In 1862 Adam Opel turned the automotive industry on it's side by transforming his craftsman's business into a factory which built revolutionary machines including the sewing machine and the bicycle.  And, that was how Opel came to be... they built state-of-the-art machines.  1899,  The year that started it all.  Adam Opel signed a contract with a farmer, (Friedrich Lutzmann) from Dessau, Germany and they started their automotive manufacturing factory in Anhalt, Germany.  The Opel brothers (Adam's sons) worked two years in partnership with Lutzmann building up the production of automobiles in Rüsselsheim. Together they produced Their first model, the OPEL patent engine car system called the "Lutzmann." 1901,  Adam Opel separates from Lutzmann and signed a new contract with a Frenchman, Alexandre Darracq. Together, in 1902 they began producing French Darracq models under license and selling them under the brand name "Opel-Darracq." They were Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis and powered by a 2-cylinder engine.   The first Opel motorcycle was also built. September of 1965, Opel revealed the "Experimental GT." Originally it was not a to be a production vehicle, but was designed primarily for research. Soon, however, a brochure was made available to the public to promote the GT. It was sporty and affordable . Opel also wanted the car to be aerodynamic, so the GT-designers used a wind channel at the University of Stuttgart to test the car's design. The result was a car with classic styling and clean curves. The frame and spring rear axle along with the stabilization bar originated from the Opel Kadett B-Series as well as the double-armed front axle with leaf spring. Late in the summer of 1968,  Opel GT was launched with two versions available, the GT 1100 producing 60 HP and cost 10,767 DM and the GT 1900 with 90 HP went for about 1,100 DM more. In 1969 a targa style model, the 'Aero-GT' was shown at the Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany, but it was never put into production. Production of the GT ended in August 1973 with a total production of 103,463 cars (70,222 of which were sold in the United States).