As you know, Porsche Engineering – the German brand's department dedicated to the research and development of engineering solutions for the automotive industry (and beyond…) – has always been one of the brand's strong points throughout its history. In fact, Porsche's history as an engineering services company goes back much further than its history as a car manufacturer.
In 1995, talks began between Porsche and Opel for the development of a minivan.
Before the launch of the Porsche 356, which was the first model to bear the brand name, Porsche had existed for years. Did you know that the Porsche 356 owes its name to the fact that it was the brand's project No. 356? In other words, before the Porsche 356, 355 projects had already been developed – not necessarily automobiles.
If we go back to the 90's, Porsche as a car manufacturer was almost reduced to insignificance (a story worth telling “tim-tim-tim-tim-tim” here at Razão Automóvel, but not today…). Until the mid-1990s, Porsche was in the throes of a decade of absolute delusion in terms of sales. In the late 70s and 80s, owning a Porsche 911 was a sign of success, sophistication and good taste. All yuppies had one.
top engineering
But like any hangover, this hangover was painful. And it nearly bankrupted Porsche. Porsche's 'Gurosans' came from its engineering department, which continued to offer impressive know-how, stemming from its constant commitment to motorsport and hiring the most talented engineers.Throughout history, many brands have turned to Porsche to develop engineering solutions. Volkswagen is one of those historic customers, but there is more. We can also mention SEAT (pre-Volkswagen) and even Mercedes-Benz (thanks to the E500).
Among these customers, there is one that has escaped virtually unnoticed over the years – even on the Internet, information is scarce. But as we are professionals digging up stories… As you may have guessed, we are talking about Opel.
A minivan with Porsche DNA
In 1995, talks began between Porsche and Opel for the development of a minivan. We were at the height of the minivan segment. Everyone wanted one – rumors even circulated that the Autoeuropa factory was even going to produce a version of the Volkswagen Sharan with the Audi logo (I've looked for images of these rumors but, like me, the Internet was still a child).
Opel needed a compact MPV that would offer seven seats and would not be too expensive to produce – both engines and components had to be reused from other models. A specification that is simple to understand but (very) difficult to fulfill. It was then that Opel came knocking on Porsche Engineering's door. “My dears, we need a compact, cheap, practical, comfortable MPV that behaves with dignity on the road. Are you able to do this?”.
Porsche was not only able to do all of this, it also managed to “hide” the third row of seats under the passenger compartment – if memory serves, the Opel Zafira was the first compact MPV to resort to this solution. Both the chassis and the suspension scheme of the Zafira were also signed by Porsche. The parts, these were practically all from the Opel Astra. Production started in 1998.
The Opel Zafira had such a good foundation that the German brand decided to launch a sporty version – yes, you can have a laugh. It was called Opel Zafira OPC and used a 2.0 liter turbo engine with 192 hp. It was the fastest MPV on the market, reaching 220 km/h and taking just 8.2 seconds from 0-100 km/h. Respect!
The superiority of the Zafira was such that when it was launched, it left all the competition “seeing ships”. The Renault Scénic, contemporary of this generation of the Zafira, looked like a ferry compared to the German model. And it's worth remembering that Renault was the founder of the MPV segment, so it can be said that the French brand was beaten at its own game… by Porsche!
Around that time, Opel also launched another MPV – this one without Porsche's help. It was called Opel Sintra and honestly I only remember it because it bore the name of a beautiful Portuguese city. If you want to see a picture of the “thing” click here – I don't put it here directly because I don't want to subject anyone to that suffering without prior consent. #clickbait ?