Charles;
They were "rare" I have only seen one, it was here in GA, but, a long time ago. It was a kinda "one-off" like the Blue Max, those that ordered/bought one really didn't know what they had. With the Manta being as popular as a GT, not a lot of people paid attention to the various Manta models as they came down the road.

 

Hello Charles,

here is an Pic from one,but only he have no Vinylroof.
In Europe is it an Berlinetta,this Series was only in 4 Colours to buy,
Taragonared,silver,brownmetallic,and blue and later monzablue like the Blue MAx.
This Series has all Interiorparts in Colour and a coloured Vinylroof.

Here is an Pic from an silver Berlinetta,an the first Owner buyed it without Vinyl.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/opel-events/21615-28-int-manta-meeting-germany.html

Greetings Michael

 

I don't recall them being all that rare in '73. I passed on at least one when
I picked my Maroon/maroon Luxus off of the dealers lot in Cedar Falls, Ia.
The silver body/body cord interior was one year only, iirc.
Btw. The dealer showroom brochures are not a great source of info on what was actually shipped to dealers. They were printed months before cars were actually built usually.

 

Rarest Manta

Charles the rarest Mantas are the ones you have or have owned, after all the talk about Mantas-I want you to know you have them, so no worries. Nobody can come close
You are now the "Manta Master"

:haha::haha::haha::haha:

 

The 1973 sales brochure doesn't mention it and now that I can't find my 1973 Dealer Sales Book I can't check it out there.

Huh? I went and checked my '73 sales brochure after the last post, and there is a Silver with grey cord/ dark grey vinyl roof Luxus, ON THE COVER!
And I don't see that it mentions the other two color combos either. Only
pictures of all three.
I'll be happy to scan the front cover and post it if you want.

 

I guess what I meant was the brochure where it mentions the Luxus, and shows pictures of interiors shows burgundy and blue. Never actually mentions the gray. I will relook at my brochure.. Didn't look at the one on the cover. But even then, you're looking through a windshield.

The reason I think its rare.. is we know the Blue Max is fairly rare.. and I have seen a number of them. Gray interior 73' Mantas few have seen.. but again maybe I was just not noticing them. Now that I am looking for them I will find them all over.

Like buying a new car and then seeing it all over the place even though before you didn't see any in the area.

 

I can't say how many silver/grey int. 1973 were sold but I speculate fewer
have survived because the older used ones I've seen tend to have much more soiled looking interiors and generally look shabbier then their darker color, corded counterparts with the same amount of usage. Just a hunch.

Also, the silver Luxus on the cover of the 1973 brochure clearly shows it's
silver-grey corded interior.

 

Also, Iirc the BlueMax was more or less sales promoter like the Maverick
Grabber or Pinto Pony and MPG, also of the same time period. An attention getter to liven up sales during the oil embargo of the early '70's.
Other makes followed suit to liven up sales. Dodge dealers did the "White Hat Special" models.... and there were more.

 

Good News: Your ship is in! Bad News: It's a little rusty!

Charles,

I've located one of those '73 Silver Manta Luxi that you've been raving about. It's for sale on eBay. It needs a little work though.

OPEL MANTA LUXUS 1973:eBay Motors (item 200347696667 end time Aug-28-09 09:20:38 PDT)
Jonzo:sigh:

 

Have to check it out.. but already have four and no room. Right now eBay is blocked on work computer. So I can't right now. I am really curious what the numbers built are on it and the other color combinations.

 

I saw a couple of Manta with grey fabric interior in my live, but never before a sep 70 made one with all the US features, i.e. side markers, etc...

 

I own one

My 73 Manta Luxus was originally this color combo.. silver ext with all gray interior. Not anymore!! Now it's kind of a Rallye clone, yellow/black. The only thing that wasn't gray was the console. (4 speed car with early style console)

 

Here's a California silver 1973 Luxus that sold on eBay for $1800 recently. The first time through it was bid to around $1100 and didn't meet reserve. Looks like it has been repainted, the gray cloth replaced with gray vinyl, and something done with the vinyl top. Still looks like a fairly nice car.

Opel:eBay Motors (item 260437892289 end time Jun-30-09 14:31:24 PDT)

Here are a few pics from the listing.
-Jeff W.

 

I still think about equal numbers of 1973 Luxus in the various
colors were sold based on my recollection.
I've seen plenty of the Silver ones over the years.

 

True I have seen a lot of Silver Mantas Luxus' as well.. most with Red Interiors..

