Today the opening Olympics 2024scheduled in Paris until August 11. The Opening Ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. and will last approximately 4 hours. Cars play only a marginal role in this context, for example they are support vehicles in the marathon or road cycling races, however we want to take a look at the 2024 fleet and remember the cars that in previous editions have accompanied athletes from all over the world during the Games.
The 30s and 40s
Let’s start with Opel. The Opel Olympia It was the first German car produced in series with a self-supporting body made entirely of sheet steel. Heir to the Opel 1.3-liter, which remained in the brand’s range until October 1935, it owes its name to the 1936 Olympic Games which were held in Berlin and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
By October 1940, when the Reich government ordered Opel to cease production of civilian vehicles, 168,875 Olympics had been built. After the end of World War II, production resumed in December 1947, but this was an “Olympia Rekord” – a slightly revised model.
Opel
Electric cars are the protagonists
Toyota was registered as one of the first official sponsors on the occasion of the Summer Games of 1964. Eight years later, it was BMW’s turn to support the 1972 Games with two electrically powered test vehicles. The BMW 1602 converted they were used as transport for the organizing committee and as support and film cars in various long distance races.
However, it is obvious that the lead batteries, with a weight of 350 kilograms and a range of about 60 kilometers, were certainly not interesting for a series vehicle. However, it was an interesting research and development project to bring better and, above all, more efficient technology to the road.
BMW 1602 electric drive (1972)
Ai 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona another electric car was the protagonist, this time from the Seat brand. In just three months the Spanish company had transformed it into a battery-powered vehicle one of his then brand new Toledo models.
Engineer Thomas Kurz, who was involved in the conversion, has fond memories of this great achievement: “Producing an electric vehicle was something completely new at the time, so it was very exciting. The vehicle was so unique that, once it was finished, we had to register it in Germany because no one knew how to register an electric vehicle in Spain”.
The main goal at the time was to ensure that the Seat Toledo’s 500kg battery would provide enough energy for the entire journey of the 42.195 km marathon. Almost three decades ago, 16 kW (22 hp) of power was more than enough for the task at hand. The electric Seat Toledo is designed to match the speed of marathon runners, which is less than 30 kilometers per hour.
The 2000s
Let’s take a leap back to 2006, when Fiat took advantage of the Turin Winter Games to present the then new Sedici to the world public.
Fiat Sedici at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics
