Like the mechanically related Senator sedan, the Monza coupe derived from it was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1977. And it too went into mass production a year later, based on the older Commodore model.
From the large sedan, the coupe with a folding rear was distinguished, for example, by a black radiator grille and chrome headlight frames. Wide B-pillars with ventilation holes were also a distinguishing sign. The engine range was the same as the brother Senator, but the lighter Monza always added an extra 5 km/h to the maximum. She drove 195 km/h with the basic 2.8 engine, and even 215 km/h with the three-liter with injection. New independent rear suspension and disc brakes on all wheels ensured good driving characteristics.
Sales of the Monza coupé, launched in 1978, were also affected by the 1979 oil crisis. So it was affected by the same changes as the large Senator sedan, the main of which was the use of a six-cylinder 2.5, which replaced the older 2.8 with higher consumption. A facelift called the A2 followed in 1982. The Monza now had a lower drag coefficient and different rear lights connected by red plastic. However, the three- liter under the hood, which had a new radiator and injection, was improving. In 1983, a basic two-liter four-cylinder engine was added to the range, but it only warmed up under the hood for a year before it was replaced by the 2.2E unit. Towards the end of the attractive coupe's career, the 2.5E version with 100 kW power appeared in the offer.
The top version of the coupe was the Monza GSE . It was powered by a three-liter six-cylinder engine . Equipment included Recaro leather seats, a leather steering wheel, an on- board computer and a digital speedometer. The maximum speed was 215 km/h. The Keinath company in Reutlingen transformed the elegant coupe into a four-seater convertible. A total of 144 cars were created in this way, 22 of which were later rebuilt by the Bitter company into the SC Cabrio type. A total of 16,954 of these handsome coupes were produced, which, however, did not receive a successor. Opel was left with only the smaller Manta . In 2013, Opel presented a concept of the same name, but no coupe is going into series production now. And quite possibly that's a shame.
Photo: AutoWP