That said... how many have we all seen since say.. 1990.. ?

 

I'm thinking these are like the Blue Max.. Rare until you actually look for one.

So far in the level of rarity I HAVE looked for:

1968 GT (seen 2 POSSIBLE candidates) Data varies.. anywhere from about 50 to 1200 made..

1971 Four Door Opel Kadett (I own one, know of one other that runs, and one that is desitined for the junkyard soon.. and seen one at OU 10 years ago).. I do have data on them.. only 630 or so imported.. That said.. barring me and a few others no one cares about them but they are REALLY Rare.

:haha:

1970 Manta ( Know of 2 documented 9/70 or earlier Mantas)

1973 Blue Max ( Seen or know about a dozen.. as per Rainer there were 1500 made)

The 1973 Silver/Gray Luxus (Seen 2.. now know of 4 more.. maybe not as rare as first thought.. but no known production numbers yet.. but obviously rare to some extent - Rainer ??)

4 Door Ascona (I THINK They were available 71-74... but haven't actually checked.. just know they are not common.. Seen about a dozen.. and swear one was a 74 model)

1964 Kadett A (seen 4 or 5 and have a few members here with them.. may not have been rare in 1964.. but I have seen more 57-59 Rekords than Kadett A)

The 57-59 Olympia/Rekord.. see a few of them over the years.. only 2 or 3 that ran.. again not rare in the 50s.. but today they are very uncommon.

Then there are the Commodores and other Gray Marketed cars..

They don't count.. as they were never imported.. but my best guess.

Rekord/Commodore A (A dozen.. at least in the US)

Rekord/Commodore B (3 I know of.. only 1 Commodore B...)

Diplomat (Seen 1, heard of another)

Monzas/Senators ( Know of 3-4)

Manta B (Know of 2 maybe 3)

Kaddet E (Seen 1 about 20 years ago... maybe others)

Calibra ( Heard of 2 in the Norfolk area and if ANYONE knows where one is let me know before Rob gets his greedy paws on it

Other Newer Opels (they pop up from time to time.. even heard a Tigra was in the US.. never able to track it down)

 

The 1973 Silver/Gray Luxus (Seen 2.. now know of 4 more.. maybe not as rare as first thought.. but no known production numbers yet.. but obviously rare to some extent - Rainer ??)

I have never seen one of these cars. When I worked for C & R as a teenager I stripped 2-4 Mantas per week. Probably 20-25% of them were Luxus', and of those about 75% were blue on blue. Keep in mind this was in New England and I'm sure the predominant color and model choices varied region to region. I've only seen a handful of silver Luxus' up here, and all those had the burgundy interiors.

4 Door Ascona (I THINK They were available 71-74... but haven't actually checked.. just know they are not common.. Seen about a dozen.. and swear one was a 74 model)

I have two of these in my possession at this time. Had a third one, Duane has that car now and races it. None were imported after 1973...they would have had to federalize the car w/big bumpers, which costs money. So they were imported from 1971-1973 in the US, but I think they still had the 4-doors until 1975 in Europe. A lot of these have popped up in the last 10 years or so for some reason, probably because the cars tended to appeal to older drivers and haven't been abused as badly.

Bob

 

Charles;
I don't know if this adds or detracts, but, as for the two blue Luxus, and the maroon Luxus, all I have seen are the way it's described in your brochure, but, for the silver/gray cars, most I have seen were without the vinyl top, but, most all had maroon interior. I have seen maybe one or two with triple silver/gray.

 

So your saying you have seen a burgundy vinyl top?

Have you seen a Strato Blue Luxus that wasn't a Blue Max? Or all the ones you seen either WERE Blue Max models or Regency Blue?

 

I have seen the dk blue with and without a dk blue top. The strato blue, I have never seen one WITHOUT a dk blue vinyl top, always with a top. The maroon I have seen with and without a maroon top. The gray/silver, I have mostly seen without a vinyl, but, have seen them mostly with a maroon interior. VERY few with the gray interior, and only one or two "triple" grey

 

Hello Gene and Charles,

here in Europe the Berlinetta(Luxus in US),had a Factory Vinylroof,
In Blue,Burgundy,Silver,and Maroon.
But the most Cars they wasn´t parked in Garage the colour from the Vinyl go´s black,the orig Roof was black Material and this was colored,in the Years the Colour go´s down from the Sun and carwashing.
My Dad has driven an maroon Luxux in the nintees,as he buyed the Car,the Roof was black/grey from the Dirt of the Years,we have washed and cleaned it one Day long,and it was maroon Colour back under the Dirt.but some little parts where black,the Colour from the Vinyl was at this little Parts scratched down.
I think this is now the Problem to find some Car´s,and here is not so much Heat and Sun as in the US..

