Opel 1,2 Liter Kübelwagen
The Opel 1.2 Litre Kübelwagen began life as Germany's most popular small car. Between 1931 and 1935, Opel — then a subsidiary of General Motors — built over 100,000 at its Rüsselsheim plant. It was a simple, affordable car with a 1,186 cc side-valve four-cylinder engine producing 23 hp and a top speed of 85 km/h, available as a saloon, cabriolet and delivery van. When war broke out, civilian vehicles with engines over 1,000 cc were requisitioned en masse. Conversion to a Kübelwagen was straightforward: doors off, bucket seats in. Those bucket-shaped seats — hence the name Kübelsitzwagen — were meant to stop crew sliding out on corners.
