Watch the Nürburgring 24 Hours and you'll always spot one car mixed in with the large field of GT3, GT4 and other late-model race cars. It's an Opel Manta campaigned by owner Olaf Beckmann, and it's what makes this race special. Only at the N24 does an old-school Eighties coupe share a track with the fastest GT cars in the world. Sadly, you won't see the Manta at next weekend's race, as the car burned down, reportedly after its lithium-ion battery caught fire.
According to a Facebook post from the German Alte Schule podcast, this year's N24 was to be the final appearance for the Manta, but now, Beckmann plans to rebuild the car for the 2023 race. Beckmann's Manta is also known as the "Foxtail," as it always raced with a foxtail on its rear antenna. According to an Opel fan site, it's a 1988 example originally built that's raced in the under 2.0-liter class since 1994, accruing over 100,000 kilometers (62,000 miles) on the Ring. The Nüburgring has limits on the age of cars in the race, but the Manta has an exception as it's such a crowd-pleaser.
For a little context, the Manta is kind of like the (West) German equivalent of the Camaro and Mustang rolled into one. We might think of German cars for yuppie BMWs and Benzes, but all through the Seventies, and Eighties, the Manta was the car of choice for the ripped-off-sleeves, hair metal sleaze crowd. If you ever meet a German redneck, they either owned a Manta or wanted one.
To understand just how important the Manta is to the N24, revisit what happened in 2019. Just a few hours into the race, the Manta was involved in a bad accident that caused significant front suspension damage. The team managed to repair the car for the last lap of the race, with the entire pit lane applauding as it drove back out onto the track.
Expect a similar response if the Manta makes the grid for the 2023 N24.
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins served as Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist.
