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62-892: The Opel Calibra is a coupé , engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997. In the United Kingdom, where it remained on sale until 1999, it was marketed under the Vauxhall brand as the Vauxhall Calibra . It was also marketed as the Chevrolet Calibra in South America by Chevrolet , and the Holden Calibra in Australia and New Zealand by Holden . The Calibra

124-490: A Cosworth designed 16 valve fuel injected 152 PS (112 kW; 150 bhp) C20XE four cylinder redtop petrol engine. For 1992, a turbocharged 2.0 litre 16 valve engine 207 PS (152 kW; 204 bhp) C20LET (turbocharged version of the C20XE ) was added to the range. With four wheel drive, a six speed Getrag manual transmission ( F28/6 ) and a claimed top speed of 245 km/h (152 mph). The Turbo model

186-575: A Keke Rosberg edition first only available in white, in celebration of the Calibra's success in the German Touring Car Championship at the time. In other parts of Europe, special models included the "DTM" edition, the "Cliff" edition, the "Colour" edition, "Last" edition and some special editions only available on certain domestic markets. Some special models sold in continental Europe included lowered Irmscher suspension and

248-413: A cabriolet version to be produced, but these too failed to materialise. In the summer of 1994, the Calibra received a light facelift. Most noticeably, the manufacturer badge migrated from its place atop the leading edge of the bonnet into the front grille. Equipment and safety have been developed. Throughout the production run, several special models were launched. In the United Kingdom, this began with

310-447: A 30W 6 speaker stereo system (or 150 W Bose with 6 speaker plus additional subwoofer), CD-changer, central locking, immobiliser, leather upholstery with heated front seats, board computer, sunroof, two airbags with pre-tensioners, alarm system with motion sensors, 15 or 16 inch alloy wheels, etc. The Opel Calibra was available in 28 colors throughout the production run, out of which only 9 were black, gray or white. Although only about

372-400: A Calibra Cabrio, Valmet Automotive was entrusted by Opel to build fully functioning convertible Calibra prototypes, as competitors also started mid-size convertible development. Valmet Automotive built two red coloured prototypes in 1992, with the 2.0 litre, 8 valve engine. A third body was also produced for use in flexibility tests. With the convertible body, the Calibra lost the practicality of

434-546: A car with 2 doors and no B style are considered a true coupe. In the United States, some coupes are "simply line-extenders two-door variants of family sedans", while others have significant differences from their four-door counterparts. The AMC Matador coupe (1974–1978) has a shorter wheelbase with a distinct aerodynamic design and fastback styling, sharing almost nothing with the conventional three-box design and more "conservative" four-door versions. Similarly,

496-547: A coupe-like roofline at the rear. The low-roof design reduces back-seat passenger access and headroom. The designation was used for the low-roof model of the 1962–1973 Rover P5 , followed by the 1992–1996 Nissan Leopard / Infiniti J30 . Recent examples include the 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS , 2010 Audi A7 , Volkswagen CC , Volkswagen Arteon , and 2012 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe . Similarly, several cars with one or two small rear doors for rear seat passenger egress and no B-pillar have been marketed as " quad coupes ". For example,

558-403: A coupé by applying this description to models featuring a hatchback or a rear cargo area access door that opens upwards. Most often also featuring a fold-down back seat, the hatchback or liftback layout of these cars improves their practicality and cargo room. The coupe carriage body style originated from the berline horse-drawn carriage . The coupe version of the berline was introduced in

620-407: A half dozen colors were offered simultaneously at certain time periods, meaning colors on the palette were changed quickly. Limited editions usually featured even less color options, than the standard. During the total production period the following colors were available indicated with code, original German and English names and type of lack: Edition Rosberg Edition (UK) (UK) In the case of

