The Opala was a very important machine within the GM Group, impacting the tendencies of several models of the company's subsidiaries around the world. Credits: Simeon
Chevrolet

Opala: American by Heart, Brazilian Excellence

The game-changing car for General Motors in South America, the Opala is a symbol of the creativity and ingenuity of a company seeking to attract customers with a product tailored to their needs. Learn more about the history of this incredible car and its dozens of variations that, for more than two decades, were the company's flagship in the Latin America market.

Avatar photoLorenzo Baer

The Roots of the Opala

Established in Brazil on January 26, 1925, General Motors’ Brazilian subsidiary – Companhia Geral de Motores do Brasil S.A., later General Motors of Brazil (GMB) – restricted itself for decades to the assembly and manufacture of pickup trucks and trucks. However, the expansion of the Brazilian automotive industry during the 1950s and 1960s changed the company’s mind, with GM slowly exploring the utility vehicle market in Brazil.

In order to gauge the needs and tastes of the Brazilian market before doing something of its own, GMB opted initially to import vehicles. In this first batch of foreign designs, the most important vehicles were the Impala, produced by the American parent company Chevrolet, and the Kadett, Olympia, and Rekord models, from GM’s German subsidiary Opel.

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Lorenzo Baer
Passionate about motorsport from the 60s and 70s, Lorenzo has a special affection for the sub-Formula 1 categories, such as F2, F3 and F. Junior, which are, at the same time, the 'ugly ducklings' of these decades, but are also the categories that better represent the essence of motorsport during this period. He holds a deep appreciation for drivers like Clark or Rindt, who dominated the premier category of motorsport, returning sporadically to their origins in F2, to compete and, simultaneously, teach new generations of what single-seater racing was all about. Lorenzo believes this was a time of innocence in motorsport, without a doubt, where the most important thing was to race.
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