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101-892: 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

202-588: A Brabham at the Paul Ricard circuit in France in May 1986 deeply affected him and he retired at the end of the season. He would later claim that he retired "too soon" . Keke Rosberg dominated the final race of his Formula One career, the 1986 Australian Grand Prix , though he did not win. While holding a 30-second lead over Nelson Piquet (his replacement at Williams), he had a rear tyre let go on lap 62. Thinking

303-490: 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

404-575: 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

505-413: 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

606-447: 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

707-400: 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

808-410: A blue circle on the top, and the stripe was divided into a large blue rectangle covering the visor area with some blue rectangles behind (similar to Didier Pironi's helmet design). In 1984, the rectangles were replaced by a yellow trapezium. His son Nico used a design that had similarities to Keke's helmet earlier in his Formula One career, with grey replacing blue and with flame motifs, before changing to

909-546: 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,

1010-547: 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,

1111-403: 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

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1212-527: A deal to run the Honda V6 turbo engine in his cars. Honda had come back into Formula One that year with the Spirit team and results had been slow with unreliability, but they were enthusiastic about joining Williams who had a reputation as a Championship-winning team. Rosberg and teammate Jacques Laffite first got their Honda turbos in the season ending South African Grand Prix at Kyalami and immediately

1313-407: 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

1414-775: A new design in 2014. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. Race was stopped with less than 75% of laps completed, half points awarded. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) In level 7 game 11 of

1515-594: 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

1616-467: 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

1717-579: 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 )

1818-520: A relatively late start to his Formula One career, debuting at the age of 29 after stints in Formula Vee , Formula Super Vee , Can-Am , Formula Atlantic , Formula Pacific and Formula Two , then "feeder" series to Formula One. He raced for Fred Opert , his American patron. His first Formula One drive was with the Theodore team during the 1978 season . He immediately caught the attention of

1919-485: 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

2020-590: A seat open for the 1982 season . Given a competitive car, Rosberg had a highly successful year. He consistently scored points and earned his first victory in the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois late that year (despite being called the " Swiss Grand Prix ", the race was held in France due to Switzerland 's ban on motor racing in effect since the 1955 Le Mans disaster ). In a year where no driver won more than two races, with Ferrari 's season marred by

2121-406: A spinal cord injury which left him a tetraplegic ) had left someone in a position of authority within the team who he said was one of the reasons he had decided to leave Williams, adding "We simply could not stand each other". While Rosberg did not name the person, it was generally believed to be Williams head designer and Technical Director Patrick Head , who had taken over the day-to-day running of

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2222-517: 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

2323-538: A time when the Honda engine was starting to come on strong, while the Porsche built TAG engine (and the 3 season old MP4/2) was starting to show its age. In an interview following his retirement announcement, Rosberg said that he was glad he left Williams when he did, stating that had he stayed with them he might have quit Formula One early in the 1986 season after Frank Williams ' pre-season accident (in which he suffered

2424-490: 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

2525-412: 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

2626-400: 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

2727-477: 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

2828-758: The 1978 South African Grand Prix . Despite failing to score points for the remainder of the 1978 season with Theodore and ATS , Rosberg won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy with the former in only his second Formula One appearance. Rosberg returned in 1979 with Wolf , replacing the retired James Hunt from the French Grand Prix onwards. After another non-classified championship finish, Rosberg signed for Fittipaldi in 1980 to partner Emerson Fittipaldi , scoring his maiden points finish and Grand Prix podium on debut . After two years with Fittipaldi, Rosberg signed for Williams in 1982 . Although only winning one race in his first season with

2929-604: The Alfa Romeo GT or Infiniti Q60 – or have little engineering in common with other vehicles from the manufacturer – such as the Toyota GT86 . Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik " Keke " Rosberg ( Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkeke ˈruːsbæri] ; born 6 December 1948) is a Finnish former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1978 to 1986 . Rosberg won

