Opel considers an electric Manta

Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is thinking aloud about a possible return of the Manta as an electric car. The feedback on the Manta GSe ElektroMOD study presented as a rendering in March had been so “overwhelming” that Opel’s market research would certainly play through a potential series version.

Opel had published a teaser image and a short announcement on the “Manta GSe ElektroMOD”, but without showing the whole vehicle or even giving any data on the electric drive system. In an interview with Business Insider, Lohscheller now said that “in his wildest dreams” he had not expected the feedback to be “so overwhelming”.

“At the moment I’m still totally gobsmacked, because we’ve only shown a few first pictures of this car,” the Opel CEO said. “Not the whole car. Yes, Germany seems to be waiting for the Manta.”

After that, however, Lohscheller again dampened expectations for a production model somewhat. “We will present the car properly soon. We will certainly run through it in market research,” he said. “And then we will answer the question: New Manta, yes or no?”

The managers in Rüsselsheim are well aware of the appeal that a new edition of the cult Opel would have – even if it is possibly only in Germany. “We would have to take the positive Manta image with us, but then of course translate it into the future,” Lohscheller indicates. “In the context of electromobility, of course, that would be great.”

In the past, Opel had repeatedly shown concept studies inspired by well-known models from the carmaker’s past – for example, at the 2013 IAA, the Opel Monza Concept with a fuel cell and a natural gas-powered three-cylinder as a range extender. In 2016, Opel showed the GT Concept inspired by the 1960s sports car. While some design elements of such studies have made it into later series models, the concept cars with references to their own history have so far remained one-offs – albeit still under the aegis of General Motors.

businessinsider.de (in German)