Chevrolet Opala

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Chevrolet Opala
1978 Chevrolet Opala DeLuxe sedan
Overview
Manufacturer	Chevrolet (General Motors do Brasil)
Also called	Chevrolet Comodoro [1] Chevrolet Opala Comodoro [2] Chevrolet Diplomata [3]
Production	1968–1992
Model years	1969–1992
Assembly	Brazil: São Caetano do Sul
Body and chassis
Class	Mid-size car (E)
Body style	4-door sedan 2-door coupé 3-door station wagon
Layout	FR layout
Related	Opel Rekord C
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,667 mm (105.0 in)
Length	4,575–4,847 mm (180.1–190.8 in)
Width	1,758–1,766 mm (69.2–69.5 in)
Height	1,384 mm (54.5 in)[4]
Chronology
Successor	Chevrolet Omega

The Chevrolet Opala is a Brazilian mid-size car sold under the Chevrolet brand in South America from 1969 to 1992, by General Motors do Brasil. It was derived from the German Opel Rekord Series C and Opel Commodore Series A, but used local design styling^[5] and engines derived from North American designs. GM manufactured about one million units including the Opala sedan, Opala Coupé, and the station wagon variant, the Opala Caravan. It was replaced by the Chevrolet Omega in 1992, also an Opel-derived project. It was the first passenger car built by GM in Brazil by the General Motors do Brasil division. A luxury version of the Opala, the Chevrolet Comodoro, was introduced in 1975. This became the intermediate level in 1980, when the even pricier Chevrolet Diplomata was added.

Opalas were used by the Brazilian Federal Police for many years. The military government issued Opalas to its agents through the 1970s. Its reliability and easy maintenance made the Opala the choice of many taxi drivers and was also popular on racetracks.^[6]

The Opala "Coupé" continued as a pillarless hardtop well into the late 1980s, long after U.S. automakers dropped the body style.

The Opala's long-lived 250-cubic-inch (4.1 L) engine was also used in its replacement, the Chevrolet Omega (which featured electronic fuel injection in the GLS and CD trims) from 1995 to 1998. Some of the Opala's components and chassis were used in other Brazilian cars such as the Santa Matilde, Puma GTB, and the Fera XK (a Jaguar XK replica).