Opel Calibra DTM / ITC - The Most Advanced Touring Car In The World

Let's have a closer look at the legendary Opel Calibra DTM / ITC.
And let's learn more of these highly complex touring cars!
How could the underdog Opel develop to a championship winning team?
How advanced was the Calibra?
How does it compare to other race cars?
#opel #calibra #dtm #itc
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[@heeltoeautomotive4962]

I think DTM needs to bring back the rule that the base car needs 4 seats

[@thesunnynationg]

what the DTM needs is to move away from GT3. Like V8 Supercar, they're doing their thing for about 25y. bc DTM and Super GT want to compete with each other. they both try to step out of the Super Touring Car class and be a GT3 car, to match both their BOP. they could continue that, im not saying its bad in particular but it isn't the DTM anymore. we need a German "real" Touring Car Championship again.

[@manuelmanterola7070]

⁠@@thesunnynationgespecially seeing how ADAC also killed GT masters to prop up the new dtm

[@Paolo_Pinkas747]

@@thesunnynationg In fact the GT3 is somehow the new touring car. Back then a street legal car with 300-500 BHP was something special. Today it is the standard. Almost every bread and butter Mercedes, BMW or Audi can reach this output easily. But what is still special is their sports car - as you see in GT3. So it still makes somehow sense. But I have to add: I have seen enough GT3 in the past 10 years and I don´t like the BOP System.

[@cmbunit01]

I'd be pretty happy with a high spec touring car class being 4 seaters and GT racing sticking to 2 seats.

[@Paolo_Pinkas747]

@@cmbunit01 Look... the BMW M4 even has 4 Seats...

[@rjung_ch]

The Calibra was a very good looking car. Incredible how much technology was used and the costs exploded.

[@isukarse]

the true golden era of motorsports

[@MrDeadsr]

Yeah it was pretty hilarious. They wanted more car manufacturers to join, yet kept listening to the already participating brands that wanted to changes that would increase the cost. This prevented other manufacturers to join and also killed many privateers.

[@t.k3579]

Hope silhouette DTM cars will come back some day, it's what made this series so unique with so many iconic cars

[@GeeShocker]

They had to use the body from the road car, but they could do heavy modifications to it.

[@samuelgarrod8327]

​@@GeeShockerIt had to use panels not a body, it was spaceframed.

[@GeeShocker]

@@samuelgarrod8327 no, they showed this in the season opening back then. They took a stock body and sent it to a contractor for the modifications. Unfortunately i forgot the name of said company.

[@zXPeterz14]

Wont happen, manufacturers are focused on electric suv’s so wont spend the money to promote a sport saloon

[@biljancanin]

Aaaah, the Calibra. My all time dream car. Such a beauty...

[@Cloxxki]

So many seem to love it, there might be a business case to recrate it. Since it never had a real Opel chassis, it could be a ground-up build with replica body. I don't even care is it's an electric car underneath, I just want those looks :) A totally gutten Nissan GTR with Calibra look body might do the trick. Heavier than the real thing, but lighter than a GT3 car. With good boost, modern tyres and suspension...might approach DTM 1995 lap times? :)

[@user-ub7qs2ju6n]

Calibra? Dream car? Crikey thought I was the only one. Great video Thanks

[@autosundspiele1602]

Truly the pinnacle of touring cars.

[@fomocotech]

I had no idea how advanced this car was. Awesome video man.

[@Superstocker669]

The reduce in viewer interest in germany came after the ITC with the much tamer STW. The difference was hard to swallow. The final Race in Germany in Hockenheim ITC 1996 was packed with Fans and the athmosphere was breathtaking. Today we would give everything for something like STW. Everything is gone.

[@derthilo787]

right. It was a war, germany AGAINST Italy this time ^^ not like in.........................F1 at that time XD

[@Rich77UK]

It's was the best racing until the V8s in Australia picked up in the 2000s. Now, both have gone to the dogs. I know cost spiriling is an issue, but Opel, Alfa, BMW and Mercedes all pumped F1 money into the DTM as it was directly relatable to their road cars. Now all are in F1, spending more money to drive in a fast precession.

