Opel does not build many cars like the Opel 8/40 PS: a Torpedo (car) / Torpedo-bodied 4-door "Tourenwagen" / 4-door 4/5-seat Sedan (automobile) / "Limousine" (saloon) / 4-door Sedan (automobile) / "Luxus-Limousine" (saloon) / Roadster with 1735 , built from 1927 to 1930 the vintage years, when coachbuilders still shaped most of what was sold.
Where it came from
The Opel 7/34 PS is a large but relatively inexpensive six-cylinder-powered car manufactured by Opel, introduced in October 1927. It was replaced in 1928 by the Opel 8/40 PS which was virtually identical except that the cylinder capacity had been increased. Significant changes to the chassis took place in February 1929, after which production of the model continued till September 1930. The 8/40 PS was replaced by the Opel 1.8 Liter in 1931, also a compact six-cylinder car.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 1735 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 3-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2880 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Opel's history is not in doubt: the Opel 1.8 Liter followed it; it was built at Rüsselsheim, Germany. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the British Motor Corporation Austin 16, the Hispano-Suiza Type H6 B (32 cv) coupé-chauffeur, the British Motor Corporation MG 14/40. Nearby in the Opel catalogue sit the Opel Sintra and the Opel K-180.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Opel 8/40 PS has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.
Opel1862