at the Berlin Motor Show in early 1937, though production only began at the end of the year, with eight cars built in 1937. It was Opel’s attempt on the growing 3.5-litre luxury class, where Horch and Mercedes-Benz had V8s and Horch and Maybach had eights, and it undercut them all on price. The chassis was a traditional separate frame, which made the Admiral a favourite with coachbuilders, and the running gear was also used under ambulances.

The engine was a new 3,626 cc straight-six rated at 75 PS, shared with the 3.5-tonne Opel Blitz truck built at Brandenburg. It was close enough to the Chevrolet and Vauxhall/Bedford sixes of the period that service parts would interchange in the field.

Bodies and prices

The basic four-door Limousine cost 6,500 Reichsmark. A four-door cabriolet was listed at 7,000 Marks, and the coachbuilder Hebmüller of Wuppertal offered a 2+2-seater cabriolet at 8,450 Marks and a six-seater Pullman-Limousine with a lengthened cabin at 8,580 Marks. Gläser of Dresden built another 2+2 cabriolet. The front end, with its sloping grille and body-embodied headlights, followed the American DeSoto Airflow. A 70-litre tank gave about 400 km between refuelling stops at 18 litres per 100 km, which made the Admiral a comfortable autobahn cruiser at a time when the first motorways were being built.

War, and the second Admiral

Between 1937 and 1939 Opel built 6,404 Admirals: 3,500 Limousines, 2,314 four-door cabriolets and 590 bare chassis for coachbuilders. Production stopped in October 1939 because the military wanted every 3,626 cc engine for Blitz trucks, and many completed cars were requisitioned as staff cars or converted into ambulances. In 1964 Opel introduced its KAD range — Kapitän, Admiral, Diplomat — with the Admiral as the middle model. The cars were shown in February 1964 and volume production of the Admiral began in May. Its first engine was a 2,605 cc straight-six with hydraulic tappets and 100 PS; from September 1965 came the new 2,784 cc cam-in-head six with 125 PS and a top speed of 170 km/h.

Design and features

• Six-cylinder luxury at a lower price: a 3,626 cc engine from a truck, in a car that cost far less than a Horch or a Mercedes-Benz.
• Separate chassis: a frame that coachbuilders could clothe as cabriolets, Pullmans and ambulances.
• Autobahn range: a 70-litre tank and a 132 km/h top speed in 1937.
• KAD family: from 1964 the Admiral sat between the Kapitän and the V8 Diplomat.

Opel Admiral versions

• Admiral 1937 Limousine: four-door saloon at 6,500 Reichsmark.
• Four-door cabriolet: factory body at 7,000 Marks.
• Hebmüller 2+2 cabriolet: 8,450 Marks.
• Hebmüller Pullman-Limousine: six seats and a longer cabin at 8,580 Marks.
• Admiral A (1964–1968): the middle model of the KAD range, 2.6 then 2.8 litre six.

The Admiral shared the KAD range with the Kapitän and the Diplomat, and its six-cylinder engine also went into the Opel Blitz truck. More cars are in the Opel collection.

Video: Opel Admiral B 1970 B

Video by Martin Mag on YouTube.

Sources

• Opel Admiral, English Wikipedia: engines, bodies, prices, production figures