12.09.2022A piece of DTM history that ended with the championship title in the manufacturers' classification for Opel in 1996 and was only to be continued in 2000

The Opel Calibra is one of the Opel models that can be described as a cult today without any doubt. When the Calibra came onto the market in autumn 1989, many saw it as the long-awaited successor to the legendary Opel Manta. Insiders even affectionately call the Calibra “Manta C”. Today we present the Calibra from the Werk83 label, which was used in the 1995 season in the DTM/ITC, driven by Manuel Reuter. In addition to the Calibra by JJ Lehto, with the advertising of the Cliff shower gel producer, which we presented in our blog a few days ago, Werk83 has also modeled the white/yellow Calibra by Manuel Reuter. The model in scale 1:18 has opening doors and steerable front wheels. The interior of the DTM racing car from 1995 has been reproduced in the usual quality and detail by Werk83. In addition to the two Calibra models, the label Werk83 has also added many other DTM/ITC vehicles from the 1990s to its range. So DTM fans can create space in the showcases to secure a place for the vehicles of the DTM from the 90s from Werk83 and thus be able to remember a special era of German motorsport.

After Opel withdrew the Omega from the DTM in 1992 because it no longer complied with the new regulations, 1993 was to be the first year in which the Calibra was to be used in the DTM. However, in 1993 there was only one test run in a race at the Hockenheimring. In 1994, Opel Team Joest started the DTM season with a total of three vehicles. At the end of the season, however, there were only a few minor successes. Overall, Opel fell far short of its expectations. In 1995, Opel started the season with two teams. Team Rosberg started with two Calibras, piloted by Klaus Ludwig and team boss Keke Rosberg himself. Four vehicles started in Joest's second team. At the wheel were Manuel Reuter and JJ Lehto, Frenchman Yannick Dalmas and Portuguese Ni Amorim. Before Manuel Reuter secured the championship title a year later in 1996, it was his performance in the 1995 season that ensured that Opel continued to pursue the DTM/ITC project. 1996 was the year of the Calibra and the year of Opel. Even more Calibra started. The new team Zakspeed used Klaus Ludwig and Uwe Alzen. Hans-Joachim Stuck and JJ Lehto started for Team Rosberg. Manuel Reuter, Yannick Dalmas and the two junior drivers Alexander Wurz and Oliver Gavin started for Joest. In the end, Manuel Reuter won the championship and Opel won the manufacturers' championship.

It was Steffi Graf, then 20 years old, who unveiled the Calibra at the IAA in 1989, heralding the beginning of a new era at Opel. An era that some people are rather skeptical about today. Not because of the Calibras – all Opel fans agree that it has a cult following – but because of the spirit that was emerging at Opel at the time. Cheaper materials were used, some of which came at the expense of reliability and damaged the brand's reputation in the short term. Today Opel's reputation has been more than repaired and fans of the Calibra are waiting for a contemporary successor.

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Opel Calibra V6 4x4 #9 DTM / ITC 1995 Manuel Reuter 1:18 Werk83

62,96 €