[@14KiloWhisky]

Dumb electric era... 😢

[@cali8ra]

Finnaly someone who actually know the real power of the calibra that she had back in the days and still an amazing peace of history till this day. Absolute legend

[@bruhnomento7079]

The gps to change the setup of the car on each corner is so crazy, I`ve never heard about anything like that before so thank you for this awesome video B Sport! You`re quickly becoming my favourite yt channel

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@abcdefgh-xf2th]

I believe that was later also used/trailed in rallying at the height of the active car era.

[@MultiCOOLFRESH]

Currently this is also used in MotoGP for electronics, such as traction controll, anti wheelie and engine brake.

[@JensEausB]

​@@BSport320Hast Du eine Quelle für diese GPS Geschichte? Soweit mir bekannt war das damals alles Wegstreckenbasiert.

[@BSport320]

@@JensEausB Die Quellen sind Fahrer und Journalisten, also keine Techniker. Sie haben von GPS gesprochen, was aber eigentlich nicht sein kann. Ich denke wegstreckenbasiert ist plausibler.

[@Chris-ql9bu]

Golden age of motorsport. Watching DTM from Norisring right now, no chance to compare both times

[@budyeddi5814]

I loved this car in Gran Turismo and I knew she was something special with that super high redline but I had no idea just how advanced it actually was!! Thanks B Sport ^_^

[@jozsefizsak]

Sounds like a remarkable team to build a car so advanced and reliable.

[@FerraristDX]

In my opinion, the 1996 ITC season was one of the greatest racing championships of all time. You had great cars, drivers, tracks, the racing was good, much better than what DTM would eventually become in the mid-2000's. If the ITC had to go out, they did it at least with a bang.

[@th3orist]

when i was a teenager in the 1990s the Opel Calibra was by far my fav DTM car, it just looked mega.

[@hanswurst6712]

The DTM Calibra will always be one of my favourite Racecars of all time. Probably Number 2 for me of all times after the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO.

[@TheBlaert]

The Zakspeed Calibra prototype for the ITC was even more of a monster.

[@marcelluscunningham8272]

​​@@TheBlaertanything zakspeed is a monster

[@marcelluscunningham8272]

For me it's Alfa 155 Audi 90 imsa Opel calibra As my top 3 Edit: almost forgot the Mercedes clk dtm and the Lexus gs dtm

[@TheBlaert]

The engines were absolutely glorious. I remember the Pilbeam single seat hillclimb cars with the V6 DTM engine from them. Apparently they ran standard mechanical valvegear as the DTM engines had pneumatic valvegear which was a bit too secret/expensive to go on general sale. Still revved to over 11k rpm. And only 85kg. Andy Burton had one in his 306 rally car too. Outstanding piece of engineering

[@FaithlessEmoRacing]

THIS is my favourite ever car!!!! My parents had a Vauxhall Calibre at the time and this car looked and sounded amazing! I would love to go visit the ZakSpeed 1997 Calibra!

[@santeriampuja]

I manufactured these Cliff cars in 1995 at the Uusikaupunki car factory in Finland. In the assembly, the car differed from a normal car in that neither bumpers nor a back seat were installed in the car.

[@Andrewwws7]

Whoa! I had no idea it had this level of tech! Definitely ahead of its time and not to mention the gorgeous design. I own a Calibra and I get thumbs up everytime I go out for a drive

[@venom_-demon-xi102]

Here in germany calibras are really rare people who don't know what this is are walking around my car to see what car it is older people came to me and told me that they had one many years ago my calibra is from 1996 2l 8v in nordcap anthrazit e290 got him 5 years ago for 500€ only rust on the hood it has 277t km

[@Andrewwws7]

@@venom_-demon-xi102 whoa sounds like a really good base for a project car! Mine is also a 1996 model with nordcap colour but the Z290. As for the engine it's the X20XEV and it has 110k km

[@jonnyj.]

