There are a number of Opel Manta fans on the ViaRETRO team, and among our readers, too. My personal preference is for the original Manta A, but the Manta B has many advocates, and our Prime Find this week is a very low mileage Manta GT that may well be tempting to a number of you.
We marked the Opel Manta A’s 50th anniversary last year here, so I won’t re-hash the model’s beginnings in this piece, but start with the introduction of the Manta B, which was launched in 1975, alongside it’s UK-built Vauxhall cousin, the Cavalier Coupé, and was joined in 1977 by a three-door hatchback version known as the Cavalier Sportshatch in the UK. It looked very different to its handsome predecessor – less swoopy, with a backward-leaning nose instead of forward – but with steeply-raked windscreen and long fastback coupé profile, it was still a good-looking car, if not quite as cool as the A, to my eyes, anyway.
Opel Manta A and B, and Vauxhall Cavalier versions
Mechanically based on the Ascona saloon, engines were 1.2, 1.6 and 1.8 litre four-cylinder units that were not overtly sporty, to say the least – that was the preserve of the fuel-injected GT/E. Drive was to the rear wheels, gearboxes were initially 4-speed with optional 5-speed, and from 1981, the latter became standard in the UK.
1982 saw the introduction of the Manta B2, a facelift that was largely achieved by clever use of plastics (see Dave Leadbetter’s piece here), with body-coloured bumpers, the complete removal of chrome and the addition of a small rear spoiler. Engines were upgraded to 1.3, 1.8 and 2.0-litres. By this time the saloon models on which the Manta was based had been replaced by the Ascona C (or J-car – see Dave’s excellent piece on this here), and the Cavalier versions were dropped entirely. Top of the range was the GT/E (later renamed the GSi outside the UK) with the rally-inspired 200 and 400 models following in
Most of the Manta A’s rivals in the marketplace continued – in updated forms – to compete with the Manta B. Ford came up with not just one, but two versions of the Capri during the Manta B’s lifetime, VW produced a second-generation Scirocco, Toyota brought out two generations of their Celica Liftback coupés and Renault’s 15 and 17 models were replaced with the very stylish Fuego. And these were just the alternatives to the hatchback version.
Moving on to our Prime Find, we have had a series of low-mileage cars recently and the trend continues this week, as the RHD 1984 Opel Manta GT – making it a B2 version – we have found for sale with a dealer in Essex, South East England has a mere 12,000 documented miles showing on its odometer, those few miles having been driven with the hands of just two owners at the wheel. There is extensive paperwork to support this, including every MOT and SORN certificate issued for the car since 1987. Even the original invoice showing a cost of £6,025.97 is supplied.
It’s got the standard four-pot 1.8-litre, pushing out 89bhp to its rear wheels and the rest of the car is pretty much a regular Manta GT except for the addition of a rear wash/wipe facility. Top speed when new would have been a relatively modest 109mph/175km/h, with 0-60mph being achieved in a fraction under 10 seconds. 5-speed box, but I imagine this car will be driven quite carefully by its new owner, so these figures won’t matter much.
Based on the photographs on the dealer’s website – some of which we have borrowed – It looks as you might expect for a car that has barely been used in 38 years, although there is some damage to the right bolster of the driver’s seat; I imagine this would be easily rectifiable though. Elsewhere the interior looks unworn and original – even the cassette player and slots for storing cassette tapes are still in place, though the advert doesn’t stipulate whether or not it works. Does anyone still have and use cassettes? I had hundreds of them back in the day, but threw them all out years ago, although I cling to my vinyl and CD collections…
The colour – Astro Silver – is a bit boring but is described by the dealer as presenting with a “deep glossy shine”, with the car generally being in “excellent condition”. It will be given a full service and MOT before sale, as well as a new water pump – I’m a little surprised that the driver’s seat isn’t being repaired, at least, but I guess it could be done at any time.
There is much to like about this Manta – rare, low-mileage, excellent condition, detailed history file, and completely original. The asking price is £15,995 (I’m resisting the “pint of beer” under £16k – oops, too late…) which doesn’t seem unreasonable, all things considered. The new owner won’t come across many other cars like theirs in the UK – only a half-dozen Manta GT’s remain on the road here, though there are about 50 SORN. There will of course be more in Opel’s home market, but even there, they are an uncommon sight, and it is certainly something different from the more ubiquitous Capri.
You can see the full dealer advert here, and as usual, should this 1980’s time warp Manta appeal to you, we recommend you arrange prior inspection if possible.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk