Opel’s first modern Blitz orderer: lost and found

Anyone familiar with Opel knows that the brand has been supplying delivery vans such as the Combo, Vivaro and Movano for years. In 1930, Opel started production of the first Blitz, a commercial vehicle that came in various flavors and sizes and played a variety of roles, including military ones. It was not until the 1950s that the Blitz slowly but surely developed into a truck or commercial vehicle also available in more compact dimensions. What seems? As early as the mid-1930s, Opel was rummaging behind the scenes with a more compact delivery van. That almost surprises the brand itself.

Opel proudly reports that Opel Classic has gathered eight photos of a very early delivery van that was considered lost at an auction. Opel seems to have known about its existence, but in the historical archive of the brand there was no visual evidence whatsoever. The photos show a fairly modern compact commercial vehicle for the 1930s, according to the so-called cab over engineconcept where the driver sits practically above the front axle and the engine. No long nose with a power source in it, as with the Blitz, but a short nose that slopes almost straight.

One of the photos has the project name of the car written in pencil: 1.5-23 COE. 1.5 is not entirely surprising for the cylinder capacity of the engine, in this case a 1,498 cc petrol engine from the current Olympia in the 1930s. The number 23 is probably an approximation of the wheelbase, although it is 2.4 meters. COE stands for the aforementioned cab Ofar engine.

Unfortunately, Opel does not have extensive technical information. The manufacturer does indicate that it has a brochure dating from 1937 in its archives, which suggests that the barrel contained both a 1-ton version and a 1.5-ton version. That 1.5-ton variant would get a six-cylinder petrol engine. Incidentally, the 1.5-23 COE was not purely intended as a panel van. Opel reports in its archive that it has found drawings of a chassis-cab variant, so without a rear superstructure, and a passenger bus with no fewer than 15 seats.

The commercial vehicle never went into production, according to Opel, because the demand for such models declined sharply in the second half of the 1930s. Let’s talk about what that had to do with.