Currently reading: First drive: Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD review

Opel’s electric restomod of an original Manta coupe is a fun one-off, but it’s also the touch paper for a battery-powered Manta return

Opel, and by extension Vauxhall, wants to put the Manta name back into the minds of the car-buying public.

An all-new car, battery powered and likely to have SUV-esque styling, is due to arrive in 2025 wearing the Manta name. In the meantime, Opel has dipped into its back catalogue and electrified an original Manta coupé to remind us of a time when the Opel lightning bolt and Vauxhall griffin were applied to cars other than humble family hatchbacks and SUVs.

Opel has preserved the original coupé’s delicate, simple lines for its vivified Manta but has, of course, entirely binned this 1974 car’s rather wheezy, 75bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine in favour of a custom-made 145bhp electric motor. Unusually, the front-mounted motor drives the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox and a longer-than-standard propshaft.

Meanwhile, the lithium ion battery, with a mere 31kWh of usable capacity, is sited in the boot, albeit mounted as far forward as possible to help balance the weight distribution. What’s left of the boot space is said by Opel still to be sufficient “for a fortnight’s holiday in Italy for four”. The company quotes a single-charge range of 124 miles, which, after a day of driving around the countryside outside Frankfurt, feels entirely plausible.

97 Opel manta electromod drive 2021 tracking rear

All up, the Manta GSe weighs a relatively trim 1137kg. That’s about 177kg heavier than the original petrol car but is still surely one of the lightest electric cars that’s ever been built. To cope with the extra weight, though, the front brakes have been upgraded and the rear drums have been replaced with new discs.

Inside, the original dashboard and dials have been replaced by the twin-screen instrument panel from the current Mokka and there’s a set of gorgeous Recaro seats, which have been pinched from an unloved Adam Grand Slam hatchback that someone found lying around.

The body colour, a lurid shade of highlighter-marker yellow, is actually Opel’s new corporate colour. The quad-headlight fascia of the original Manta has been replaced by a version of the brand’s new ‘Visor’ front-end styling (itself inspired by the styling of the original Manta). Ultra-slim LED highlights are separated by a black-panel screen that’s able to shine a 2D Opel ‘blitz’ logo, or whatever slogan has been programmed into it. Opel’s people responded with polite smiles when asked if it can be set up to read ‘Get out of my way’ in mirror writing...

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Still, you’re unlikely to need such a message with this car. Its relatively languid 8.9sec 0-62mph time is rapid by the standards of the original Manta, but slow by those of modern electric cars. The big surprise, though, is that the Manta GSe is actually quite well sorted.

89 Opel manta electromod drive 2021 nb driving

I’d been expecting a sort of lashed-together show pony, but the unassisted steering is good – slightly vague around the straight-ahead but with lots of feel when you get lock on – and aside from a sensation that the brakes could do with more oomph, the electric Manta drives largely smoothly and with good manners. True, there’s lots of wind noise and the body shakes and rattles over sharp bumps (there’s no extra bracing or strengthening panels), but even at a 60mph cruise, it feels fine.

The four-speed manual is odd, though. It’s almost like a pre-selector gearbox in that you select a gear, let the clutch out and nothing actually happens until you hit the accelerator. Changing gear does have an effect on power delivery, and it’s certainly quieter when you’re cruising in fourth, but ultimately you can leave it in third most of the time and treat it like a single-speed automatic. Still, it’s more engagingly tactile than the leave-it-in-D, single-speed drive commonly used in electric cars.

For now, this is all a bit of fun but Opel is quietly having background discussions with suppliers about making a very limited run of electrified Manta GSe models, so fervent has been the response to this show car.

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96 Opel manta electromod drive 2021 on road nose

Would that whet the public appetite for the all-new 2025 Manta that much more? Or would it make us all disappointed that the new Manta won’t be a gorgeous, slim-pillared ’70s throwback coupé like this? Either way, we hope it happens.

Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD technical specifications

Price Not for sale Motor front-mounted synchronous Power 145bhp at 4,290-7,200rpm  Torque 188lb ft at 400-3,800rpm Transmission four-speed manual Battery 31kWh air cooled, lithium-ion Kerb weight 1,137kg (estimated) 0-62mph 8.9secs (estimated) Top speed 93mph (limited) Efficiency 4.0-miles/kWh Range 124-miles (estimated) Rivals Effectively none. Maybe someone’s working on a Ford Capri with a battery conversion?

Neil Briscoe

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Bob Cat Brian 22 November 2021

I quite like this, but somehow while the Manta is a great looking car and the original Pony and Grandeur are dull boxes, Hyundai's EV retro/resto mods are FAR cooler. 

artill 22 November 2021

I think we need to separate the 2 things here. One, this is a publicity stunt, and the old Manta looks good. Of course they could have dropped a modern ICE into it, and it would still have looked good, but for publicity they have gone EV.

Secondly, its the fact they are preparing us for an Electric Manta in the future. This is no less a bad idea than Ford re-using the Puma and Mustang names for SUVs. If the world wants an SUV, build them, but stop using names of coupes. or better still build a few coupes, and maybe people will buy them. 

stokiesuzuki78 22 November 2021

Can't Stellantis allow Vauxhall to bring back the Calibra instead. It might mean more to those younger than a certain age!