682-594: A number of two-door sedans built as well, a bodystyle the French call a coach . The 1977 version of International Standard ISO   3833— Road vehicles - Types - Terms and definitions —defines a coupe as having two doors (along with a fixed roof, usually with limited rear volume, at least two seats in at least one row and at least two side windows). On the other hand, the United States Society of Automotive Engineers publication J1100 does not specify

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744-467: A numbered plaque on the ashtray. "DTM" and "Keke Rosberg" featured yellow-gray pattern textile upholstery as standard to remind buyers the colors of Opel DTM racecars. According to different data sources, as well as numbered plaques usually seen on car meets and on the internet the "Keke Rosberg", "DTM", "Cliff" and "Last Edition" cars were produced in relatively low numbers (roughly around a thousand cars per edition). The last Calibra Turbos were produced in

806-579: A plaque showing the build number mounted on the centre console. In continental Europe, the Last Edition was the final limited edition, offering basically all extras, plenty of colors and full Irmscher set including front bumper, sports suspension and BBS RX 16" alloys. The Vectra A was replaced in September 1995, but Calibra production continued until June 1997. Although a smaller coupé (the Tigra )

868-485: A rollover were proposed, limiting the development of new models. The hardtop body style went out of style with consumers while the automakers focused on cost reduction and increasing efficiencies. Saab used the term "combi coupé" for a car body similar to the liftback . A two-door car with no rear seat or with a removable rear seat intended for traveling salespeople and other vendors carrying their wares with them. American manufacturers developed this style of coupe in

930-517: A stiffer chassis as a whole (better torsional rigidity in NM/Deg). The 4WD turbo version of the car, which had independent rear suspension , featured the rear axle of the Omega A with some minor alterations to it. Irmscher suspension on the sporty limited editions (like DTM, Keke Rosberg, Cliff and Last Edition) also had sharper handling than base models. The Vectra A chassis and hatchback rear meant

992-490: Is a fixed-roof car with a sloping rear roofline and one or two rows of seats. However, there is some debate surrounding whether a coupe must have two doors for passenger egress or whether cars with four doors can also be considered coupés. This debate has arisen since the early 2000s, when four-door cars such as the Mazda RX-8 and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class have been marketed as "four-door coupés" or "quad coupés", although

1054-412: Is a lightweight sporty two-door car, typically with two seats but also including 2+2 cars. A club coupe is a two-door car with a larger rear-seat passenger area, compared with the smaller rear-seat area in a 2+2 body style. Thus, club coupes resemble coupes as both have two doors, but feature a full-width rear seat that is accessible by tilting forward the backs of the front seats. A hardtop coupe

1116-400: Is a style of automobile characterized by two side windows and a backlight (rear window). The front windscreens are not counted. The three-window coupe has a distinct difference from the five-window coupe, which has an additional window on each side behind the front doors. These two-door cars typically have small-sized bodies with only a front seat and an occasional small rear seat. The style

1178-477: Is a two-door car that lacks a structural pillar ("B" pillar) between the front and rear side windows. When these windows are lowered, the effect is like that of a convertible coupé with the windows down. The hardtop body style was popular in the United States from the early 1950s until the 2000s. It was also available in European and Japanese markets. Safety regulations for roof structures to protect passengers in

1240-629: The Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus coupes and sedans (late-1990 through 2000s), have little in common except their names. The coupes were engineered by Mitsubishi and built in Illinois, while the sedans were developed by Chrysler and built in Michigan. Some coupes may share platforms with contemporary sedans. Coupes may also exist as model lines in their own right, either closely related to other models, but named differently – such as

1302-487: The Cliff Motorsport Edition the following color names were applied: Ocean = Magneticblau, Polar = Karibikblau, Barracuda = Keramikblau. Some late Keke Rosberg and DTM models were painted in colors from the standard palette. Colors and special editions offered may be different on certain domestic markets. Power was initially from a 2.0 litre 8 valve 117 PS (86 kW; 115 bhp) C20NE , and

