An illustrious South African special, the Opel Kadett GSi Superboss was born to be driven.
Bruce Springsteen’s catalogue comprises several songs, such as Born to Run and Thunder Road, about a couple leaving behind their hometown to head on a journey, most likely in the ’57 Chevy Bel Air convertible, the first car he owned and in which he’s been said to have written the above songs. In these tunes, “the Boss”, as the American singer-songwriter has become affectionately known, is the narrator trying to convince his beloved to join him for the ride.
So, on a rainy Saturday evening, I convinced (not in song, mind you, as I’m no Springsteen) my girlfriend to join me for a drive in SentiMETAL’s meticulously restored 1992 Opel Kadett GSi “Superboss” to the classic-car arm of cars.co.za’s gathering the following morning at Lourensford Wine Estate and the picturesque road that is Clarence Drive. She indulged me, happily agreeing to come along for the drive.
The Sunday morning was chilly. However, when turning the ignition switch, warmth filled the cabin as the 2.0-litre atmospheric four-pot idled. But before setting off, Hannes Oosthuizen, who spearheads SentiMETAL, gave me a quick run-through of the Kadett Superboss, showing me (now on my knees and peeking under the Imola Red bodywork) just how low it rides from the ground (indeed, speed bumps have to be avoided at all costs) and that he hoped I’d done some push-ups to handle the weighty steering set-up.
Audible thunks accompanied the closing of the doors. Seated low on the comfortable, fabric-upholstered pews, my preferred driving position dialled in; I subtly depressed the throttle while lifting my left foot off the clutch. It took some time to get used to the mechanical workings of this special Kadett. At low speeds, the steering was the heaviest of any car I’ve ever sampled. And it doesn’t want to be driven slowly. As the highway stretched ahead, I obliged, depressing the throttle. The engine responded. The revs rose. The Superboss is quick. Yet, it was surprisingly comfortable on the open road. We rolled down the windows for cool air (no air-con here). A naturally aspirated tune filtered through the interior. The exhaust note sounded glorious, raspy like a Springsteen guitar riff.
Now acquainted with the Kadett Superboss, we parked at Lourensford Estate for the SentiMETAL gathering, where it was displayed with various other marvellous metal. The Superboss is a truly special car. Built as a homologation special to compete against the BMW 325is in the Group N production car championship, where the Kadett Superboss claimed three consecutive victories, it is a home-grown hero. Only 500 were produced. How many still exist? We were told fewer than a fifth of these are on the register. So it was welcome to see this 1992 example wasn’t the only Superboss at the gathering.
It’s also worth noting that it held a world record. For nearly two decades, the Superboss’ engine had the most torque per litre (114 Nm/litre) of any normally aspirated car. And it would only be broken in 2009 when Ferrari introduced the 458. With this fact in mind, I yearned to return to the driver’s pew and get the Superboss’ rubber on a sinuous mountain road.
With the first bend approaching (and the steering’s weight on top of my mind), I calculated the necessary input. Right foot on the brake pedal, left foot depressing the clutch, swap to a lower gear. There it was again, that guttural tune. Unlike manoeuvring at low speeds, the heavy steering wasn’t uncomfortable around corners. It was welcomed. The feedback from the tarmac was relayed through the tiller to the palms. Then a long stretch of blacktop beckoned. The Superboss is a true-blue analogue driver’s car, a hot hatch for the ages.
At his ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ performance, the Boss mentioned, “There’s nothing like that moment in your life of being young and leaving some place … All that youthful freedom, you finally feel untethered from everything you’ve ever known.” The Kadett Superboss elicited a feeling of youthful freedom in us. It wasn’t like any hot hatch I’ve ever driven. And my, does it want to be driven. Cue Springsteen’s Born to Run.
Opel Kadett GSi Superboss
- Engine: 2.0 L, 4-cyl, petrol
- Transmission: 5-spd MT
- Driven wheels: F
- Power: 125 kW @ 6 200 r/min
- Torque: 228 Nm @ 4 800 r/min
- 0-100 km/h: 7.6 seconds
- Top speed: 223 km/h
- Weight: 971 kg
- Examples made: 500
A big thanks to Hannes Oosthuizen and SentiMETAL for allowing us to sample this South African special, the talented Diwan Krige for the photography and my significant other for coming along for the ride. It was an absolute privilege.
Read our feature on another South African special – the BMW 530 MLE – here.