Lets go! Im so glad you're covering class 1 touring cars, my all time favourite touring car class! Hopefully you'll make videos on the alfa and merc too :D As a mechanical engineer I am in awe at the IMMENSE engineering effort (and massive costs :D) that went into these monsters Wish they were in more sims tho :(

[@adrianzanoli]

I've also loved the Alfa 155 upward exhausts.

[@superfast30]

What an era. High strung/high revving N/A engines are truly an art form!

[@seeayesix2817]

Very interesting, I was aware of the ITC Alfa but not that the Opel was this advanced!

[@thesunnynationg]

I never knew they worked with Williams all those year's. they were the team to beat in F1. with all that technical and electrical/Computing knowledge its no wonder the Calibra was that Great. all the development and especially money that went in to that project is mind blowing for such a Racing series. I also Loved the Calibra on Gran Turismo. on of my all-time favourites.

[@RossAlexanderSmith]

The 90's were such a great time for race car engineering. So many people movers transformed into cutthroat monsters, just like Group 5, yet a little more understated.

[@robertjacobsfishing]

That Calibra was a dream car. I drove quite a few Opels in my life and my 2 favorites with the Monza 1.6 Gsi and then then Astra 200 CDX. Both sedans and great cards for their time!

[@deemow2634]

Great to see you are broadening your wonderful analysis beyond mainly current racing cars.

[@BSport320]

More to come!

[@dermetzger]

1:27 - That header is a work of ART 🤤🤤🤤

[@Matt_DC]

The golden era of touring cars... You will never be forgotten

[@DiePixelHelden]

Really great video on an even more greater car. For me, the Calibra V6 4x4 DTM remains one of my all time favorites. 🤩

[@DeolTheBeast]

The technology put into this car is crazy to hear ... never knew the Calibra DTM had an automatic gearbox

[@Nellie-H]

I always liked Opel. Back in the 70's and 80's Opel was a top contender next to Mercedes with Admiral's and Diplomats. Definitely above Audi and Volkswagen. Opel did bring milestones and odd balls which made Opel very special. Manta, Commodore, Senator, Monza, Speedster and Bitter making them even more outstanding. Opel was the real "peoples car" all the way up to the rich and famous. Later GM put a noose around Opel's neck and Peugeot made Opel simply mainstream.

[@grancoast]

Absolute facts 🔥

[@juckyvortex]

The car knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't, by subtracting where it is, from where it isn't, or where it isn't, from where it is, whichever is greater, it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance sub-system uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the car from a position where it is, to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position where it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event of the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has required a variation. The variation being the difference between where the car is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too, may be corrected by the GEA. However, the car must also know where it was. The car guidance computance scenario works as follows: Because a variation has modified some of the information the car has obtained, it is not sure just where it is, however it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subracts where it should be, from where it wasn't, or vice versa. By differentiating this from the algebraic sum og where it shouldn't be, and where it was. It is able to obtain a deviation, and a variation, which is called "air"

[@BSport320]

Thanks for sharing. What is your source for this?

[@AKK5I]

​@@BSport320it's an adaptation of the "The missile knows where it is" audio segment by USAF

[@michaelh.7363]

The 1997 Calibra with the full-carbon body would have been a another groundbreaking step! Keep in mind you could have run two F1 teams for the price of one DTM/ITC team at that time. And becaus there was also competition between two tyre companies, but also had no limit in testing they did a different tyre compound for every track. The Opel had a hydraulic system which they used for everything in that car, like the weights, the flaps, everything they figured out that would improve perfomance by moving it during a lap, they put a hydraulic system on it and automated it. Like said in the video, a spin would get the systems off sync with the track, but because the system took the distance as reference to know where the car is on the track and, as far as i know, not realy a GPS. The system was reset everytime it crossed the line by a signal from the box, so if the car had a spin it was off sync just till it crosses the line again.

