The Opel 4/8 PS, known as the Doktorwagen or doctor’s car, was a small two-seater that Opel began offering in 1909. Its low price of 3,950 Mark and simple controls made it one of the first cars aimed at the middle class rather than at wealthy enthusiasts.
Opel Doktorwagen at a glance
| Maker | Adam Opel AG, Rüsselsheim |
|---|---|
| Model | Opel 4/8 PS |
| Offered from | 1909 |
| Nickname | Doktorwagen, the doctor’s car |
| Body | two-seater cabriolet |
| Engine | water-cooled four-cylinder, 1,029 cc |
| Power | 8 PS |
| Top speed | 60 km/h |
| Price | 3,950 Mark |
| First Opel with | the Opel name on the radiator |
The English article on the 4/8 PS is short; the German Wikipedia article on Opel supplies the date and the place of the model in the company’s history.
History of the Opel Doktorwagen
A car for the middle class
The Opel 4/8 PS was built especially for the middle class. Compared with other cars of the time the two-seater was small and agile, and the advertising made much of its simplicity: Opel sold it with the slogans “simple mechanism”, “incredibly easy to use” and, above all, “without using a chauffeur”. The last of these mattered most, because until then motoring for most people meant employing a driver as well as buying a car.
Why doctors bought it
Many doctors used the little Opel for house calls, and the nickname Doktorwagen stuck so firmly that it is still the name most people use for the model. The car was cheap enough to be a working tool: at 3,950 Mark it undercut most of what a physician could otherwise buy, and it was simple enough to be driven by its owner between visits. The 4/8 PS was also the first Opel to carry the Opel lettering on its radiator, which made the make instantly recognisable on the streets of German towns.
The engineering
The car was driven by a water-cooled four-cylinder engine of 1,029 cc. Its rated output of eight horsepower gave a top speed of 60 km/h, respectable for a light two-seater of 1909 and more than enough for the errands that made the car famous. The Doktorwagen belonged to the generation of Opel models that came after the company’s first experiments with motor cars: Opel had taken over the Anhaltische Motorwagenfabrik of Friedrich Lutzmann in January 1899 and built the Patentmotorwagen “System Lutzmann”, then produced Opel-Darracq voiturettes under a cooperation agreement with the French maker Darracq from 1902 to 1907. The 4/8 PS was one of the first cars designed and built entirely by Opel for a mass market.
Design and features
- No chauffeur needed: the whole point of the car was that its owner could drive it.
- 3,950 Mark: a price that brought motoring within reach of professional families.
- Light and agile: a two-seater made for narrow streets and short journeys.
- The Opel name on the radiator: the first Opel to carry it.
Opel Doktorwagen versions
- Opel 4/8 PS two-seater: the standard Doktorwagen body.
- Later 4/8 PS cars: the same model carried the Opel lettering on the radiator.
The Doktorwagen came before the Laubfrosch, the small Opel of the 1920s that made the company a mass producer. More cars are in the Opel collection.
Video: Opel 4/8 PS “Doktorwagen” 1909
Video by The Wheel Network on YouTube.
Sources
- Opel 4/8 PS, English Wikipedia: engine, power, price, nickname
- Opel, German Wikipedia: the 4/8 PS in the company’s history
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