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1364-600: The Isuzu 6VD1 (as used in the Trooper/Amigo). Using this engine, Opel won the 1996 ITC Championship. The Isuzu-based KF V6 was capable of revving to 15,000 rpm. The last known KF V6-powered Calibra race car in existence is the Zakspeed Calibra Concept 2 prototype. The car was built to be used as a test mule for the cancelled 1997 FIA ITC championship. Wanting a car that would be competitive in

1426-535: The Rover P5 was a much earlier example, with a variant introduced in 1962 having a lower, sleeker roofline marketed as the Rover P5 Coupé. In the 1940s and 1950s, coupés were distinguished from sedans by their shorter roof area and sportier profile. Similarly, in more recent times, when a model is sold in both coupé and sedan body styles, generally the coupe is sportier and more compact. There have been

1488-473: The Society of Automobile Engineers suggested nomenclature for car bodies that included the following: Coupe: An enclosed car operated from the inside with seats for two or three and sometimes a backward-facing fourth seat. Coupelet: A small car seating two or three with a folding top and full height doors with fully retractable windows. Convertible coupe: A roadster with a removable coupe roof. During

1550-705: The 'Tickford' conversion in October 1991, however, only 26 Calibras were ever converted. This was followed by Vauxhall's own Special Edition range the SE1 in 1993, and ran through to the SE9 in 1997. These limited run editions had often unique aspects. For example, solar yellow paint on the SE2, or "Icelandic" blue on the SE6. Neither colours were found on any other Calibra in the UK. There was also

1612-403: The 18th century as a shortened ("cut") version with no rear-facing seat. Normally, a coupé had a fixed glass window in the front of the passenger compartment. The coupé was considered an ideal vehicle for women to use to go shopping or to make social visits. The early coupé automobile's passenger compartment followed in general conception the design of horse-drawn coupés, with the driver in

1674-566: The 2003 Saturn Ion , the 2003 Mazda RX-8 , and the 2011-2022 Hyundai Veloster . Particularly popular in Europe, many cars are designed with coupe styling, but a three-door hatchback/liftback layout to improve practicality, including cars such as the Jaguar E-Type , Mitsubishi 3000GT , Datsun 240Z , Toyota Supra , Mazda RX-7 , Alfa Romeo Brera , Ford/Mercury Cougar and Volkswagen Scirocco . A two-door car designed for driving to

1736-585: The 20th century, the term coupé was applied to various close-coupled cars (where the rear seat is located further forward than usual and the front seat further back than usual). Since the 1960s the term coupé has generally referred to a two-door car with a fixed roof. Since 2005, several models with four doors have been marketed as "four-door coupés", however, reactions are mixed about whether these models are actually sedans instead of coupés. According to Edmunds , an American automotive guide, "the four-door coupe category doesn't really exist." A berlinetta

1798-645: The Aisin four-speed automatic transmissions that were available on all models, except the C20LET (although some countries such as Australia did not sell the C20XE with the four-speed auto), there were five manual gearboxes produced by Getrag (all of which were five speed gearboxes, except the six speed F28/6). The transfer gearbox in the AWD models — the same as used in the Vauxhall Cavalier AWD—was somewhat on

1860-494: The American IMSA GT series). The car was based around an aluminium honeycomb floorpan, to which was secured a chrome-moly steel spaceframe . DMC's brief to Owen Ashley stated that as much of the standard Calibra silhouette as possible had to be retained. To that end, a standard Calibra roof, side body monocoque pressings, doors and rear window were used. All remaining bodywork was moulded in fibreglass . The car

1922-468: The Calibra in favour of devoting its motorsport budget and resources to its two-car Astra super touring effort. The Calibra Turbo was also rallied, albeit without notable success. A Calibra finished ninth in the 1992 Sanremo Rallye , with Bruno Thiry at the wheel. This did make it the fastest car in the 1600 to 2000 cc class. Although the Coupé shape was so successful, that it was no real demand for

