IMP Automobilbau - Heavy Bois

A coincidence or not? :wink: Interesting lower grille on the standard Opera and interesting engine lineup :slight_smile:

From a marketing perspective I would not actually buy a car that has ā€œeconomā€ in itā€™s name :smiley:

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I have no idea what you are talking about but no. #Squalo VII

It is weird to be the only high-end luxury car on the forum without a V12 engine.

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The Kind of Person whoā€™d drive such a car is not Phased by superficial and ultimately irrelevant things.

Youā€™re not the only one. My luxury brand primarily uses V8s, with a couple exceptions.

It may only be a volume brand, but Albury Motors hasnā€™t built anything with >8 cylinders either in its entire history, even for its most upmarket models.

I like most of the stuff you make but for some reason I just canā€™t bring myself to like the look of the Opera. It looks like a weird cross between a Tesla and a Hyundai.

Filler.

The IMP GT was launched in 1968. It was based on the executive IMP F65 Grenadier sedan (prepared the hype train, this is going to be a big one, once the UE4 Versions gains an Ro80 like body), and used the 3.6L G-Type V8 from the L6 fitted with quad webers and 268hp. A 5-speed manual transmission was standard. The aluminium fastback body was inspired by Italian designs, unusual for IMP who usually took their inspiration from American designs. It was quite aerodynamic, and could achieve a top speed of 268kph, making it one of the fastest four-seaters on the market. Itā€™s independent double wishbone suspension and rear mounted 4-speed gearbox with Limited Slip Differential made it an excellent high-speed tourer. IMP focused on comfort and Stability rather than outright cornering speed. In 1971 IMP began entering it in Rallyes, of all things, with a 350hp engine based off the 4.7L V8 from the L6 Super, wiith little success. By 1972 IMP had founded a special inhouse specialty car division known as IMR. It modified the R36-R for road racing and started competing in the DRM, with a super short stroke 3.0L V8 with 320hp and a 9000rpm redline. In 1973 the G3600S engine was replaced by the fuel injected 4.0L G40SE-U but lost 23hp due to lower-octane unleaded fuel, but thanks to a 5-speed gearbox acceleration up until 200kph was nearly identical.
Production ended in 1976 After 1213 units had been built.
The IMP GT effectively remains IMPs first and so far only supercar. The early GT4S with carburettors was just as finicky as its italian counterparts, but it was also the fastest IMP until the 1992 Tempesta 580 superseded it. The later fuel injected GT4000E is generally regarded as a matured and reliable Grand Tourer, even managing to return acceptable fuel economy.

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I donā€™t expect everyone to like all of my designs. I must admit though that the front end was designed much earlier than the rear. Like mid-2016 ish. At the time I couldnā€™t find a way to make the rear end work so I left it blank until the slew of Auto Shows earlier this year. I still think the rear end is the best part of it, even though the taillights kind of resemble an oil can. The L8 was done more recently, and I will probably facelift the Opera to resemble the less aggressive and boxy L8 front end once I am able to.
Nevertheless the Opera was a crucial part in developing my personal design language.

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That is one of the best-looking cars Iā€™ve seen which use the 60s fastback coupe body. Very fast too.

So you made Janet-Street Porter? The difference between her face and her ass is something like 65 million years.

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@OfficialWolfexWorks Thatā€™s a rather snarky comment about JSP :laughing:

Anyhow, back to the carsā€¦

@awildgermanappears Really love the design of the Opera, particular the angular stuff. Really well developed style and it suits the car perfectly.

I approve of this idea :wink:

Also, excellent achievement getting 49 mpg out such a car!

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Whichever (diesel) one you choose, economy is a given. Even the 410hp, 190mph 425SD is still in the 30s.

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That is seriously impressive.

I havenā€™t built any cars for three weeks.

The IMP S-Series of 1966 is a large four seater sports coupe with a carbureted 3.1L Inline six or a fuel injected 3.0L I6 on later models.

