Opel Kadett 1.2S

The Kadett was Opel’s small car, the name first appearing in 1937. It was to re-appear under General Motor’s guidance some 25 years on when the American owned company set about developing a platform-sharing design philosophy – nothing new there then!

The Kadett A-Type was launched in 1962, a year before the structurally similar Vauxhall Viva was unveiled. The brief had been to develop an ‘anti-Beetle car’, as Opel desperately needed to quell the runaway success of VW’s masterpiece.

Conventional in design and layout, its ace card was a technically brilliant engine, which was light, powerful and bomb-proof. The Kadett went through various incarnations, the C-Type as offered here being launched in August 1973. Production continued until 1979 after which it went front-wheel drive, making this one of the last rear-drive Kadetts made.

From a deceased estate, this 1979 Coupe has been in one family ownership from new and has covered 83,000 miles. By the late ‘80s it had been designated the ‘spare car’ and so has seen little use since then. Recently MOTd, it will be driven from Edinburgh to the sale, complete with its original plastic covering to the front seats!