3030-629: 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

3131-487: 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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3232-708: The Dallas Grand Prix in 1984 , and the Detroit and Australian Grands Prix in 1985 , finishing third in the latter championship. Moving to reigning champions McLaren in 1985 to partner Alain Prost , Rosberg was unable to win all year as his teammate took the title, retiring at the end of the season. Outside of Formula One, Rosberg achieved multiple race wins in the World Sportscar Championship with Peugeot from 1990 to 1991 , and

3333-738: The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters , and Extreme E . Rosberg was born on 6 December 1948 in Solna , Sweden , where his father studied veterinary science. Rosberg's father Lars Rosberg and mother Lea Lautala were both natives of Hamina , Finland . The family moved back to Finland in the spring of 1950, originally settling in a Swedish-speaking village in Lapinjärvi , where young Rosberg had language problems with other children, because his family spoke Finnish. The family later moved to Hamina, Oulu and Iisalmi . Rosberg had

3434-790: The Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1982 with Williams , and won five Grands Prix across nine seasons. Born in Sweden and raised in Finland , Rosberg started his racing career in karting before graduating to Formula Vee in 1972. Upon winning Finnish Championship the following year, Rosberg progressed to Formula Super Vee , where he won the German Championship in 1975. He then moved to European Formula Two , competing from 1976 to 1979 . Aged 29, Rosberg made his Formula One debut for Theodore at

3535-623: The Formula Three Euroseries and A1 GP since. Team Rosberg returned to the revived DTM in 2000, entering two Mercedes. Success, or even just scoring points, became harder with each passing season and Team Rosberg quit the series after their 2004 campaign, only to return in 2006, this time with Audi . Rosberg later spent a long time managing his countrymen JJ Lehto and future world champion Mika Häkkinen . Until 2008, he also managed his son Nico who entered Formula One in 2006 driving for Williams F1 . In 2013 he and Nico became

3636-600: 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

3737-481: The Ligier Renaults of Jacques Laffite and Philippe Streiff . Just as the Honda engine began producing regular results, Rosberg decided to leave Williams at the end of 1985 and signed for McLaren , winners of the 1984 and 1985 Drivers' and Constructors' championships. The Williams-Honda team would go on to dominate Grand Prix racing in 1986 and through 1987 . At the time, Rosberg's move to McLaren for

3838-535: 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

3939-473: 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

4040-469: The ground effects style of late braking and throwing the car into a corner. It was not until it became known Barnard was leaving for Ferrari that the designer allowed Rosberg to fundamentally change his cars set up to suit his style. Ironically this coincided with Rosberg's only pole position of the season in Germany ). On top of that, the fatal crash of Rosberg's close friend Elio de Angelis while testing

4141-705: 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

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4242-403: 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

4343-535: The 1986 season had seemed a master stroke as they were the championship team of the previous two seasons, having done so (especially in 1984) in dominating fashion. However, the 1986 McLaren was now somewhat underpowered compared to its rivals, and Rosberg, was soundly beaten by teammate, 1985 World Champion Alain Prost (the McLaren MP4/2C had been designed by John Barnard to suit the smoother style of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, while Rosberg had never shed

4444-566: 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

4545-585: 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

4646-483: The 4.719 km (2.932 mi) circuit in 1:05.591 for an average speed of 259.01 km/h (160.94 mph). This would remain the single fastest lap of a circuit in Formula One until broken by Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the 2002 Italian Grand Prix at Monza . Keke Rosberg's fifth and final Grand Prix victory came at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix on the brand new Adelaide Street Circuit . As it

4747-645: 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

4848-494: 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

4949-468: 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

5050-404: 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

5151-723: The FW09B. For the first few races the team used the 1984 engines until Honda introduced an upgraded version which improved power delivery, fuel economy and most importantly, reliability. Rosberg used the new engine to good effect, winning the Detroit Grand Prix and claiming pole in the next two races in France at the Paul Ricard Circuit and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone . Rosberg's pole-winning lap at Silverstone created history when he lapped

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5252-542: The Formula One paddock with a superb drive in the non-Championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone in just his second race with the team, emerging victorious after many of the big names had been caught out by a tremendous downpour. Rosberg was not able to qualify for a race afterwards, and was signed by another uncompetitive team, ATS , for three races after the Theodore team scrapped its unreliable car design. He returned to Theodore after they acquired chassis from