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I have been working to make the 1995 IMP Opera moreā€¦ 90s than the first draft:

In keeping with my new lore the production run of the Opera III has been extended to 13 years and two facelifts. Expect the original design to reappear sometime in the early 2000s.

While the 95L (its internal code) was only a reskin of the 87L (its predecessor)ā€¦


ā€¦a lot of the internals have been reworked to keep the car ahead of its competition. The entry level engines, both derivatives of the J-130E engine have adopted Twin-Cam VVT and improved combustion chambers. The 2.7L Base engine now produced 195hp and 265Nm of torque with improved combustion efficiency, while the more upmarket 3.0L could boast 230hp and 307Nm. The 3.8L H-138E was extensively reworked into the HF-38E. The only real changes laid in the Valvetrain, the 24V SOHC head of the H-138 was replaced by up-to-date 24V DOHC heads with TCVVT. Also changed was the fuel system. IMPs new GH-Tronic MPFI system had been developed over a span of six years and operated at far higher pressures than competing sytems. While IMPs 3.8L engines had never been trimmed for maximum power output, the HF-38 could certainly outclass its closest competitor, Jaguars 4.0L AJ16 engine, with 282hp and 395Nm compared to 250hp and 377Nm. The RT-47 V8 had also received a stroke increase to 5.0L, now good for 366hp and 490Nm. The big VT-Series V8 had always been an odd standout from a technology perspective. Whereas just about all IMP engines had adopted four valve cylinder heads by the late 1980s, the all-new VT-56 of 1987 used a 3V SOHC layout. Exactly why the designated Flagship engine was such an anachronism is not known. Regardless the VT-2 introduced in 1996 went all out, with five valves per cylinder and GH-Tronic+. The Opera Super 600 with its 6.0L VT-260LE produced just shy of 450hp and 618Nm of torque. The new Opera S1 with its 5.8L engine was even more powerful, with 486hp and 599Nm. The S1 was one of the first four door production cars to exceed 200mph.

The only engine that had hardly been changed at all was the proven, refined, reliable and surprisingly versatile (see IMR RC-039) 4.0L Turbodiesel. Power output had been increased to 230hp and it now met Euro1 standards, but that was it already.

In terms of transmissions, there were three options, a 5-speed manual (535M, 2.7 only), a 6-speed manual (645M and 670M, all models except 6.0 V8) or 5-speed automatic (545AE and 570AE, all models)

A unique selling point in the luxury sedan market was the option of a station wagon. Like the V8 model the Opera k featured air suspension as standard, as well as strengthened axles. The Opera k 400D made for an excellent tow vehicle.

The Opera 95L was first facelifted in 2001ā€¦



Specs:

Opera 270i
2.7L DOHC Inline 6 [IMP J-127EII], 195hp, 265Nm, 5MT or 5AT, 1585kg, 240kph, 9.5L/100km

Opera 300i
3.0L DOHC Inline 6 [IMP J-130EII], 230hp, 307Nm, 6MT or 5AT, 1610kg, 253kph, 10.4L/100km

Opera 380i
3.8L DOHC Inline 6 [IMP HF-38E], 283hp, 395Nm, 6MT or 5AT, 1675kg, 264kph, 11.2L/100km

Opera 500i
5.0L DOHC V8 [IMP RT-50EII], 366hp, 490Nm, 6MT or 5AT, 1760kg, 278kph, 12.9L/100km

Opera 600i
6.0L DOHC V8 [IMP VT-260LE], 446hp, 618NM, 5AT, 1975kg, 304kph, 14.8L/100km

Opera S1
5.8L DOHC V8 [IMP VT-258G] 486hp, 599Nm, 6MT or 5AT, 1730kg, 322kph, 13.4L/100km

Opera 400D
4.0L SOHC Turbodiesel [IMP D640 T-V230], 232hp, 501Nm, 6MT or 5AT, 1700kg, 260kph, 6.5L/100km

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No matter what variant you chose, the new-for-'95 Opera was clearly a vast improvement on its predecessor. The engine range in particular was a high point of this updated model.

Prepare for Impakt.

@DeusExMackia

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Me likey!

You know why I mentioned you?