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1984-404: The Calibra was relatively practical compared to many other coupés of this size. It could seat four average-sized passengers (above 175–180 cm only compromised in the rear) and hold 300 liters of luggage. An innovative design feature was the slim 7 cm high headlamp, which was possible to create using the then new ellipsoid technology developed in conjunction with Hella. The headlamp design

2046-773: The UK, more than 27,000 in Italy, over 17,000 in Spain, around 13,000 in France and over 10,000 in Switzerland giving the major markets of the Calibra. Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands contributed 5,000 units apiece. Only a portion of the fleet remain on the roads: in Germany around 5,060 cars, in the UK around 450 cars, and in the Netherlands, around 750. Both standard and optional equipment were considerably developed throughout

2108-542: The Wesbank Modifieds Series (at the time, South Africa's premier circuit-racing series), South Africa's Delta Motor Corporation commissioned a one-off Calibra race car. Owen Ashley Auto Developments, based in Cape Town , was contracted to design and build the car in late 1990, with financial backing from DMC. The car was designed around the then-current Class A rule set (broadly similar to that used in

2170-407: The beginning of 1997 remain, that has been kept hidden for more than twenty years, and revealed for public on the thirtieth anniversary of the Calibra A world premiere. Now the red painted model is exhibited in the underground garage of Opel Classic. As a non-functioning study, it had only a very schematic interior and two different type of headlights (left and right) to test various design solutions at

2232-412: The beginning of 1997, before a final run of Calibra Turbo Limited Editions were rolled out to the UK market. These were all finished in jet black paintwork with an Irmscher spoiler, BBS RX 16" alloys and colour coded body fittings. This final version was also lowered by 35mm on Irmscher springs and dampers. The interior was finished in heated cream leather, with a steering wheel trimmed in grey leather and

2294-484: The engine mounted longitudinally instead of transversely. Early DTM cars used a naturally-aspirated Cosworth -developed 54-degree V6 engine based on General Motors' iron block/aluminium head C25XE . Power output improved from 420 to 480 PS (310 to 350 kW; 410 to 470 hp) from 1993 to 1995. Due to changes in the Group A Class 1 FIA regulations for 1996, a switch was made to an all-aluminium, 75-degree V6 based on

2356-408: The flimsy side, liable to suffer damage from conditions such as minor differences in tyre wear or tyre pressure between front and rear axles. Since front and rear tyres would naturally wear at different rates in normal driving, it was necessary to swap front with rear tyres every 15,000 miles (24,000 km) - recent user recommendations propose 3,000 miles (5,000 km). All four tyres had to be of

2418-465: The front. The Opel GTC Concept of March 2007 was linked to the Calibra name, but no production version resulted from the concept car. The GTC concept car was rather a design projection for the first generation of Opel Insignia introduced next year, and especially its most powerful OPC version, which inherited the concept car's large emphasized vertical intakes at the front, similar exhaust tips at

2480-686: The front. Furthermore, "A fixed-top two-door sports car would be best and most appropriately be termed a 'sports coupe' or 'sports coupé'". Coupé ( French pronunciation: [kupe] ) is based on the past participle of the French verb couper ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard. It was first applied to horse -drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These berlines coupées or carrosses coupés ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipped to coupés . There are two common pronunciations in English: A coupé

2542-554: The introduction of the X20XEV Ecotec engine, a new version of the classic C20XE 16 valve or "red top" engine. This marked a reduction in power from 152 PS (112 kW; 150 bhp) to 138 PS (101 kW; 136 bhp) for the 16 valve version, although the Turbo continued with the C20LET . The availability of engines is dependent on specific model variants, accessory levels and domestic markets. In addition to

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2604-411: The late 1930s. The 1921 and 1922 LaFayette models were available in a variety of open and closed body styles that included a close-coupled version featuring two center-opening doors on each side that was marketed as a Four-Door Coupe. The 1927 Nash Advanced Six was available in four-door coupe body style. More recently, the description has been applied by marketers to describe four-door cars with

