Monza / Senator A
The former top-of-the-line models from Rüsselsheim—the Opel Senator A and the Opel Monza—still impress today with performance on par with mid-range cars, at least as long as these powerhouses aren’t behind on maintenance. These rear-wheel-drive cars came factory-equipped with engines producing up to 180 PS / 132 kW—enough to keep up with traffic in the passing lane even in the age of powerhouse TDi engines. But above all, they’re much more fun to drive than a modern compact car of the same weight equipped with eSP and lane-keeping assist... It’s not uncommon for Senators and Monzas to be fitted with the more modern 24V engine (C30SE or C40SE), but unmodified originals are now once again highly sought after. The chrome model (up to 11/’82) is particularly popular, especially with the green velour interior. In the ’90s, these cars almost always ended up straight at the scrapyard, but now they’re a sought-after rarity! The same goes for the very rarely installed Getrag 265 5-speed transmissions, which are very popular in high-performance engine setups.
