Now With More Power

For 1971, Conrero was able to present a much more developed version of the GT. The engine now put out 183 horsepower at 7000 rpm for the Targa Florio; in shorter contests, spinning to 7200 rpm unleashed 190 horsepower.

Artioli and Conrero had three GTs ready for the 1971 Targa Florio, two gold and one silver. The trio formed a small train during practice, a strategy that helped them get their best possible times.

During Opel driver Pino Pica’s Friday run, however, a spinning Lancia forced him to crash into one of three obstacles: a rock wall, a ravine or the Lancia. He chose the latter, damaging the GT’s bodywork and requiring impromptu repairs. The gold car received a white replacement nose and had to run the race with its pop-up headlights open.

Salvatore Calascibetta was the quickest of the Opel drivers in practice, but he still trailed a Porsche 914-6. At the start of the contest, the sub-2-liter class contained 10 cars: the Opel trio, five 911S entries, and a pair of 914-6s.

Victory at the Targa

Porsche was not having the best Targa Florio that year, losing two cars in the 2-liter GT category after just two laps. Opel was struggling, too, with one car retiring on lap three due to mechanical issues. Then came another blow: Benedini had been posting impressive lap times, but “on lap four,” he says, “our car broke.”

Now it was just one Opel against four 911 teams and one 914-6. Opel driver Salvatore Calascibetta completed the second stint of the race, pushing the Porsches as much as he could. All almost came to nothing as Calascibetta was confronted with a puncture on his last lap.

The left-rear tire was slowly losing air. In the left-hand corners he could keep his foot planted; right-handers left him with almost no grip. But in the end, he held a small 11.4-second margin over the Bertoni/Schön Porsche 911S. After six and a half hours of competition, the Opel was first in class and ninth overall.

Conrero was already looking forward, asking his Opel drivers how they’d feel about a five-speed gearbox.

And Trouble at the Targa

For 1972, the Opel GTs were back, now wearing their famous yellow-and-blue livery. A ZF five-speed manual gearbox had been installed, and the engine bay received a new crossflow head. Two cars were equipped with 45mm Weber carburetors, pushing output to 205 horsepower. The other car received Kügelfischer injection, reportedly giving it 214 horsepower.

Preparation was good, but luck was not on Conrero’s side this time. Giorgio Pianta showed the benefits of the Kügelfischer injection, posting fastest time in the 2-liter category, almost 30 seconds quicker than the first of the Porsches.

Unfortunately, Pianta and co-driver Giorgio Schön never saw the start of the race. Due to a suspected oil leak, the decision was made to change the engine. However, the Kügelfischer injection system didn’t cooperate, and the mechanics failed to bring it to life before the green flag fell.

The previous year’s winner was driven by an all-female crew consisting of Marie-Claude Beaumont and Rosadelle Facetti, but they retired with engine problems on lap three. All hopes lay with the Alberto Rosselli and Paolo Monti car.

Rosselli didn’t disappoint. He posted the best lap of the class, bringing the Opel GT up to ninth place overall. On lap four, Monti took over, passing one competitor and assuming seventh overall after Nino Vaccarella’s Alfa Romeo failed. Early in lap five, though, Monti lost control and hit a crowd of spectators, injuring three.

The following year, 1973, marked the last running of the Targa Florio. Conrero’s efforts were focused on the new Momo Conrero, a Group 5 prototype powered by a 2-liter Opel engine. Two Opel GTs were entered as well, with Bonaccorsi and Pantò finishing third in category–behind a 911S and a 914-6.

That year would also be the end of the line for the famed Opel GT effort. “I have nothing but fond memories when I think back to the Opel GT,” Benedini says. “But you should not forget how important it was for Conrero as well. After the divorce from Alfa Romeo, his future was uncertain. Thanks to the Opel GT, he was able to prove that his success was not dependent on one brand alone and that his magic stuck to other brands as well. This led to a very positive vibe within the Conrero team.”

From Scale Model to the Real Deal

But as is so often the case, there was little sympathy to be found for racing cars that had finished their career. At the end of the 1973 season, the Pianta/Schön car–the one equipped with the Kügelfischer injection–donated its heart to another project. Virgilio Conrero saw a better future for the 2-liter engine in the new Group 2 Opel Ascona A.

The Campagnolo wheels were also moved from the GT to the Ascona sedan. Eventually Opel would take the Ascona rallying, with Walter Röhrl driving one to the 1974 championship. Meanwhile, what was left of the Pianta/Schön Opel GT sat outside in a garden.

It was still there when Belgian enthusiast Maurice Van Sevecotte passed by in 1997. “Originally, the car wasn’t even for sale,” he recalls. “I was there to take measurements and photos for a replica project. For me, the passion for the Conrero GT started with a miniature scale model. After that, I started looking for as much information as I could get my hands on.

“Since these were such rare cars–only four exist–I was only ever going to make a replica. And to this end, I went to Conrero, where I knew the car resided in the yard. I wanted to take measurements and pictures so I could make an exact copy.

“What I found in the yard was a wreck, but it still had all the original Conrero elements that make it special: the wheel arches, the axles, the big fuel tank, even the gauges were still there. It just looked a mess. But I could see what really stood in front of me and decided to see if it was for sale eventually.

“Naturally, the moment I started taking an interest, this was suddenly no longer a wreck in the garden but a part of Italian heritage that under no circumstances should leave the country. In the end I decided for myself that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I just decided to pay what was needed.

“In France, I found a correct cross-flow head similar to the one used in the Conrero GT. Together with the five-speed ZF gearbox and the limited-slip differential, it now has either all the parts as originally homologated by Opel or the original parts that were still there on the car. I just abandoned the Kügelfisher injection because it is too complicated to run.”

Assembling information on the car was a gigantic task in itself; reviving the car to its current condition was quite another thing altogether. “I started restoring it in 2006, hoping I would have it ready in 2008 in time for the 40th anniversary of the Opel GT,” Van Sevecotte chuckles.

“It took a long time, but I got help from some of the most important people involved in the Conrero GT project. Giorgio Schön was kind enough to give me access to his Conrero GT so I could see all the details that had been changed later on in the process of developing the car. Thanks to him, I was able to bring back the car he drove in the 1972 Targa Florio to the correct specifications.”