The Opel Manta is back – as a one-off restomod EV!

Vauxhall sister car company Opel has built a one-off pure electric Manta GSe ElektroMOD to mark 50 years of the well-loved 1970s and 1980s coupe

The Opel Manta is 50 years old in 2021 and to celebrate the landmark, Vauxhall’s German sister car company has built a one-off EV called the Manta GSe ElektroMOD.

The four-cylinder petrol engine of the two-door cope, which was popular in the 1970s and 1980s, has been replaced by a pure electric motor producing a healthy 147hp.

It is mated to a 31kWh lithium ion battery for a predicted range of around 125 miles. This can be charged through a 9kW onboard charger, with a full charge taking four hours.

More impressive still, it has retained the original four-speed manual gearbox of the original! Drivers can either manually shift gears… or leave it in fourth gear for fully-auto drive.

Vivid yellow paint and the signature black bonnet set off the modern-retro lines, which includes the latest Vauxhall-Opel ‘Vizor’ front end.

Impressively, the Manta GSe has a full-width Pixel-Vizor LED front end, and the famous round rear lights are LED too.

There are 17-inch Ronal wheels… but the classic chrome wheelarch extensions are no more.

Inside, classic round analogue dials have been replaced too, by two fully-electronic displays, featuring the latest digital technology. There’s even a premium Marshall sound system in place of the old AM radio and cassette deck.

So why has Opel done it, if it’s not planning to sell it? Why, because it can… and because it also wants to highlight the fact every model in the Vauxhall-Opel range will offer an electrified variant by 2024 at the latest.

Ahead of this, we wait with interest to see what else from their back catalogue the two companies are going to turn EV next…

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