Some Opel Kapitän Facelifts

German automobile maker Opel (Wikipedia entry here) was purchased by General Motors around 1930, eventually selling it in 2017.

In the late 1930s GM sent Frank Hershey and other stylists, including Strother MacMinn, to Opel.  The first "Americanized" design was that of the new Opel Kapitän line, launched in the spring of 1939.  (Kapitän zur See was a German naval rank, corresponding to a US Navy or Royal Navy rank of Captain, not the lesser army Captain rank.  By the way, a German army captain is called a Hauptmann.)

Kapitän production ended in 1940 due to World War 2, and did not resume until 1947 using the prewar body.  There was a major facelift for the 1951 model year followed by a 1954 redesign and its 1956 facelift.  These are discussed below.  Images are either factory sourced, of cars listed for sale, or from sources I could not identify for certain.

Gallery

Opel Kapitän Modell 1939
Seen from this angle, the car has a strong American appearance.  The passenger compartment seems very late-1930s, as is the grille.  The most advanced feature is the front fenders extending over the front doors, something GM did not introduce in the USA until the 1941 Cadillac Sixty Special and then for most of its 1942 line.

On the other hand, the rear had a European character.  Note the backlight windows and the spare tire mounted on the trunk lid.

Opel Kapitän Modell 1947
1947 Kapitäns were nearly identical to prewar cars.  The main difference was use of standardized sealed-beam headlights that required modest reshaping of the front fender faces.

From this perspective the Kapitän could easily be confused with a USA 1942 General Motors car.  Its rear end was essentially unchanged, however.

Opel Kapitän Modell 1951
A facelifted 1951 Kapitän seen from a similar angle.  The grille and hood have been redesigned, the former using bold chromed shapes in the contemporary American vein.

Closer view of the revised front end.

Side view.  Chrome trim was added along the beltline and over the rear fender.  But the major change was a new, longer rear end.  No more fastback with a spare tire cover.  Instead a bustle back similar to American practice.

Rear quarter view showing the new design.

1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster
An example of 1940s General Motors' American styling: Note the similarity of the passenger compartments.

Opel Kapitän Modell 1954
Here is a retouched publicity image of the redesigned 1954 Kapitän.  The body is of the postwar "envelope" ilk, but poorly shaped.  Perhaps unavoidable from a packaging standpoint is the high roof crown.

The oddest features are the after curve of the fender combined with the beltline extension aft to the projecting tail light assemblies.  There is a certain logic to that feature, though the result strikes me as being especially awkward.

Side view of the 1954 design.

Opel Kapitän Modell 1956
Side view of the 1956 facelift.  The main charge is the addition of more chrome.

The front got a new grille, hood and "frenched" headlight bezels that provided a more contemporary style.

Tail light assemblies were restyled, but the result was little or no improvement.  The three-piece backlight is now one-piece.  The 1958 model year saw another redesign.