Opel without Erhard Schnell would be an Opel with a lot less tastefully drawn historic cars. In roughly forty years the German designed success numbers such as the Opel GT, the Manta and the first Corsa. Schnell finally put down his pencil at the age of 92.
Erhard Schnell started his career as a designer at Opel in the early 1950s. He was at the cradle of Opel’s Styling Studio in Rüsselsheim and in 1965 he was responsible for the design of the iconic Experimental GT. He then added various cars to his portfolio that became a huge success, such as the first Manta, Ascona B and Kadett D.
Schnell remained with Opel until 1992 and worked his way up to the last minute in the design of cars like the Corsa A, the first Vectra and the Calibra. Even after his retirement, Schnell remained busy. Two years ago he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the production model of the GT.
Erhard Schnell died last weekend at the age of 92 and we can only say one thing: thanks!