Opel does not build many cars like the Opel K-180: a 4-door sedan with 1797 cc Chevrolet 110 I4, built from 1974 to 1978 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Production ran to 23,009 cars.
How it came about
The Opel K 180 is an automobile which was manufactured by GM Argentina S.A. from 1974 to 1978. It was a variation of General Motors' T-car platform, also used in the Opel Kadett, Chevrolet Chevette and Isuzu Gemini. The K 180 differed from the Kadett in that it had an Argentinian-designed 1.8-litre engine, derived from the locally built Chevrolet 194 engine.
Fitted with a downdraught Bendix carburetor and with a 8.2:1 compression ratio, it develops a claimed 83 hp (62 kW) SAE at 5200 rpm. In 1976 the sporting Rally version was added to the lineup, featuring a rev counter, black bumpers, black striping, and other such accoutrements. The next year the more luxurious K 180 LX version was added. The K 180 was awarded Car of the Year in 1977 by APICA, an association of automotive journalists. It was replaced by the GMC Chevette in 1992, fourteen years after K 180 production had ended.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 1797 cc Chevrolet 110 I4. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Opel's history is not in doubt: the None came before it; the GMC Chevette followed it; it was built at San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Lamborghini Countach, the Jeep Cherokee, the Volkswagen Golf. Its Opel stablemates include the Opel Sintra and the Opel Combo.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Opel K-180 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.
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