5353-720: 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

5454-542: 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

5555-524: The Wolf Formula One team, but these were also uncompetitive and Rosberg returned to ATS to end the season. He next emerged with the Wolf team, midway through the 1979 season . However, the team was having difficulty staying solvent, and Rosberg had problems in finishing races. Rosberg soon had to change teams again when Wolf left Formula One, and signed with Fittipaldi Automotive which had bought

5656-407: 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

5757-412: 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

5858-594: The death of Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder and the career-ending injuries to Didier Pironi at Hockenheim , and the turbocharged Brabham - BMW and Renault cars suffering from poor reliability (and not helped by Brabham continually changing between the Ford V8 and the BMW turbo), consistency won Rosberg the Drivers' Championship . This was despite his Williams FW07C using the normally-aspirated Ford DFY V8 engine which

5959-484: 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

6060-682: The first father and son to both win at Monaco, 30 years apart from each other. In 2016, he and Nico became the second father son duo to both win Formula One World Championships, after Graham Hill and Damon Hill had won the Championships of 1962 and 1968, and 1996 respectively. In his karting years, Rosberg had a white helmet with a blue stripe, then, in Formula One, Sid Mosca (who designed helmets for Brazilian drivers including Ayrton Senna, Rubens Barrichello and Emerson Fittipaldi) painted Rosberg's helmet white with

6161-408: 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

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6262-465: 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

6363-686: 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

6464-554: 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

6565-411: 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

6666-471: The marque and varied successes (two victories and a failed attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ), he moved on to the German Touring Car Championship, the DTM , driving for Mercedes-Benz and Opel . Here he set up his own team, Team Rosberg , in 1995 and at the end of that year withdrew from driving to concentrate on running it. Team Rosberg ran for another year in the DTM, until the series collapsed, and has been present in Formula BMW , German Formula Three,

6767-417: 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

6868-451: The new Williams FW09 was on the pace. Rosberg finished in 5th place to give him 5th place in the championship. Despite the powerful Honda engines, Williams and Rosberg struggled in 1984 mostly due to the FW09B chassis not being rigid enough to handle the power delivery of the 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) V6. The Finn managed to tame both the car and engine long enough to win the Dallas Grand Prix , but his only other podium for

6969-408: The noise from the back of his McLaren was engine related, he shut the engine off and pulled off the circuit, only to find when he got out and checked that all he needed to do was drive back to the pits to change tyres. However, he later revealed that he would never have won anyway, that he planned to give best to Alain Prost in the Frenchman's bid for back-to-back World Championships (Prost needed to win

7070-422: The non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne . Rosberg managed to qualify 4th in his Ralt RT4 Ford despite spending most of the day with fellow aviation enthusiast Lauda (his teammate for the race) attending an air show at the nearby Essendon Airport . After an early race dice with Lauda and a clash with Terry Ryan while lapping the young Australian which put him off

7171-404: 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

7272-529: 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

7373-445: 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,

7474-442: 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")

7575-520: The powerful but unreliable Honda turbo engine. For his title defense in 1983 , Rosberg was again using the reliable Ford DFY V8. However, by this time, the reliability of the Ferrari, Renault and BMW turbo engines was starting to match their speed and power output. Rosberg still put his Williams FW08 on pole for the opening race of the season in Brazil (where he was disqualified from 2nd place because he

7676-401: 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

7777-687: 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,

7878-545: The race with Nigel Mansell finishing no better than 4th to claim the championship, while Rosberg had dropped out of title contention some races before). As it turned out, Prost won the race and the title, and a lap after Rosberg's retirement Mansell suffered the same fate as his former teammate, though in much more spectacular fashion. Rosberg, who had made up his mind in mid-1984 that he would only race for two more years (but did not announce it publicly until Germany 1986), had no regrets about leaving Williams and joining McLaren at