[@johnjones928]

I still have the issue of Racecar Engineering from the mid 1990's with the technical breakdown of this car, Opel absolutely threw the kitchen sink at this car and essentially broke the sport. After the ITC collapsed Mercedes threatened to not join the projected new DTM series unless AWD was banned "it had no plans to produce such cars for road use in the future", which they then did after the ban went through. I still have little respect for Merc after that

[@Superstocker669]

I was on a talk with Volker Strycek in Rüsselsheim (Opel homebase) a few weeks ago. In the projekt new DTM a AWD was never a subject. The cars werent based on real cars. Opel had none AWD in their normal cars like Astra. Volker Strycek spoke to Norbert Haug about his plan for new DTM, and he and his crew secretly build an prototyp. Their bosses dont even know about it as he admits on the talk. So did Mercedes and they both presented it on the IAA in Frankfurt. The Opel bosses and the audience echo was very good, so they gave green lights for the new DTM.

[@derthilo787]

@@Superstocker669 ja, als die sportauto die ersten Protortypen Bilder zeigte, das war ein besonderer Moment. Und die Dinger dann am Jahresende in Essen zu sehen erst :) 2000/2001 war so gut wie '96 finde ich, komplett andere Biester, aber genau so ein geiler Mix aus perfektem Sport/Autos/Fahrer. JGTC und Super GT waren in zwei von drei Punkten genau so gut, nur dass man die Fahrer halt nicht so kennt. Bester Motorsport für alle ab '80 geborene..ok, abgesehen von Le Mans zum Ende der Gruppe C und um den Jahrtausendwechsel herum^^ meine absolute Leidenschaft, die Modelle aus den drei Kategorien zu sammeln

[@ysmg9010]

Actually Alfa Romeo was the first to go crazy on the class 1 regulations in 1993. Opel joined late into the season, and as shown in the video with the production car engine. Mercedes did update the 190 in 1993 but went full class1 in 1994 with new W202 styled car.

[@s727r]

Merc, just a shower of arrogant arseholes. I don't particularly like their cars either.

[@jaysuneakle]

I love the before and after pictures showing the base car and then race car. Such a beauty. Very impressive at how they teamed up with Cosworth, Williams F1, and others to make the best car possible. Sounds like the succeeded!

[@LordInter]

I had a 2ltr turbo 4x4 Calibra, god damn thing was a mental sleeper 🥰🥰

[@duncanhamilton5841]

Yeah, I had one running 7l intercooler, 2.4 overbore, Stage 3 Courtney head, Emerald ignition, and water injection. Nicely understressed and fairly low boost on a hybrid turbo not much bigger than stock, made 340lb-ft at 1900rpm... None of the peakiness of my friends Cosworths running similar power. It would happily hit the limiter in 6th (171mph), but that super aero bodywork was a big issue at those speeds as it tended to float - if the nose came up at that speed it stayed up. No downforce at all. My god it was fast though. Even standard it was pretty quick car.

[@mc_hammer_8239]

Great summary for a great car. I am really glad to have these cars seen racing in 1995 (first Opel win at Hockenheim) and 1996. Still have the sound in my ears, when the come through Nordkurve and accelerate onto the wood (old layout)

[@Inazuma68]

I owned a Calibra turbo at that time so I was a big fan. Even today the Cliff Calibra in 1:18 is in my living room. Pitty the German press killed Opel. They always made good cars

[@AR_434]

Wow, never knew those cars were so complex! Great video again!!

[@PseudoNo]

Thanks a lot! Very professional explanation, all the key facts.

[@phil4977]

Fantastic video and very informative.

[@TBendez]

And to think I've been in a Calibra Turbo 4x4 without knowing any of this, sacrilege! Thank you for the throrough walkthrough!

[@jmirsp4z]

knowing Opel build the first rocket powered car this isn't exactly a surprise :D

[@MatMayhem666_FPV]

Great video, thanks!!!

[@DougieSRi]

Awesome video, love it!

[@robertmizen9151]

I owned a Calibra that had the Super Boss motor.A beautiful car and drove amazingly

[@basilb4733]

Absolutely fascinating analysis!

[@BSport320]

Thanks a lot!

