The Opel Ascona was a mid-sized car produced by Opel, the German subsidiary of General Motors. It had three generations produced from 1970 to 1989.
Opel Ascona A
In the autumn of 1970, Opel presented its completely new vehicle range in Rüsselsheim (internal project code 1.450). The Opel Manta coupé was launched on September 9, followed by the Opel Ascona on October 28 in two and four-door sedan forms, plus a two-door station wagon, called the Voyage, which was meant as a rather luxurious family car. Later a simpler equipped wagon called Caravan was added. These models were positioned between the existing Opel Kadett and the Opel Rekord. Originally the car known as Ascona was scheduled to be the new Kadett, but got too big. As the Kadett was still selling well, Opel decided to launch it as a new, higher positioned model. There used to be a luxurious version of the Kadett called Olympia, so the Ascona became its official replacement.
The Opel Ascona was developed as a competitor to Ford's successful mid-sized car, the Taunus. The Opel Ascona A stayed in production until 1975. At that time, almost 692,000 vehicles of the first series were produced.
The range featured gasoline engines from 1.2 L to 1.9 L, with power between 60 PS (44 kW) and 90 PS (66 kW). The 1.2 L had an OHV head, while the 1.6 L and 1.9 L engines adopted a CIH (cam in head) head design; all engines used a carburettor. With this simple design, the Ascona 1.9 SR had a successful career in motorsports, with Walter Rohrl winning the European Rally Championship in 1974. Tuner Steinmetz developed a special version of the Ascona SR, with two single-barrel Solex carburettors, lifting power to 125 PS (92 kW).
A small number of Ascona As were exported as the "Opel 1900" to the United States, sold through Buick dealerships, alongside the Kadett, Manta and GT as a Buick-Opel. They were eventually replaced for the 1976 model year by versions of the smaller Buick Opel, an Isuzu made version of the Opel Kadett. So 1975 was the end of the era of German Opels sold in the US.
Range:
* 1.2 S - 1196 cc, 60 PS (44 kW)
* 1.6 N - 1584 cc, 60-68 PS (44-50 kW)
* 1.6 S - 1584 cc, 75-80 PS (55-59 kW)
* 1.9 S - 1897 cc, 88-90 PS (65-66 kW)
Opel Ascona B
The second generation Opel Ascona was presented in the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was available as a two or four-door sedan. There were related two-door coupé and three-door hatchback models in the Opel Manta range. There was no station wagon body.
The Ascona B retained the same engine range as its predecessor, although the 1.9 L engine was increased to 2.0 L in 1978, and versions with higher compression ratio and needing 98 octane gas, dubbed S (super), were available alongside the 90 octane N (normal) models. The 1.2 L OHV engines were replaced with completely new 1.3 L OHC engines in the spring of 1979. The 2.0 E model had a Bosch L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection system, and a 2.0 L diesel engine was added in 1978.
In the United Kingdom, the Vauxhall Cavalier badge was used on both saloon and coupé models, which came out of the same factory in Belgium—the first Vauxhall to be built abroad. The front ends were different, featuring Vauxhall's trademark "droop snoot", as designed by Wayne Cherry, also used on the German Opel Manta.
A version of the Ascona B, featuring the front end of the Manta B, was sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Chevair. This was in addition to a Chevrolet Ascona, identical in most respects to the Opel.
Over 1.2 million Ascona B units were produced worldwide until 1982.
Range:
* 1.2N - 1196 cc, 55 PS (40 kW)
* 1.2S - 1196 cc, 60 PS (44 kW)
* 1.3N - 1297 cc, 60 PS (44 kW)
* 1.3S - 1297 cc, 75 PS (55 kW)
* 1.6 N - 1584 cc, 60 PS (44 kW)
* 1.6 S - 1584 cc, 75 PS (55 kW)
* 1.9/2.0 N - 1897/1979 cc, 75-90 PS (55-66 kW)
* 1.9/2.0 S - 1897/1979 cc, 90-100 PS (66-74 kW)
* 2.0 E - 1979 cc, 110 PS (81 kW)
* 2.0 D - 1998 cc, 58 PS (43 kW)
Opel Ascona C
The Ascona C, part of General Motors' J platform, was launched in 1982 and switched to front-wheel drive. The range added an option of a five-door hatchback body style, named the CC in a few markets. The cars were also available in the UK as the Vauxhall Cavalier. The old Cavalier coupé was phased out, though the Opel Manta was retained in the UK — the last car to be badged as an Opel in the UK before it was discontinued in 1988. There were no longer sheetmetal differences between the Opel and Vauxhall models after 1982.
All engines were now SOHC. The base model used the 1.3 L engine introduced in 1978 in the Ascona B, rated at 60 PS (44 kW), followed by a 1.6 L engine with 75 PS (55 kW). S versions with a higher compression ratio had power increased by as much as 20%. The top-line model was the sporty GTE, with electronic fuel injection, pushing power to 130 PS (96 kW). Diesel power came from an Isuzu-developed engine, with a displacement of 1.6 L. Catalytic converters were optional in the larger gasoline engines starting in 1986.
Once more, there was no station wagon version of the Ascona C. Only Vauxhall in the UK brought in the rear ends of the Holden Camira wagon and adapted them to the Cavalier. There was also no coupé version in Europe. A version sold in Brazil, known as the Chevrolet Monza, included a locally designed three-door hatchback, very similar to the Ascona five-door version.
Opel continued to use the Ascona nameplate until the Vectra was launched in 1989, although the Cavalier name was retained by Vauxhall until 1995.
Convertibles made by two different German coachbuilders (Keinath and Hammond & Thiede) were sold by many Opel dealers, but were not part of the official Opel range. Vauxhall, meanwhile, officially sold a Cavalier convertible from 1986 to 1988.
Range:
* 1.3 N - 1297 cc, 60 PS (44 kW)
* 1.3 S - 1297 cc, 75 PS (55 kW)
* 1.6 N/E - 1598 cc, 75 PS (55 kW)
* 1.6 S - 1598 cc, 82-90 PS (60-66 kW)
* 1.8 N - 1796 cc, 84 PS (62 kW)
* 1.8/2.0 E - 1796-1998 cc, 100 PS (74 kW)
* 1.8/2.0 E - 1796-1998 cc, 115 PS (85 kW)
* 2.0 GT - 1998 cc, 130 PS (96 kW)
* 1.6 D - 1598 cc, 54 PS (40 kW)
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