Greets Michael

 

'73 Burgundy Vinyl Top Luxus

Here are some pics of my '73 Manta Luxus with only 37,000 original miles, which has the original deep burgundy paint, interior, and burgundy vinyl top. The wheels/tires on it when I bought it aren't original, but the originals came with car and will replace the others soon to bring back the all-factory appearance.
-Jeff W.

 

Here are some pics of my '73 Manta Luxus with only 37,000 original miles, which has the original deep burgundy paint, interior, and burgundy vinyl top. The wheels/tires on it when I bought it aren't original, but the originals came with car and will replace the others soon to bring back the all-factory appearance.
-Jeff W.

Nice!!!
It's an exact copy of my first Manta, but for mine having a 4spd and
the Australian AMC air conditioning installed by a local radiator company shortly after taking delivery.

 

VERY NICE !! Thanks for the Pictures..

I think I have seen the Burgundy top now that I think of it.. Not one as nice as yours though.. Looks just like the Dark Blue one.. it looks really dark and probably looks black dirty.

 

Charles. I believe you dealer book is accurate in everything it says.
And I recall only seeing Silver body/ grey interior and either with or without
black vinyl Luxus in 1973 when shopping for my Luxus.

The Silver with Burgundy interior combo didn't appear until the 1974 model year. If you have pics or know of a 1973 silver with burgundy interior
Luxus, I suspect it had a color change under the failed material silent recall
on the Luxus in mid 1973. Someone made a complete color change to burgundy from grey in other words.

Or it's possible the factory decided to start building a few silver/burgundy Luxus to run out the production year and use up parts. Not unheard of back then.

 

I know I have seen a number of silver/burgundy 73 mantas.. and of course 74. Considering how rare the silver/gray was to people that "in the day" stripped a ton of the cars.. I have to say its more common than silver/gray.. that of course is only a guess and result could vary depending on your location.

I think it maybe somewhere in between.. its possible that the gray may have deteriorated faster than even the blue or burgundy cloth interiors.. so the factory switched to burgundy for silver Luxus models and stopped producing the gray interior cars all together.

Where is Rainer.. ? HE should have the production numbers so we can stop guessing

 

Thanks I have it.. was looking for him to post here MIght want to remove it so spammers dont get it..

 

I tend to believe the factory sales literature as being correct in most cases. If there is a bonifide (from the factory) silver/burgundy '73 Manta Luxus then the confirmation would be on the I.D. plate with the correct paint and interior codes.

Otherwise, IMO, the only silver/burgundy Luxi are from the '74 model year or retrofitted '73's due to the corduroy recall.

I think that is the only reliable way to verify short of getting a hold of the factory records. It's simply too easy (and inexpensive) for us to swap parts between our cars, so I think the written record is the most authoritative.

Jonzo

 

The 1973 factory sales book doesn't even mention the Blue Max.. at all.. doesnt even mention a blue luxus being available in Strato Blue and we know allthe Blue Maxes were.

Outside of the 73' Luxus documention.. The differences in the 68 GT and 70 were never documented in their respective dealer literature for the most part. On top of that I can't count numerous other "oddities" and changes and just wrong information I have come across in dealer information. Be it brochures or parts books. I personally have VERY little faith in the "offical" dealer information being 100% accurate.

Heck Pontiac wasn't not 100% accurate on the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO changes and differences. I have had to order a replacement ashtray 3 times.. and on the second time they tried to tell me they didn't exist or were just an "optional accessory". Wasn't until I took him to my car and two other 06 GTOs at the dealership, and showed them in 2006 the ashtray was standard.. not optiona, did they believe me. It was one of the 2006 specific changes..

So to put trust in 70s that the US Sales dept was talking in perfect sync with the Opel sales dept and they were talking in perfect sync with the manufacturing dept. is not something I can do.

Also to "covert" a gray interior to burgandy would require new headliner (Which to properly do requires removing the windshields, etc.. ), center console, sun visors, grab handles, door panels, etc.. etc.. etc.. etc.. I am 100% positive no dealer would have changed all that, when the only thing they needed to definately change was the back seat, and possibly at worst the front seats. I doubt any dealer did that.