[@jann1k_MSC47]

Ein Meisterwerk !!! ❤

[@pitu72ger]

Thx for the insights

[@321-Gone]

Love these stories. Unlimited racing is always interesting. All that car needed was active aero.

[@deeplyclosetedindividual]

It had active aero, as mentioned in the video

[@01RIE01]

I am a sucker fot the Calibra so I was happy I saw this in my recommended videos. Subbed!

[@hondacrx0]

This was so awesome area.. the 155 alfa is very nice aswell or the classics , m3 and 190 E Evo

[@stepan.poluianov]

I remember how impressed I was when learned how they solved the issue with driving the front wheels while having the engine so low. My first read about this Calibra DTM was in the late 1990s from the AMS Magazine, and I love the car since then.

[@sebastian_berlin]

As being too young for having see it race at that time, I wonder how the racing with these cars looked like? It's absolutely mind boggling seeing how advanced this car was. And the shifting really was automatic?

[@dampfdirk5983]

Der Calibra war der geilste - Da bekomme ich heute noch Gänsehaut

[@maro2174]

Nice video, crazy car

[@stevefriswell5422]

I did not know it had all of the systems. Thanks.

[@carlob517]

real shame there wasnt a V6 AWD Calibra released to the public great looking car , shocked by the amount of money each team spent developing these cars 😮 , great post lots of interesting info thnx

[@DougieSRi]

They thought about building one. The electronic parts catalogue had a listing for 4x4 V6 exhaust downpipes even though the car was never made. I own a 3.0 V6 4x4 Cavalier (Vectra A) and it would definitely have made a good production car

[@gafrers]

Another Great video on a Beast of a racing car

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@clintvosloo7694]

Those were the days man

[@basementer]

oh man my all time favourite touringCAR

[@adamrobson80]

I've always loved the alfa 155

[@Bumbazaurs]

An epic project!!!

[@Gabriel.Vargas]

Another brilliant video, congrats and thanks. As far as I understand, this racing car used the same street chassis for the mid section, but with (at least) a tubular sub chassis at, supporting the engine and front suspension? It impresses me that, at the end of day, the engine block comes from an ordinary SUV. I always wonder how much of these cars are actually the same that you have if you go and buy a Calibra.

[@eedesign878]

I can just see great design that had no limits. Beautiful design & engineering which to me are the same.

[@adamwebster9784]

That inline 6 in the omega tho!!!

[@alfabethev2.074]

Absolutely mad, i love it🥰

[@aaronpan6949]

Were these cars faster than their super gt/jgtc counterparts of the time?

[@indopleaser]

Great car. Makes you wonder what they will think up next

[@mazyata9958]

The calibra is something YT doesn't recommend much! Seen one in real life. Nice car!

[@AAs-vb7pv]

The 155 alfa awd and 190e cosworth and lotus carlton and ford siarrai rs cosworth and volvo wagon was my all time favourite cars

[@TufteMotorsport]

Who manufactured the gearboxes? Xtrac? Martin Schanche (6 times european rallycross champion and cofounder of Xtrac) copied the design of this gearbox in his Ford Escort rallycross car that debuted in 1996, paired with an 10 000 RPM shortstroke YB engine. The 90s was wild!

[@deagt3388]

I own Opel Calibra 2.0 16v 4X4 for future project! 😉

[@phildem414]

Impressive! Specialy the gear system to drive front wheels : unique for sure. What is the point of open injection system? To allow for variable trumpets? 🤔

[@Moli571]

Following f1 engines from the time I suppose yes

[@bkcrim5395]

That and placing the injector at the end of the intake tract is theoretically the best as the fuel has the longest time possible to atomize with air

[@SP-pn7xx]

This car was so much fun in Gran Tourismo 2

[@neogriff]

I actually own a plastic model of the black Cliff one. I'm in love with the overall shape of the car.

[@mohmoudfarah1897]

Yes, I always liked Calibra, especially, the 16-valve and AWD ones.

