10. Opel GT
In the late ‘60s, the German brand Opel was one of the most popular economy car manufacturers in Europe. Since General Motors owned it, they had to approve the design of all Opel models. And that meant that most Opel models looked like scaled-down versions of Chevrolets or Buicks. This was exactly the case with the Opel GT, a sporty affordable coupe they presented in 1968. Opel needed a sports car, based on its entry-level model, the Kadett. So in the mid-60s, they got the go-ahead from GM to introduce such a vehicle. The Corvette and GM concepts from the mid-60s heavily introduced the design.
With its covered headlights, curvy Coke bottle design, twin round taillights, and similar silhouette, the Opel GT looked like a scaled-down version of the Corvette. It even appeared on the market at the same time as the Vette’s third generation. Of course, with its slow 1.3 and 1.9-liter four-cylinder engines, the Opel GT didn’t have any of the Corvette’s power or performance but it had the looks. They sold it in America through the Buick dealership network and, interestingly, it sold well. In fact, they sold more Opel GTs in the U.S. than in Europe during its five-year production run.