Opel Manta makes a strong comeback – Preview

When we talk about the green Opel Manta, many people still remember the bright green version of the New Kids. However, Opel itself is also working on a ‘green’ Manta, which you can also see as a sort of successor to the Insignia.

Highlights

• Based on the experimental concept
• Coming in 2025
• Successor to the indirect badge

The return of the Opel Manta! No, not in the beautiful ‘restomod’ shape that Opel showed in 2021. That was the Manta A, which, in addition to being an electric car, also served to show Opel’s inspiration for the ‘Vizor front’. This combination of headlights and grille has since been found on all new models of the brand, which therefore look more confident than Opels of the time. Opel will soon take the next step with the production of the all-new Manta. The car you see here is the result of a combination of multiple clues. First of all, it is the fact that Opel announced in 2021 that the Manta will return. Then this promise was accompanied by a photo of a high crossover-like car with a sharply sloping roofline and a large tailgate. The second indicator is the rumor from 2022 that Opel and DS will produce a new electric model in Italy. The third, most obvious hint is the Opel concept car that shined during the recent IAA show in Munich. Although the car officially serves as a design study, its shape and size fit seamlessly into the first two clues.

Vizor 2.0

It was very easy for our artist and he simply created a demo interpretation ready for production. This means that there is a large vehicle that looks a bit like a crossover, but it is definitely not a traditional SUV. The shape is comparable to that of the Citroën C5-X, although the Opel is sharper and more tightly drawn. Consciously, of course: Opel believes in a design philosophy it calls “detoxification”: removing toxins. Free of unnecessary frills and above all nice, tidy and quiet, but still impressive, as this would be a big Opel. A spiritual successor to the Insignia, but with the towering stance that the market seems to be begging for these days. The Opel Vizor front is back, but in a new shape. Opel also sees the concept as a preview of the next design evolution and complements this at the front with what it calls the “4D Vizor”, a completely transparent unit containing the brand’s logo and lighting. What remains of this in production remains to be seen.

Opel Manta (Photo: Larsson)

Opel Manta becomes purely electric

It seems clear that the Opel Manta will be fully electric. Opel itself has already called the car the ‘Opel Manta-e’ in 2021. Current Opel electric cars have replaced the ‘-e’ by adding ‘Electric’, so we’re now putting our money on the ‘Opel Manta Electric’ name. Opel wants to offer purely electric cars in Europe from 2028 and this should be the flagship. The Manta Electric is based on the STLA Medium platform used, among other things, for the new Peugeot e-3008. The largest 98 kWh battery pack in that car already provides a driving range of around 700 kilometres, so the perhaps lower and sleeker Opel will no doubt do impressively well in this area. It is particularly interesting to what extent Opel can exploit the advantages of a pure electric car with this platform, which is also used for cars with combustion engines, including the 3008. While the new Peugeot, like its future sister Opel Grandland, is more of an SUV Traditionally, we hope the Manta will surprise a car with a long wheelbase and a particularly spacious and comfortable interior. We will soon learn if this is indeed the approach: the electric Opel Manta is supposed to appear sometime around the middle of this decade.