[@derthilo787]

hey, ich weiß ja nicht wie es Dir geht, aber das ist mein all-time-favourite. Ich hab so ziemlich alle Modelle, inklusive dem 100Jahre Fanfest Cali, und dem Wagen, den Volker einmal in der DTM fuhr, der ist sogar noch seltener, noch dazu signiert. Tatsächlich war das 24h Rennen das erste Rennen das ich besucht habe als Youngster (ich hab noch eine von den kleinen Fahnen, die Volker in der Einführungsrunde aus dem Fenster warf, klar, hängt zusammen mit dem ganzen Rosberg'95Merch und den Autogrammkaten von ebay in einer großen Vitrine). Dass ich damals lieber Ran als Vox geschaut habe, ist eine der Sachen, die ich am meisten bereue in meinem Leben :) Hab Jahre später ein kleines Vermögen führ ein DVD Set bezahlt, wo jemand die Übertragungen von VHS konvertiert hat, und die 3(!) Jahresbücher. Du hast einige Dinge zur technischen Entwicklung genannt, die mir gar nicht bekannt waren. Danke und Respekt! Vielleicht kann man sich ja mal bei der NES treffen

[@BSport320]

Vielen Dank, gerne!

[@GeeShocker]

All factory DTM cars from '93 had V6 engines and the Calibra and 155 were 4WD. Only Mercedes stuck with 2WD. There was also a private BMW E36 and the Foxbody Mustangs of course. What a great time. 😊

[@fabiofatsio]

Please, more videos on cars from the past💜

[@BSport320]

More to come!

[@pepscalibra4x4]

Love the 90s rules😎❤️

[@s727r]

Calibrate was a beautiful car, one of my neighbours had a v6 4x4, standard 204bhp his was tuned to just short of 300. What a machine.

[@em8sal]

V6 was 2,5liter FWD. 2.0turbo was 4x4 with 204hp (and 2.0 4x4 with 150hp FWD)

[@nathandepasquale9571]

What a monster!

[@markblackman2542]

The Alfa V6 DTM cars were screamers !

[@adamcrann5689]

I’m proud to say I Owen an opel calibrate such a cool car

[@DanielOliverRacing]

Could you talk about some of the gt500 cars? I think they dont get enough recognition these days.

[@grahampayne2767]

The input from cosworth was, very, very much more than mentioned here.

[@solidsnack2757]

wow, brilliant

[@danielkiss7003]

I had no idea how advanced these cars were

[@superluigi5234]

Opel had some good connections

[@v4skunk739]

DTM has never been more expensive than F1 running in the same year.

[@noname-yo6yn]

the Calibra DTM was a great car - even running to today - only got beaten by the Astra DTM in my Opinion.. Sadly they are slowly getting rarer and rarer and are not often seen on tracks and series like tourenwagen-legenden or drm

[@rparello]

My peaceful 2.0 16V (that I still own) is the base for this monster? I always loved the Calibra, but didn't knew it was this advanced.

[@cademckee7276]

I’ve always wondered what the intakes over the rear wheel arches are for. Is it cooling or was there some sort of aero purpose?

[@fernandes5986]

A beautiful car.

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

Im an american that grew up in 3 73-74 opel mantas in the 80s and 90s. Those things were little tanks. Each one had over 200k miles. Our last one was still running when my dad junked it around 95-96. I dont think it actually got junked. Everyone at the yard kept asking what was wrong with it lol im pretty sure someone took the whole thing lol. Always have a soft spot for opel even if its just a chevy vauxhall nowadays. Damn good cars in their day. Chugged like a diesel but it was like a gas 1.4l or something lol

[@kallo182]

Amazing. Never new that Americans know Manta, or even had one over there 👍

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

@@kallo182 we had 3. We were special. Even tho someone else in town had a manta lol

[@Zero_Ninety]

8:06 Never knew they ran them with Vauxhall badges.

[@juciyjcurtis7938]

Check the Opel GSi Kadett (SuperBoss) South African special. Gave BMW 325is( 2.7lf with M3 suspension factory) a very hard time on the race track even the Ford Sierra XR8 (V8 from Mustang SA only)

[@johnrumpf6014]

Was a great car to drive in Grand Turismo.