125 years of Automobile Production
“Forever forward since 1899”: Varied program with plant tours, pop-up exhibition, design icons and many other highlights from 10:30 a.m. On-track excitement: Corsa Rally Electric and Rocks Electric test drives Livestream of ceremony at 11:00 a.m. with Federal Chancellor and other guests of honour here
Opel Invites Employees and Public to Anniversary Celebration with Numerous Highlights
Rüsselsheim. Opel has been producing automobiles for 125 years. 125 years in which the brand has made millions of people mobile and inspired them with many innovations. Opel is celebrating the anniversary this Saturday, June 8, with an open day at the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim. In keeping with the anniversary motto “Forever forward since 1899”, customers, employees and the public, as well as guests of honour from politics and Stellantis, can discover automotive milestones in Opel's history. On the factory tour, for example, visitors can take a look behind the scenes or experience the Opel feeling up close on a motorsport or Rocks Electric test drive. The “125 years of automobile manufacturing at Opel” is not the only anniversary being celebrated on this occasion: in 1964 – exactly 60 years ago – the “Opel Design Studio” began work as the first design center of a manufacturer in Europe. Visitors on Saturday can therefore also admire icons of automobile design from six decades. Those not able to attend in person can see the highlights on Facebook.
Opel CEO Florian Huettl: “125 years of automobile production at Opel – we not only want to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors, but also show how Opel has always helped shape the constant change in the automotive industry and is now positioned for the future. This Saturday, the new Opel Frontera1 and the new Opel Grandland1 will have their public premieres here at the headquarters. With these cars, we will offer our customers one fully electric variant of every Opel model from this year onwards. All this reflects our anniversary motto 'Forever forward since 1899'.”
Lots to see: Public premieres and unusual pop-up exhibits
Opel will open its doors to the public at 10:30 a.m. during the official ceremony with invited guests in the Adam Opel House. Visitors will then be able to take a first look at the design exhibition in building N10. The journey through the decades of design extends from the 1965 Experimental GT and groundbreaking Opel studies from the 1980s, to innovative concepts from the more recent past such as the GT X Experimental, the sensational Manta GSe and the visionary Opel Experimental.
The pop-up exhibition in the building N50, bathed in a variety of colours, also opens at 11:30 a.m. Here, visitors can view exhibits from the first Opel – the Opel-Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann – to bestsellers and legends such as the Opel Kapitän, GT, Manta and Calibra, and even electric models such as the Opel Ampera. On plant tours beginning at 1:30 p.m., which start behind the Adam Opel House throughout the afternoon, Opel will proudly present the current Astra production at the Rüsselsheim site. In addition, the general public can experience the all-new Opel Frontera1 and Opel Grandland1, which will soon be available to order, up close for the first time.
From midday onwards, the Opel Corsa Rally Electric from the world's first electric one-make rally cup will be doing laps in the car park behind the Adam Opel House. A limited number of motorsport fans can sign up for a ride in the co-driver’s seat. Nearby, on another test track special set up by Opel, visitors aged 15 and over can experience for themselves what individual mobility feels like behind the wheel of an Opel Rocks Electric2.
The youngest visitors will find plenty of entertainment in the “Kids Corner”, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the large catering area, also behind the Adam Opel House. There are numerous other activities for young and old throughout the outdoor area.
As an additional attraction, an area reserved exclusively for Opel vintage cars opposite the Adam Opel House on Rugbyring will enrich the anniversary celebrations. Visitors and guests who arrive in a vintage Opel vehicle with an H license plate can park their car in the "An der Feuerwache" parking lot, turning the area into a spontaneous open-air pop-up exhibition of historic Opel cars.
Registration for the various activities takes place on site; advance reservations are not possible. The detailed program including additional information can be found here:
[1] Vehicle not available yet
[2] Applies to four-wheeled light motor vehicles with a rated continuous/utilised power not exceeding 6 kW, with no more than two seats and a maximum speed not exceeding 45 km/h.
Opel CEO Florian Huettl: “125 years of automobile production at Opel – we not only want to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors, but also show how Opel has always helped shape the constant change in the automotive industry and is now positioned for the future. This Saturday, the new Opel Frontera1 and the new Opel Grandland1 will have their public premieres here at the headquarters. With these cars, we will offer our customers one fully electric variant of every Opel model from this year onwards. All this reflects our anniversary motto 'Forever forward since 1899'.”
Lots to see: Public premieres and unusual pop-up exhibits
Opel will open its doors to the public at 10:30 a.m. during the official ceremony with invited guests in the Adam Opel House. Visitors will then be able to take a first look at the design exhibition in building N10. The journey through the decades of design extends from the 1965 Experimental GT and groundbreaking Opel studies from the 1980s, to innovative concepts from the more recent past such as the GT X Experimental, the sensational Manta GSe and the visionary Opel Experimental.
The pop-up exhibition in the building N50, bathed in a variety of colours, also opens at 11:30 a.m. Here, visitors can view exhibits from the first Opel – the Opel-Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann – to bestsellers and legends such as the Opel Kapitän, GT, Manta and Calibra, and even electric models such as the Opel Ampera. On plant tours beginning at 1:30 p.m., which start behind the Adam Opel House throughout the afternoon, Opel will proudly present the current Astra production at the Rüsselsheim site. In addition, the general public can experience the all-new Opel Frontera1 and Opel Grandland1, which will soon be available to order, up close for the first time.
From midday onwards, the Opel Corsa Rally Electric from the world's first electric one-make rally cup will be doing laps in the car park behind the Adam Opel House. A limited number of motorsport fans can sign up for a ride in the co-driver’s seat. Nearby, on another test track special set up by Opel, visitors aged 15 and over can experience for themselves what individual mobility feels like behind the wheel of an Opel Rocks Electric2.
The youngest visitors will find plenty of entertainment in the “Kids Corner”, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the large catering area, also behind the Adam Opel House. There are numerous other activities for young and old throughout the outdoor area.
As an additional attraction, an area reserved exclusively for Opel vintage cars opposite the Adam Opel House on Rugbyring will enrich the anniversary celebrations. Visitors and guests who arrive in a vintage Opel vehicle with an H license plate can park their car in the "An der Feuerwache" parking lot, turning the area into a spontaneous open-air pop-up exhibition of historic Opel cars.
Registration for the various activities takes place on site; advance reservations are not possible. The detailed program including additional information can be found here:
[1] Vehicle not available yet
[2] Applies to four-wheeled light motor vehicles with a rated continuous/utilised power not exceeding 6 kW, with no more than two seats and a maximum speed not exceeding 45 km/h.
On-track excitement: Corsa Rally Electric and Rocks Electric test drives
Opel Experimental