• Shark shoal: New Astra Sports Tourer is home to several marine predators
• Cult origins: Shark tradition began with little boy’s bright idea
• Shark as symbol: Opel designers show their passion for tiniest details

Real Opel fans immediately begin the search whenever the brand launches a new model. Not for the numerous advanced technologies included in the standard equipment, but for the marine lifeform hiding in and around the car: the shark. Miniature avatars of the creature that sits atop the ocean food chain have amused Opel drivers and passengers for years – as now in the new Astra Sports Tourer.

While the interior of most Opel models, such as the award-winning Mokka-e and Corsa-e, somewhere conceals one shark, the newest generation of the compact estate hosts several – one near the front, another towards the rear and others in more unusual places (but even Opel sharks must get their energy from somewhere). Exploring the new Astra Sports Tourer in search of sharks – for example as plug-in hybrid (WLTP combined fuel consumption¹: 1.2-1.1 l/100 km; CO₂ emissions 27-25 g/km) – is almost as much fun as driving it.

“The little sharks hidden in the new Opel Astra and Sports Tourer show our designers’ love for the tiniest of details”, said Design Director Karim Giordimaina. “Our customers can feel this passion and in the meantime Opel’s sharks have become a cult. This also demonstrates how approachable the Opel brand is.”

From idea to cult: The Opel sharks story began in 2004

But how do miniature sharks come to be hiding in Opel cars? One Sunday afternoon in 2004, designer Dietmar Finger was at home working on a sketch for a new Corsa. He was designing the ordinary outer panel of the glove box, which is mostly invisible because it is hidden by the closed passenger door. However, when the glove box is opened, this panel must ensure stability – which it does with ribs integrated in the plastic surface. Finger was designing the ribs when his son looked at the sketch and said, “Why don’t you just draw a shark?” “Why not!” thought the designer and gave the ribs their characteristic shape!

The Corsa Chief Designer at the time, Niels Loeb, was immediately sold on the idea. The shark in the glove box went into series production and the “Opel Shark Story” began. Next came the Zafira, where Karim Giordimaina, then in charge of the interior design, hid three sharks in the compact van’s cockpit. More followed, first in the Opel ADAM, then the Astra and other cars such as the Crossland and the Grandland SUV flagship.

In the meantime, every interior chief designer has placed a shark or two inside a new Opel model. The exact location always remains secret, even from Design top management. The fish therefore stay hidden until the launch, which makes for an interesting search for shark lovers both inside and outside the company.

The shark cult is set to continue with future Opel models. Exactly where they will be hiding in the car remains a mystery, but customers can already look forward to having fun looking for them.

^[1] The values were determined using the more realistic WLTP (Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure) test method which replaces the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) test procedure. A vehicle’s consumption, CO2 emissions and range not only depend on the efficient use of energy by the vehicle but are also influenced by driving style and other non-technical factors. The information on consumption and emissions does not refer to an individual vehicle and is intended solely for purposes of comparison between the various vehicle types.