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• Opel ‘Type Olympia’ 1935: First mass-produced vehicle with a self-supporting all-steel body
• Revolutionary Olympia: Patented pioneer, high-flyer, and movie hero
• Opel Astra today: Compact class bestseller with cutting-edge technologies

Sporty and elegant, ultra-modern and with top technologies such as the adaptive Intelli-Lux Pixel light: the Opel Astra and Astra Sports Tourer are the right solution for virtually every need. This is also ensured by the extensive powertrain range offered for the compact class bestsellers. The latest Astra generation is available with battery-electric drive, as a plug-in hybrid, as a hybrid with 48-volt technology and with a highly efficient combustion engine.

One special Opel model is largely responsible for the fact that such a variety of modern and affordable vehicle models and variants are taken for granted today: It is the Opel ‘Type Olympia’ from 1935. 90 years ago, it laid the foundation for modern, time- and cost-saving automobile production. The Opel Olympia was the first German mass-produced car with a self-supporting all-steel body. Thus, it enabled the introduction of the so-called ‘marriage’ in production – a concept that would write technological history and continue to shape the future of automotive series production up to this day.

Revolutionary: Top driving performance and economy thanks to new design

The year 1935 began with a big bang for the automotive world: Opel unveiled the ‘Type Olympia’ 1.3 litre at the Berlin Motor Show. The innovative model went into series production in April. It started as a convertible saloon and soon afterwards it was also produced with a closed tin roof. The extraordinary thing about the Olympia is not only that it subsequently became the first car to cross the Atlantic Ocean to South America by airship. It was also the first mass-produced vehicle in Germany with a self-supporting all-steel body, for which Opel received a patent. Expressed figuratively, the body and chassis were fused into a self-supporting structure like the elements of an aeroplane. This technical concept marked a break with the conventional construction techniques in automobile production back then. The advantages of this construction principle, which was revolutionary at the time and is now taken for granted, are manifold.

The metal skeleton of the self-supporting body consists of profile beams, which are connected to each other like in the aircraft construction, resulting in a lower mass. With a kerb weight of just 835 kilogrammes, the Olympia weighs 135 kilogrammes less than its predecessor based on a profiled chassis with the same engine. The result is an increase in driving performance with the same engine as well as reduced fuel consumption.

All this made the Olympia not only the most economical production saloon in its performance class at the time, but also the fastest one. The initially 18 kW (24 hp) 1.3-litre engine accelerated the vehicle to a top speed of 95 km/h. At the same time, the Olympia required an average of 9.5 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres. Additionally, the then new car offered further innovations: With almost unchanged ground clearance its centre of gravity was around 15 centimetres lower than the previous Opel 1.3 litre. The comfortable Opel synchronised suspension also ensured stable and safe handling characteristics. The Rüsselsheim-based manufacturer described the result of all these measures as follows: ‘Even at high speeds you can take corners, the Olympia is corner-proof.’

With a wheelbase of 2.37 metres and an overall length of just 3.95 metres, the Olympia was also very manoeuvrable. The high standards that Opel had set for the model were also confirmed by trade magazines. The magazine ‘Motor and Sport’ wrote: ‘The driving performance is very impressive for a 1.3-litre car and enables the driver to achieve very respectable journey averages.’

Impressive inside and out: New design provides more safety and comfort

However, it was not only the exemplary performance and road-holding that made the Olympia the perfect travel car of the 1930s; its interior also impressed with its comfort-orientated and practical qualities. ‘The upholstered seats are covered with corduroy, the backrests of the front seats can be folded forward, the rear seats are so favourably dimensioned in width and depth that you have full freedom of movement and do not feel any strains of driving,’ reads the contemporary description.

The design of the self-supporting body also increased passenger safety: the roof was made from one piece of steel and gave the car additional stability. In the area of the fork-shaped front profile, a predetermined breaking point absorbed part of the impact energy in the event of a collision. The precursors of a rigid passenger cell and crumple zone had thus been created. The new model was also beautifully designed: the Olympia integrated the headlights into the body for the first time.

Olympia as a pioneer: The beginning of modern automobile production

However, the self-supporting all-steel body not only made the car lighter, safer and more comfortable, it also enabled modern vehicle production in large series, which became standard in all car factories worldwide in the following decades: the so-called ‘marriage’ between body and engines was born. This production method, which was also patented then, celebrated its premiere 90 years ago. For the first time, the completely pre-assembled axles and engines were no longer screwed into the unassembled chassis, but lifted into the bodies, which were brought in from above on conveyor chains, using hydraulic lifting tables. The entire production process was faster and more efficient – economic advantages that were also passed on to the customers via affordable prices. The two-door Olympia saloon and the two-door Cabriolet saloon were available from 2,500 marks, undercutting the 1.3-litre predecessor model by 350 marks.

In addition to the achievement of having revolutionised vehicle design and the production process with the Olympia, Opel had another reason to celebrate in 1935: the brand was the first German car manufacturer to exceed the 100,000-vehicle mark in annual production.

Spectacular staging: Opel Olympia in the air and in the movie

Opel knew how to stage the Olympia appropriately. In 1936, the Olympia was the first car to literally take to the skies. In the belly of the famous airship LZ 129 Hindenburg, the 500,000th Opel since the start of automobile production floated to Rio de Janeiro. After just three days in the air and 10,000 kilometres travelled, the Hindenburg landed in the South American metropolis with the Olympia on board. The enthusiastic Brazilians celebrated the arrival and accompanied the Olympia’s tour through the streets of Rio with great cheers. An Opel Olympia thus travelled higher and further than any car had ever done before.

The Olympia also became an extraordinary protagonist in every respect eleven years later. In the 1947 movie ‘In those days’, the story of the past decade was told symbolically from the perspective of the Opel Olympia and its many experiences. The car thus became the central ‘character’ of the film. The unconventional narrative style was convincing and the film was subsequently even included in school education via the state media authorities.

Meanwhile, the success story of the Olympia continued unabated: subsequent generations of Opel models continued to bear the name Olympia until the early 1970s reflecting innovative engineering, quality and reliability. The same virtues have been embodied for many decades up to now by Opel’s constantly evolving compact class bestseller – first known as Kadett and today as the ultra-modern Astra.