Opel Monza
| Opel Monza | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Opel (General Motors) |
| Also called | Vauxhall Royale Coupé |
| Production | 1978–1986 |
| Assembly | Rüsselsheim, Germany |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Executive car (E) |
| Body style | 2-door fastback coupé |
| Platform | V platform |
| Related |
Bitter SC Coupé Opel Senator A |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,670 mm (105.1 in) |
| Length | 4,692 mm (184.7 in) |
| Width | 1,734 mm (68.3 in) |
| Height | 1,380 mm (54.3 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,375 kg (3,031 lb) - 1,420 kg (3,131 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Opel Commodore Coupé |
| 2013 Monza Concept | |
|---|---|
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|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Opel (General Motors) |
| Also called | Vauxhall Monza (United Kingdom) |
| Production | 2013 (Concept car) |
| Designer | Mark Adams |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Executive car (E) |
| Body style | 3-door 2+2 fastback coupé |
| Doors | Gullwing doors |
| Related | Opel Flextreme GT/E |
The Opel Monza is an executive fastback coupe produced by the German automaker Opel from 1978 to 1986. It was marketed in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Royale Coupé by Vauxhall.
The Monza was planned as a successor for the Commodore Coupé. In the late 70´s the Commodore C model was made as a 2-door version (as was the Rekord E1), but still as a sedan type car. The first model of the Commodore the "A" series had a regular coupé in the production line and Opel desired to make a newer version of their large luxury coupé. Work began in 1976 and in 1978 the first Monzas were available to buy. The cars to compete with would be the Mercedes W126 coupé and the BMW 6 series C models (coupe models), and any other large luxury coupe. But what Opel hadn't realized was that the old ways were too old. The car was big without being hugely luxurious. This did not mean that the Monza was not comfortable. There was plenty of space inside the car, and the enormous seats left you with a feeling of sitting in a much more upmarket brand than Opel.
But the internals consisted of parts mainly borrowed from the Rekord E1 and later the E2, which meant cloth seats, and lots and lots of plastic on the dashboard and inner doors. Even the rev counter and the tachometer was taken directly from the Rekord E models, so that when you sat in one, the feeling was not that you drove a Monza, but more that you where driving a Rekord. If that wasn't enough trouble for Opel, they also experienced gearbox problems. The engine range for the Monza A1 was the 3.0S, the 2.8S, the newly developed 3.0E and later the 2.5E (the 3.0 had 180 bhp and 248 Nm with fuel injection), gave a wide range. The 3-speed Borg Warner automatic transmission from the Commodore range needed to be modified to cope with the new and improved power outputs. Opel's own 4-speed manual gearboxes were not up to the job and, instead of putting in a more modern 5-speed manual gearbox, Opel turned to gearbox and transmission producer Getrag, and installed the Getrag 264 4-speed manual gearbox in the early Monzas. But when people bought a big, luxurious coupé they wanted modern products as well, and Opel obliged, as soon the Getrag 240 (for the 2.5 engines) and the Getrag 265 (for the 3.0E), both 5-speed manual gearboxes, replaced the old 4-speed gearbox.
The Monza, however, sharing the same layout as the Senator A1, had very good driving abilities. It handled quite well, thanks to the newly developed MacPherson strut system for the front of the car, as used on the Rekord E1 and E2, and the new (previously Opel had always used a non-independent rear axle on the Rekord E1 and E2, Manta, Ascona etc.) independent rear suspension gave the car soft, yet firm and capable, driving characteristics and excellent stability for such a big car. The engine range, however non-economical, was also very good, and few problems with the extremely reliable engines, even today, some 30 years later. The 6-cylinder engines where all of the CIH type (camshaft in head) and were in reality a 2.0-litre straight 4 with just 2 more cylinders. Many parts on the engine, such as the water pump and drive train, are in fact the same parts as used on the 4-cylinder version. This meant that this was an engine not only tested for many years in the Commodore, Admiral and Diplomat range, but also very reliable. Although the first generation of 3.0E engines in the Monza A1 had overheating problems when standing still, this could easily be fixed by fitting an oil-cooler.
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Wikipedia