He curates a unique collection of both original and replica cars. And if Jens Cooper doesn’t know the answer to a question on the history of Opel design, then nobody will. The 47-year-old Opel Classic employee, who turned his job into a hobby, is fascinated by the glory days during the phase of experimental design that started in the early sixties in Rüsselsheim. Seeing that he was not born until late September 1967 in southern California, this was all before his time.
Meet the Idols
The son of a German mother and an officer in the U.S. Air Force has had the opportunity to meet several of his idols who are now enjoying a well-earned retirement. They like to reminisce about the old days and their successful, often daring designs for the future of the brand with the lightning bolt. “It is always an incredible experience to meet with designers such as Erhard Schnell, Hideo Kodama, Herbert Killmer, and Murad Nasr. They all have a lot to say and the deeper you go into the topic of design, the more obvious it becomes why cars looked the way they did back then,” says Cooper.
Cooper’s earlier workplace in H32: With two trainees, he is busy with a renovation project. The trio mounts an air screw (propeller) to an Opel aircraft engine from the year 1916.
Start as Tool maker
After his father retired from the Air Force, the family returned to Germany, where the seven-year-old Jens was sent to the local elementary school in Allendorf in the State of Hesse. Despite only speaking English at home, he was a good pupil and it didn’t take him long to pick up German and quickly lose his accent. From there, the family moved to the Rhine-Main region in 1977 and, a few years later, Cooper began an apprenticeship as a tool maker for Opel in Rüsselsheim on his father’s advice. “That was the perfect job for me because I had always been interested in cars and started building models at an early age,” he says.
Strong skills, ready for Opel Classic
Soon after completing his apprenticeship, he was assigned a special task on the back of his strong skills in this area. His job involved creating highly polished sectional models of engines and transmissions. These were displayed at car shows or exhibitions to offer an insight into the inner workings of a crank case or combustion chamber. By this point he was also already working in the classic car department helping to make intricate parts that could no longer be purchased off the rack. This soon paved the way for his job working in the historic collection that is known today as Opel Classic.
A look behind the scenes
For Cooper, it is still the dream job. “I have always been interested in the behind the scenes, and what I have found in the archives, is simply amazing.” He likes to put the puzzle of Opel history together. Because too much gets lost when Opel workers retire, leaving the company or even die. Through interviews, observations, and old documents he has succeeded in developing processes of individual vehicles and concept studies; and moreover, now, he is able track the inspiration for shaping series models and document those backgrounds, for example, for the anniversary celebration of the Design Center.
shining stars, exciting biographies
But Jens Cooper wanted more. He took some time off to meet with the former star designers at Opel. He researched where he could find them and tracked them down. “It was really easy with some of them because they fell in love with the region and decided to stay here after they finished working for Opel.” This includes the likes of Hideo Kodama, who lives in Mainz, and George Gallion, who lives in Wiesbaden. There are regular meet-ups that Cooper often attends where he listens with keen interest to their stories and memories from the old days, all the while hoping to learn something new. This, he believes, is really important because some of the old guard are entering their golden years and some have even passed away, including one of the shining stars of earlier design periods.
Two brand ambassadors: Jens Cooper and his replica of the Black Widow.
The secret of the Black widow
Although Anatole Lapine only spent four years at N 10, where the studios are located to this day, he created numerous designs during this period, supported the creative efforts of his colleagues when he saw their designs had potential, and put the brakes on when he deemed them to be too extravagant or unrealistic. “Lapine was a real self-made man. He is originally from Latvia and fled Riga once the war was over,” says Cooper. “While he never really played a leading role in designing new models, he did work behind the scenes helping to steer the design process in the right direction.” Lapine later left to join Porsche in Zuffenhausen, Germany, taking some of his top designers with him. Shortly before Anatole Lapine passed away, Jens Cooper visited him at the old people’s home where he lives in Geopark Bergstrasse–Odenwald and managed to learn a few interesting things in the process. On the back of the meal plan, Lapine drew a sketch for him of the rear-axle suspension of the touring car, which was based on Rekord C and made sporting history as the Black Widow. Cooper was then able to faithfully reconstruct the vintage racing car in the Opel Classic workshop.
Hang loose: This is what Jens Cooper does in his apartment in Flörsheim. There he collects gems from the Opel-cosmos.
His home is a sixties retro temple
Their admiration is mutual. Jens Cooper gets out a photo of Lapine sitting on a marble table. With a smile on his face, he goes on to point to the very same table where his binder is now lying: “That was a gift from him.” Cooper lives in Flörsheim, Germany, where tailors, fearing for their livelihood, threw stones at a sewing machine manufacturer named Adam Opel many years ago in a fit of anger. His apartment is decorated 60s retro with art deco chairs and Bauhaus furniture, everything simple and sleek but with a timeless elegance. On the walls, there are photographs of buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe, Helmut Jahn, and Norman Foster. Cooper appreciates expressive architecture.
“It is vital that we preserve the knowledge of former designers. There are many stories yet to be told, ones that you cannot find in any book,” says the classic car enthusiast, whose historical research is worthy of a PhD. Above all, in his opinion: „We need clarity today, tomorrow it might be too late for that, because the sources are silent on forever.”
Oldtimers from the sixties are the most attractive
Another one of Jens Cooper’s hobbies is hunting down vintage cars and restoring them. “I can recommend this to anyone interested in antique cars. Ones from the sixties are best for this” because cars built before the war are too dangerous and too difficult to drive. The newer models aren’t like this and can still be attractive as modern classics on account of the electronic systems they feature. According to Cooper, gentleman drivers who are interested in old Bugattis or Bentleys will slowly disappear due to a lack of new collectors entering the scene. This would lead to a significant increase in the value of post-war vehicles, which are currently still relatively affordable. It’s good that Opel’s collection of classic models from this era is well organized and that there are people like Jens Cooper to look after it.
In 1967, Opel stirred up the motor sports scene with a new touring car which was based on the Rekord C model – with 180 PS and with the young Niki Lauda sitting in the cockpit. The car became a very successful Porsche hunter and was soon nicknamed Black Widow.
However, the car suddenly disappeared – it was presumably stolen from the courtyard of Opel dealer and car race team boss Kurt Bergmann.
The movie tells the story of the original car’s myth and shows the reconstructing process.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ00IC0jEQs