Opel · 1989–1997

Opel Calibra

The Opel Calibra is a coupé, engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997. In the United Kingdom, where it remained on sale until 1999, it was marketed under the Vauxhall brand as the Vauxhall Calibra. It was also marketed as the Chevrolet Calibra in South America by Chevrolet, and the Holden Calibra in Australia and New Zealand by Holden. The Calibra was introduced to belatedly replace the Manta and to counter the Japanese sporting coupés of the period. It employs the running gear of the first generation Opel Vectra, which had been launched in October 1988. Calibra production was based in the Opel factory in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and the Valmet Automotive factory in Uusikaupunki, Finland, where production was consolidated in November 1995. The Calibra was initially only available with front-wheel drive, but from November 1990, four wheel drive became available.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Opel Manta

All Opel Calibra data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Design

The Opel Calibra was styled by GM's designer Wayne Cherry, and German designer Erhard Schnell. As a front-wheel drive three door hatchback coupé based on the Vectra A chassis, its ride and handling are not significantly better than that of the large family car from which it grew. Though it had a stiffer chassis as a whole (better torsional rigidity in NM/Deg). The 4WD turbo version of the car, which had independent rear suspension, featured the rear axle of the Omega A with some minor alterations to it. Irmscher suspension on the sporty limited editions (like DTM, Keke Rosberg, Cliff and Last Edition) also had sharper handling than base models. The Vectra A chassis and hatchback rear meant the Calibra was relatively practical compared to many other coupés of this size. It could seat four average-sized passengers (above 175–180 cm only compromised in the rear) and hold 300 liters of luggage. An innovative design feature was the slim 7 cm high headlamp, which was possible to create using the then new ellipsoid technology developed in conjunction with Hella. The headlamp design was key to the sport coupé's unique design and aerodynamics. When launched on 10 June 1989, the Calibra was the most aerodynamic production car in the world, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26. To reach the record Cd figure, the prototype Calibra had to be taken to the DNW wind tunnel in the Netherlands, where models could be tested above a rolling road simulating real life airflow. For the final design smaller alterations were made on the preliminary models: tapering the rear waistline and rear side windows by about 50 mm compared to earlier mockups gave about 0,035 Cd improvement, while another 0,035 improvement was reached by altering panel lines, transition points, integrated front spoiler in

Identification of Assembly Plant

The Calibra was built both in Rüsselsheim and at the Valmet Automotive plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland (over 90,000 units). The Porsche Boxster and the Saab 9-3 Cabriolet were also manufactured exclusively there. vehicle identification number: WOL: Adam Opel AG 0000: Free # 85: Model - Calibra V: Year of manufacture : 1997 Followed by 9: Production plant : Uusikaupunki: Finland Valmet Automotive 1: Production plant : Rüsselsheim Germany : Adam Opel AG When buying, experts attach great importance to the Finnish built cars have a better build quality. The Rüsselsheim plant was notorious for saving on preservatives. This is assumed why "1" models tend to rust easier, as the inside of the wheel arches were either not preserved enough or not preserved properly at all.

Commercial life

During its lifetime, the Calibra was much more popular in Europe, and outsold its nearest rival, the Ford Probe, which was considered to be underpowered, and very American for most European drivers. Sales of the Vauxhall-badged versions for the UK market commenced in June 1990, with hopes of selling of up to 15,000 examples per year. However, this sales target was never achieved. In July 1990, after General Motors bought a stake in Saab, it was reported the Calibra would be badged as a Saab in the United States, but these plans did not materialise. There were also plans for a cabriolet version to be produced, but these too failed to materialise. In the summer of 1994, the Calibra received a light facelift. Most noticeably, the manufacturer badge migrated from its place atop the leading edge of the bonnet into the front grille. Equipment and safety have been developed. Throughout the production run, several special models were launched. In the United Kingdom, this began with the 'Tickford' conversion in October 1991, however, only 26 Calibras were ever converted. This was followed by Vauxhall's own Special Edition range the SE1 in 1993, and ran through to the SE9 in 1997. These limited run editions had often unique aspects. For example, solar yellow paint on the SE2, or "Icelandic" blue on the SE6. Neither colours were found on any other Calibra in the UK. There was also a Keke Rosberg edition first only available in white, in celebration of the Calibra's success in the German Touring Car Championship at the time. In other parts of Europe, special models included the "DTM" edition, the "Cliff" edition, the "Colour" edition, "Last" edition and some special editions only available on certain domestic markets. Some special models sold in continental Europe included lowere

Equipment

Both standard and optional equipment were considerably developed throughout the production. At the beginning of the production the standard equipment of the Calibra 8 valve was a 20 W two-speaker stereo with cassette player, sports seats front with adjustable height on the driver's side, split folding rear seats, ABS, power steering, electric side mirror adjustment, analog clock on the middle console, makeup mirrors in the sunvisors, lockable glovebox, tinted windows, 14-inch alloy wheels and bumpers in body color. Features like air-conditioning, electric windows, fog light, board computer and sun roof were optional. By contrast better equipped facelifted models with larger engines offered air-conditioning, traction control, electric windows, a 30W 6 speaker stereo system (or 150 W Bose with 6 speaker plus additional subwoofer), CD-changer, central locking, immobiliser, leather upholstery with heated front seats, board computer, sunroof, two airbags with pre-tensioners, alarm system with motion sensors, 15 or 16 inch alloy wheels, etc. Exterior colors. The Opel Calibra was available in 28 colors throughout the production run, out of which only 9 were black, gray or white. Although only about a half dozen colors were offered simultaneously at certain time periods, meaning colors on the palette were changed quickly. Limited editions usually featured even less color options, than the standard. During the total production period the following colors were available indicated with code, original German and English names and type of lack: In the case of the Cliff Motorsport Edition the following color names were applied: Ocean = Magneticblau, Polar = Karibikblau, Barracuda = Keramikblau. Some late Keke Rosberg and DTM models were painted in colors from the standard palette. C

