Opel Admiral (Admiral, 1937 to 1939)

The first Opel Admiral was introduced at the Berlin Motor Show in early 1937, although production did not begin until the end of the year and only eight units were built in 1937. It was an attempt to challenge luxury cars in the growing 3.5-litre class from Horch, Mercedes-Benz and Maybach, at a substantially lower price. Unlike the slightly smaller unitary-bodied Kapitän introduced at the end of 1938, the Admiral used a traditional separate chassis, which made it a favourite of specialist coachbuilders and gave it several bespoke cabriolet and limousine bodies. It also provided chassis, engine and running gear for substantial ambulances. Its engine was a newly developed 3,626 cc straight-six.