At the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show , the Opel Senator was presented – the new flagship of the car company, which was supposed to compete with BMW and Mercedes . The model replaced the luxurious Admiral and Diplomat models and was a success with visitors. Its mass production started the following year.
As a base, the Senator borrowed the Rekord E, or rather the six-cylinder Commodore C model. Compared to it, however, it stretched to a length of 216 millimeters. The six-cylinder 2.8 under the hood of the Senator had an output of 103 kW and could move the car up to 190 km/h. The larger three-liter six-cylinder then offered an output of 110 kW, later with Bosch injection up to 132 kW. And the sedan's speed has already risen to 210 km/h. You could have a four-speed manual or a three-speed automatic for the engine. The rear axle with independent wheel suspension and coil springs was a novelty.
The start of sales came out for 1978, so just one year later, sales plummeted due to the oil crisis . The Senator was thus modernized very soon. On the outside, larger rear-view mirrors were added, but mainly the interior was modified and equipment was added. The smaller 2.8 engine was replaced by a new six-cylinder 2.5. Even that did not significantly help sales, so a more extensive facelift called the A2 was introduced in 1982. Its result was mainly a reduction in aerodynamic drag . But the effect was also played a bit, for example the rear lights were optically connected with red plastic and the license plate was moved to the bumper. The engine's oil cooler and fuel injection were improved. In 1983, a two-liter four-cylinder moved under the hood for just one year, but after a short time it was replaced by the 2.2 unit from the Rekord model. The same model lent the Senator a 2.3 turbodiesel . Opel also installed an ABS system in it, like in the first car.
The Keinath company built a prototype station wagon, but it didn't even make it into production. In 1986, production of the first generation was ended and the number of produced Senators stopped at 60,323 cars. Then the successor Senator B , which was based on the first generation of the Omega sedan, went into production. Production of the second generation began in 1987. To differentiate the Senator from the Omega, it received a richly chromed , different radiator grille , as well as completely different headlights. A spoiler on the edge of the trunk was added to the rear.
A proven three-liter inline six-cylinder with an output of 130 kW without and 115 kW with a catalytic converter looked under the hood. The 2.5E and Turbodiesel 2.3 models were exported. In 1989, a new three-liter with twenty-four valves and a power of 150 kW came on the market. There were three levels of equipment to choose from – basic, Business and CD , cars modified by Irmscher are a rarity. But since the Senator was so much like the more plebeian type of Omega , both inside and out, its sales remained well below expectations. Customers were not fooled by several digital indicators. Production ran for only five years and Opel did not even prepare a successor, Omega took over the function of the flagship.
Photo: AutoWP
