Opel Manta GTE: Spotted
Very rare, very cool and very cheap as well!
Yes, Lotus Carltons appear to be creeping up but have a look at this Manta. It's a GT/E with just 67,000 miles, three owners, a recent £3,500 refresh and respray plus a seemingly perfect interior. They don't come up for sale too often and even less frequently in this sort of condition. The price? £2,995.
Already that sounds criminally cheap, but where better to look for some context than its Ford nemesis from the 80s? Here's a Capri that's just a year older with 70,000 miles and also in very nice condition. It does have a V6 compared to the Manta's four-cylinder but is it really worth more than three times as much?
It's hardly as if the Manta was a substandard rival either. Motorsport Magazine described the Manta as 'a delight' on a winding road, the stiffer springs, Bilstein dampers and stiffer rear anti-roll bar over the standard car really paying dividends it would seem. The 2.0-litre engine wasn't praised quite as highly, its iron block and head making progress much more reliant on low-end torque than revvy power.
The Manta of course has motorsport pedigree too, even if its Group B career wasn't the most successful. For the full homologation appeal this would be a Manta 400 rather than a regular GT/E but with just 200 produced the chances of finding one must be slim.
It looks, from here at least, superb as well. Are the 80s still cool? If so the upholstery, the graphics and the small wheels are going to work perfectly. And look at those brochures!
So it would appear the Manta is a true unsung hero, the kind of car that should command more attention and money in the current climate. Put your prejudices aside and enjoy it cheaply while it's still possible!
OPEL MANTA GT/E
Engine: 1,979cc four-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 112@5,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 119@3,400rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1983
Recorded mileage: 67,000
Price new: £6,444
Yours for: £2,995
See the original ad here.
Some terrible photos in the ad too.
Some terrible photos in the ad too.
Looking at the pictures I reckon this one is 6 months away from looking very scabby indeed.
Also the engine in these has very few redeeming features being heavy, coarse, thirsty and not remotely powerful.
I spent my motoring formative years in Mantas, and although I loved them at the time, I wouldn't have another now. If I found a relatively rust-free Monza on the other hand...
I have some good memories of mine, a red 2.0 GTE hatch, I wanted a coupe but they were pricier but were better looking.
The interior was a weird mix of some rather nice grey Recaros and a dash that seemed to have been sourced from a 1970's Chevette.
It handled ok, but felt like a big dollop after a MK1 Golf GTI, the brakes were crap, unvented disks at the front that used to get a bit hot and fade with enthusiastic use.
The engine, well, my thought process was that my mate had bought the 1.8 Berlinetta which had a nice engine, a perky 90 bhp (felt like a bit more to be fair) so the GTE must be way better with an extra 200 cc and its fancy fuel injection, well it was faster, but not by as much as you would expect and it wasn't exactly what you would call a rev monster, I think Vauxall/Opel lifted it from a Bedford Van, slapped some Bosch FI on it and said that would do.
Really, seeing as they had fitted the Vauxhall 1.8 OHC engine I don't see why they never plonked a 2.0 GTE variant of the same in it with 130 bhp, or, even better the 16 valve engine with 150 plus bhp which was a popular conversion but I suppose that is how it had always been and by the late eighties the Calibra was in development.
The 2.0 GTE was nowhere near a 2.8i Capri, it really was more a Capri 2.0 Laser competitor in the late eighties dinosaur stakes.
I do love them but was a bit underwhelmed with mine, a coupe with modernised brakes and suspension, perhaps a couple of hundred BHP sympathetically restored would be a fine thing.
it went rusty not long after i bought it, and had lots of problems with the wiring,
on one occasion the fuse box seem to melt a little and a row of fuses just sort of dropped about 1 cm in line from the others, another time, the alarm went off, i turned it off, still was going off, i pulled the wires out and it was still going off,
it was getting a live feed from the hazard lights
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