- There are also several persons called Opperman, listed at Opperman (disambiguation)
SE Opperman was an engineering firm in Elstree, Hertfordshire.
| Opperman Unicar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Opperman |
| Production | 1956–1959 : 306 cars (50 Model A, 256 Model T, including kits) |
| Designer | Lawrie Bond |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | microcar |
| Body style | 2-door saloon |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Anzani 322cc twin-cylinder 2-stroke (Model A); Excelsior 328cc twin-cylinder 2-stroke (Model T) |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual (with reverse) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 72 in (1,829 mm) |
| Length | 114 in (2,896 mm) |
| Width | 56 in (1,422 mm) |
| Height | 51 in (1,295 mm) |
| Curb weight | 750 lb (340 kg) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Opperman Stirling |
Unicar edit
SE Opperman was a British engineering company that became known for their ‘Motocart’ 3-wheeled tractors in the 1940s and 1950s. However, seeing the growing popularity of microcars around England in the ‘50s, they decided that they wanted to build their own entry for the segment. They enlisted Lawrie Bond to help design it, who was also responsible for designing the Berkeley micro sports car and the Bond Minicar. The result was the Unicar: a four-wheeled, 4-passenger family saloon, which was rather unusual to see in the world of microcars when it debuted, in 1956.
Early Unicars, designated ‘Model A’, were powered by a 322cc Anzani 2-stroke twin with 15 horsepower, but fairly quickly they changed to a 328cc Excelsior 2-stroke twin with 18 horsepower (both of which were also used in Berkeley cars). These Excelsior-powered cars received a few other minor changes and were referred to as the ‘Model T’. Thanks to the extra power, they now had a top speed of over 60 miles per hour, and they were able to comfortably sustain 50 miles per hour. The easiest way to quickly distinguish the Model A from the Model T externally is the placement of the wiper motor/arm. The Model A had the wiper motor mounted above the windscreen, then it was moved to below the windscreen for the Model T. Earliest examples of the Model A also featured slightly different rear bodywork and tail lights, but this was changed after just a handful of cars were made.
Just like the Berkeleys, the Unicars utilized a fiberglass monocoque construction with aluminum supports, which helps keep the weight down to just 750 pounds. The engine is mounted directly between the tiny rear seats, and power is delivered through a 3-speed (with reverse) sequential Albion gearbox to a solid, chain-driven rear axle, as you might see in a go-kart. Since there was no differential, they made the rear track narrower to allow for a better (but still quite poor) turning circle. The rear axle has just one central damper, and braking was provided by cable-operated 6" Girling drums at each of the 12” wheels. Interestingly, the rear wheels were mounted 'backwards', with the valve stems towards the center of the car.
The lower cushions of the rear seats were hinged, allowing access to a small compartment in the box-like pedestal of each seat. The battery was housed in the right compartment, while the tools were in the left. The petrol valve was controlled with a small lever at the upper left corner of the rear seat back. Since there was no boot, the primary storage area was a huge shelf underneath the dash, which carried a full size spare tire on the right side. There was also a generous amount of open space in front of the footwells, in the nose area of the body. The simple front bench seat could be adjusted fore and aft by tilting it forward and moving the locating pegs into one of several slots in a floor-mounted plate. The doors were exceptionally long, providing great rear seat/engine compartment access, but getting in the front seat was slightly awkward, and operating the the interior door handle was even more so, as it was mounted at the very back edge of the door, well into the rear seat area. The doors featured sliding glass windows, which had nice aluminum brackets with 3 distinct stops for the window catch to lock into, giving you 3 lockable postions for the windows: open, half-open, and closed.
When the Unicar was introduced, it was the cheapest 4-wheel car on the market in England and received a good amount of positive press, but even so, sales were slower than they had hoped. In 1959, they began to offer the Unicar as a low-cost build-it-yourself kit (which also avoided the 33% vehicle purchase tax, at the time) in hopes of attracting more buyers. The kit was delivered in 8 large, well-packed wooden crates, and after following their detailed instructions to build the car, Opperman would even provide a free vehicle inspection service before the car went on the road.
While the kit option helped sales, it still wasn’t enough, and Opperman ended production of the Unicar in late-1959. From 1956 to 1959, 306 cars were produced (50 Model A, 256 Model T), and the survival rate is very poor, with only 7 currently known to have survived.[1]
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1958 Opperman Unicar - Interior -
1958 Opperman Unicar - Rear Seat
Stirling edit
The only other Opperman was the Stirling, but only two were made, built between 1958 and 1959. Much more stylish than the Unicar, the first had a larger 424 cc 25 bhp (19 kW) Excelsior engine and the second had a Steyr 500 cc unit. The brakes were hydraulic and the rear wheels further apart. The launch of the Mini in 1959 wiped out the rationale for the Opperman and the Stirling never went into full production.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ williamsmicrocars.com
- A–Z of Cars 1945–1970. Michael Sedwick and Mark Gillies. Bay View Books 1993. ISBN 1-870979-39-7
- Auto-Parade. Publisher – Arthur Logoz, Zurich. 1958
- Motor Cycle Data Book, Newnes, 1960