2666-593: The most aerodynamic mass production car for the next ten years, until the Honda Insight was launched in November 1999, with a Cd of 0.25 . All later 16V, V6, 4x4 and turbo models had a worse Cd of 0.29 , due to changes in cooling system, underbody, use of spoked wheels and glass detail. During its lifetime, the Calibra was much more popular in Europe, and outsold its nearest rival, the Ford Probe , which

2728-404: The number of doors, instead defining a coupé as having a rear interior volume of less than 33 cu ft (934 L). The definition of coupé started to blur when manufacturers began to produce cars with a 2+2 body style (which have a sleek, sloping roofline, two doors, and two functional seats up front, plus two small seats in the back). Some manufacturers also blur the definition of

2790-529: The ongoing development program, other important safety features were added in August 1993: double steel tube strengthening bars in the doors as side crash protection, strengthened door sills, strengthened pillars and roof frame, and seat belt pre-tensioners also became standard for front passengers. Waterbased paint and CFC-free air-conditioning were also reasonable steps taken for sustainability. The DTM/ITC-specification race cars used an all-wheel-drive layout, with

2852-445: The open at the front and an enclosure behind him for two passengers on one bench seat . The French variant for this word thus denoted a car with a small passenger compartment. By the 1910s, the term had evolved to denote a two-door car with the driver and up to two passengers in an enclosure with a single bench seat. The coupé de ville , or coupé chauffeur, was an exception, retaining the open driver's section at front. In 1916,

2914-442: The opera with easy access to the rear seats. Features sometimes included a folding front seat next to the driver or a compartment to store top hats . Often they would have solid rear-quarter panels, with small, circular windows, to enable the occupants to see out without being seen. These opera windows were revived on many U.S. automobiles during the 1970s and early 1980s. The three-window coupe (commonly just "three-window")

2976-401: The preliminary models: tapering the rear waistline and rear side windows by about 50 mm compared to earlier mockups gave about 0,035 Cd improvement, while another 0,035 improvement was reached by altering panel lines, transition points, integrated front spoiler in front of the tires, engine shield and a panel connecting the fuel tank and the lower edge of the rear bumper. The Calibra remained

3038-687: The production. At the beginning of the production the standard equipment of the Calibra 8 valve was a 20 W two-speaker stereo with cassette player, sports seats front with adjustable height on the driver's side, split folding rear seats, ABS , power steering, electric side mirror adjustment, analog clock on the middle console, makeup mirrors in the sunvisors, lockable glovebox, tinted windows, 14-inch alloy wheels and bumpers in body color. Features like air-conditioning, electric windows, fog light, board computer and sun roof were optional. By contrast better equipped facelifted models with larger engines offered air-conditioning, traction control, electric windows,

3100-550: The rear and rims on the side. The interior of the first generation Insignia is also very similar to the 2007 GTC Concept. The GTC Concept is showcased in the concept car section of Opel Classic. Coup%C3%A9 The term coupé was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past participle of couper , "cut". Some coupé cars only have two seats, while some also feature rear seats. However, these rear seats are usually lower quality and much smaller than those in

3162-474: The rear seats and the boot, thus the design was not further developed. Now a red painted prototype is exhibited in the underground garage of Opel Classic at the concept car section. In 1996 Opel began the development of the successor of the Calibra on the basis of the Vectra B , but it didn't fit the international model strategy of General Motors, so the project was dropped. One non-functioning 1:1 scale model from

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3224-414: The same make and model, and all four tyres had to be replaced at the same time — if one tyre was damaged or punctured, the three remaining good tyres also had to be replaced. In addition there were other maintenance requirements which were both exacting and unusual. Neglect of these points through ignorance or a misconceived attempt to save money was common, and was likely to lead to very expensive failures of

