Opel Kadett 3.0 Turbo driving report: Green Opel poison with 300 PS

I n its first life was the Opel Kadett C just what it looks like at first glance and apart from the colorful stickers it still looks like today: a staid notchback sedan with a sewing machine 1200 on the front axle. The kind of car that got wider, deeper and louder in a second life.

And often with all the effort not significantly faster. In view of this specimen, most of the Kadett who have been revised in some way will feel the blush in the cylinder head. In the Opel Kadett 3.0 Turbo, there is not much left from the starting point, a 1979 Kadett C with a 1.2-liter four-cylinder.

Three-liter two-valve engine under the Opel Kadett C hood

Everything started quite harmlessly. Owner Volker Brüchle and a few friends from idyllic Ottobeuren in the Allgäu have been practicing a special kind of winter sport for years: drifting, preferably with Opel Kadett C vehicles, on quiet winter nights and on lonely, snow-covered dirt roads. Even with the basic engine, the Opel Kadett C were simply the fastest cars, recalls Brüchle, who can still be found today plowing snow around Ottobeuren.

Because it was so much fun, that was enough Winter will soon be over - you could get out of practice. That is why Brüchle can now be seen regularly at sporting events, such as the Drift Challenge organized by the sister paper sport auto , of course still in an Opel Kadett C. But the 1,200 cc engine was the basis for drifting on hard asphalt then a bit weak.

And so began around six years ago the conversion of a green Opel Kadett C. Since a really unique example was to be created, the choice fell on a six-cylinder engine as the drive. This, in principle, inexpensive mass-produced product, the standard version with 177 hp three-liter two-valve engine from the Omega A. the bulkhead and the transmission tunnel also had to be completely rewelded. The operator of a motor vehicle workshop took the compression of the unit back from 10.5 to 8.1 and installed a Garret loader.

Self-made exhaust system for the Turbo-Kadett C

The boost pressurecan be regulated between around 0.5 and 1 bar by means of a valve. Brüchle modestly specifies the maximum output at around 300 hp, depending on the setting. It is quite possible that it is actually a few units higher. The exhaust system was made entirely from stainless steel in-house. A large radiator from a six-cylinder BMW guarantees healthy thermal conditions. The 300 mm Zimmermann sport brake discs, which are actually offered for the Opel Omega A 24V, provide deceleration at the front, while a 3.44 mm axle from the Opel Kadett C GTE with standard drums is mounted at the rear.

Den Gear changes in the Opel Kadett 3.0 Turbo are carried out by a five-speed gearbox from Getrag, whereby the gearshift lever takes some getting used to because of the drive unit that has been moved far to the rear. In order to keep the weight low, the car, including a powerful roll bar, weighs 1170 kilograms, everything that was superfluous was thrown out. As a result, the driver and one possible passenger sit in the front passenger seat in the bare green sheet metal room.

Planned increase in performance up to 500 PS

While the sound seems almost civilized when the calmly rolls along, when revving the individual gears for the purpose of faster movement it becomes clear that restrained manners in the course of the Modifications fell by the wayside: the Opel Kadett C 3.0 Turbo marches with such a vigorous roar that even sports car drivers start pondering. And that's exactly where the special pleasure of driving this vehicle lies: If you don't know it, you might at first glance confuse the green compact sports car with a 55-hp model that is merely pimped out on the outside.

Nevertheless, Brüchle does not want to be satisfied with what has been achieved in the long term. The plans for the next expansion stage are already well advanced: the time-honored two-valve engine will give way to the four-valve engine of the Omega A. With biturbo charging, it should be possible to achieve an output between 400 and 500 hp, hopes Brüchle. Then even fewer vehicles should be able to stand up to the Opel Kadett C Turbo. A powerful four-wheel drive vehicle in the snow, perhaps.