7979-550: 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

8080-474: 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

8181-561: The remains of Walter Wolf's squad. He secured his first two point-scoring results in the 1980 season , including a sensational podium at the season-opening race at Buenos Aires, but the uncompetitiveness of the Fittipaldi car meant that Rosberg often failed to finish or qualify. 1981 was worse as he failed to score at all. Despite this, Williams was interested in Rosberg, with the retirement of 1980 World Champion Alan Jones leaving

8282-414: 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

8383-540: The short 1.609 km (1.000 mi) circuit, Rosberg went on to finish 2nd behind the Ralt RT4 Ford of Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno who won his 3rd Australian Grand Prix in 4 years (having also won in 1981 and 1983 ). 1985 would prove better for both Rosberg and Williams. The Finn had a new teammate in Nigel Mansell and the all carbon fibre Williams FW10 chassis was a big improvement over

8484-453: The team while Frank Williams recovered from his accident. In 1989 Rosberg made his comeback in the Spa 24 Hours in a Ferrari Mondial run by Moneytron (cf. Jean-Pierre Van Rossem and Onyx ), the same team that gave Rosberg's protégé JJ Lehto his debut in Formula One. Rosberg was a key element of Peugeot 's extremely competitive sportscar squad in the early 1990s. But after two years with

8585-562: The team—at the Swiss Grand Prix —Rosberg's six podium finishes saw him clinch the World Drivers' Championship at the final race of the season , becoming the first Finnish Formula One World Champion . Rosberg was unable to defend his title in 1983 as Williams struggled to adapt to the turbo era , despite winning the Monaco Grand Prix and the final non-championship Race of Champions . He took further wins for Williams at

8686-419: 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

8787-523: The year was a second at the season opener in Brazil (the third time in succession he finished second in Brazil, but the only one from which he was not disqualified). After a frustrating year he finished the championship in eighth place with 20.5 points. In November 1984 following the Formula One season, Rosberg, along with fellow Formula One drivers Niki Lauda (the 1984 World Champion), Andrea de Cesaris and François Hesnault , travelled to Australia for

8888-590: Was a development of the DFV). To celebrate the victory, Frank Williams gave Rosberg two days off from testing and allowed him to smoke in the team mobile home. As a result of winning just one race in his title winning season Rosberg equalled the record set by Mike Hawthorn in 1958 for the fewest number wins scored by a driver during a World Championship winning season, a record he still jointly holds with Hawthorn as of 2023. Rosberg's post-championship years would be hamstrung by both uncompetitive chassis from Williams, and

8989-711: Was a race-winner in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft , competing from 1992 to 1995 . Since retiring from motor racing, Rosberg has moved into driver management , formerly managing two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner JJ Lehto and two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen . He also coached and managed his son Nico from karting at an early age to winning the World Drivers' Championship in 2016 . Since 1994, he has owned and managed Team Rosberg , leading them to championships in German Formula Three , Formula BMW ,

9090-415: 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

9191-834: 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

9292-545: Was considered outdated and out-matched against the vastly more powerful turbo cars. Rosberg won the championship with a five-point lead over Pironi, who had missed the last four races of the season due to injuries sustained at the German Grand Prix. Rosberg's 1982 Championship proved to be the last World Championship win for the old Cosworth DFV engine which had been introduced to Formula One by Lotus in 1967 (the DFY

9393-633: 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

9494-469: 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

9595-424: 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

9696-820: 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

9797-555: 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

9898-422: 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

9999-550: 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

10100-460: Was push started in the pits after he was forced to abandon his car in his pit bay due to a fuel vapor fire), and then won both the non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and in Monaco thanks to a choice of slicks at the start when all others started on wets, but it was increasingly obvious that without a turbocharged engine, results would be scarce. To that end, Frank Williams concluded

10201-410: Was the final race of the season, it was also Rosberg's final race for Williams. Keke gave the winners trophy to his race engineer, Frank Dernie . The win enhanced Rosberg's reputation as a street circuit specialist, as four of his five championship Grand Prix wins (Monaco, Dallas, Detroit and Adelaide) had come on street circuits. Rosberg handled the 35 °C heat better than most and won by 43 seconds from

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