3286-419: The transfer gearbox. The car got some recycled and recyclable plastics (like headlight frames, water deflector, bumper attachments, inlet manifold, sound insulation) and catalytic converter already at the beginning of the production. Since the beginning of 1993 all Calibras were delivered with a driver's airbag as standard, and co-driver's full size airbag was added in August. Amongst other small changes during

3348-415: Was also notable for the five stud wheel hubs and the extreme negative camber (inward lean) of its rear wheels. In 1993, a 170 PS (125 kW; 168 bhp) 2.5 litre V6 ( C25XE or SE4) was introduced, available with both manual and automatic transmissions. The V6 was not as fast as the Turbo, but was rather more civilised, and proved to be more reliable than the complex four wheel drive model. 1995 saw

3410-834: Was available, the marque was left without a mid sized coupé until the Astra Coupé was launched in the spring of 2000, and with the introduction of the Opel Speedster two-seater roadster in July 2000, three years after the Calibra was discontinued, Opel finally offered a sports car again. There is different data available about production numbers: 238,164 or 238,647 or 239,118 have been built in total. 93,978 have been built in Valmet, Finland. Nearly 130,000 were fitted with 8V, 83,000 with 16V, 14,000 with Turbo and 12,000 with V6 engines. Around 100,000 were sold in Germany, over 40,000 in

3472-633: Was considered to be underpowered, and very American for most European drivers. Sales of the Vauxhall-badged versions for the UK market commenced in June 1990, with hopes of selling of up to 15,000 examples per year. However, this sales target was never achieved. In July 1990, after General Motors bought a stake in Saab , it was reported the Calibra would be badged as a Saab in the United States, but these plans did not materialise. There were also plans for

3534-469: Was delivered to a rear-mounted five-speed manual Hewland transaxle through a carbon-fibre propeller shaft. Fuel capacity was 40 litres, and double-wishbone suspension was used at both the front and rear ends of the car. Driven by Michael Briggs , the car was campaigned from 1991 to 1993. A rule change for 1994 that banned turbocharged engines from the series, as well as the rapidly increasing popularity of Group A super touring cars, compelled DMC to retire

3596-424: Was initially only available with front-wheel drive , but from November 1990, four wheel drive became available. The Opel Calibra was styled by GM's designer Wayne Cherry , and German designer Erhard Schnell. As a front-wheel drive three door hatchback coupé based on the Vectra A chassis, its ride and handling are not significantly better than that of the large family car from which it grew. Though it had

3658-764: Was introduced to belatedly replace the Manta and to counter the Japanese sporting coupés of the period. It employs the running gear of the first generation Opel Vectra , which had been launched in October 1988. Calibra production was based in the Opel factory in Rüsselsheim , Germany, and the Valmet Automotive factory in Uusikaupunki , Finland, where production was consolidated in November 1995. The Calibra

3720-555: Was key to the sport coupé's unique design and aerodynamics. When launched on 10 June 1989, the Calibra was the most aerodynamic production car in the world, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26 . To reach the record Cd figure, the prototype Calibra had to be taken to the DNW wind tunnel in the Nederlands where models could be tested above a rolling road simulating real life airflow. For the final design smaller alterations were made on

3782-422: Was popular from the 1920s until the beginning of World War II . While many manufacturers produced three-window coupes, the 1932 Ford coupe is often considered the classic hot rod. Some SUVs or crossovers with sloping rear rooflines are marketed as "coupe crossover SUVs" or "coupe SUVs", even though they have four side doors for passenger egress to the seats and rear hatches for cargo area access however only

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3844-550: Was powered by a Buick 3800 -derived, 3.5-litre all-aluminium odd-fire V6, similar in specification to that used on the IMSA Corvette GTP . Built in the United States by Ryan Falconer, the engine retained its original single-cam, pushrod-and-rocker, two-valves-per-cylinder layout, but employed a Racetronics engine management system and Garrett turbocharger aspirating through a 52mm restrictor plate. The engine produced approximately 600 BHP (447 kW) in race trim. Power

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