Engines

Power was initially from a 2.0 litre 8 valve 117 PS (86 kW; 115 bhp) C20NE, and a Cosworth designed 16 valve fuel injected 152 PS (112 kW; 150 bhp) C20XE four cylinder redtop petrol engine. For 1992, a turbocharged 2.0 litre 16 valve engine 207 PS (152 kW; 204 bhp) C20LET (turbocharged version of the C20XE) was added to the range. With four wheel drive, a six speed Getrag manual transmission (F28/6) and a claimed top speed of 245 km/h (152 mph). The Turbo model was also notable for the five stud wheel hubs and the extreme negative camber (inward lean) of its rear wheels. In 1993, a 170 PS (125 kW; 168 bhp) 2.5 litre V6 (C25XE or SE4) was introduced, available with both manual and automatic transmissions. The V6 was not as fast as the Turbo, but was rather more civilised, and proved to be more reliable than the complex four wheel drive model. 1995 saw the introduction of the X20XEV Ecotec engine, a new version of the classic C20XE 16 valve or "red top" engine. This marked a reduction in power from 152 PS (112 kW; 150 bhp) to 138 PS (101 kW; 136 bhp) for the 16 valve version, although the Turbo continued with the C20LET. 2.0 litre 8 valve SOHC I4 – 117 PS (86 kW; 115 bhp) (all years) (C20NE) 2.0 litre 16 valve DOHC I4 – 152 PS (112 kW; 150 bhp) (1990–1995) (C20XE or redtop) 2.0 litre 16 valve DOHC Ecotec I4 – 138 PS (101 kW; 136 bhp) (1995–1997) (X20XEV) 2.0 litre 16 valve DOHC turbocharged I4 – 207 PS (152 kW; 204 bhp) (1992–1997) (C20LET) 2.5 litre 24 valve DOHC Ecotec V6 – 170 PS (125 kW; 168 bhp) (1993–1997) (C25XE from 1994 to 1996; X25XE in 1997) The availability of engines is dependent on specific model variants, accessory levels and domestic markets. Technical data.

Transmissions

In addition to the Aisin four-speed automatic transmissions that were available on all models, except the C20LET (although some countries such as Australia did not sell the C20XE with the four-speed auto), there were five manual gearboxes produced by Getrag (all of which were five speed gearboxes, except the six speed F28/6). F16CR-5 – Fitted to early 2.0 litre SOHC NA (i.e. C20NE) F18CR-5 – Fitted to late 2.0 litre SOHC NA and late 2.0 litre DOHC NA (i.e. C20NE, X20XEV) F20 – Fitted to early 2.0 litre DOHC NA (i.e. C20XE) F25 – Fitted to 2.5 litre NA (i.e. C25XE, X25XE) F28/6 – Fitted to 2.0 litre Turbo (i.e. C20LET) AF20 – Fitted to late 2.0 litre SOHC NA and late 2.0 litre DOHC NA (i.e. C20NE, X20XEV) and 2.5 litre NA (i.e. C25XE, X25XE) The transfer gearbox in the AWD models — the same as used in the Vauxhall Cavalier AWD—was somewhat on the flimsy side, liable to suffer damage from conditions such as minor differences in tyre wear or tyre pressure between front and rear axles. Since front and rear tyres would naturally wear at different rates in normal driving, it was necessary to swap front with rear tyres every 15,000 miles (24,000 km) - recent user recommendations propose 3,000 miles (5,000 km). All four tyres had to be of the same make and model, and all four tyres had to be replaced at the same time — if one tyre was damaged or punctured, the three remaining good tyres also had to be replaced. In addition there were other maintenance requirements which were both exacting and unusual. Neglect of these points through ignorance or a misconceived attempt to save money was common, and was likely to lead to very expensive failures of the transfer gearbox.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Opel Calibra
Manufacturer: Opel
aka: Chevrolet Calibra (Latin America), Holden Calibra (AUS and NZ), Vauxhall Calibra (UK)
Production: 1989–1997, 239,118 built, 4x4: 3,385, V6: 12,015
Assembly: Germany: Rüsselsheim (Opel Automobile GmbH), Finland: Uusikaupunki (Valmet Automotive)
Designer: Erhard Schnell, Steve Lewis
Class: Sport compact
Body style: 2-door hatchback coupé
Platform: GM2900
Related: Opel Vectra, Saab 9-3, Saab 9-5, Saturn L-Series
Layout: FF layout/F4 layout
Engine: 2.0 L C20NE I4, 2.0 L C20XE I4, 2.0 L X20XEV I4, 2.0 L C20LET turbo I4, 2.5 L C25XE V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 6-speed Getrag manual, 4-speed Aisin-Warner automatic
Predecessor: Opel Manta
Successor: Opel Astra Coupé

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q466506CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_CalibraCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1372670273 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opel_Calibra_in_Germany.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Rutger van der Maar · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.