German automotive giant Opel has quickly created a great impact in the automotive world with the new Grandland, the newest member of its innovative product range. The brand's cute shark tradition, born from a child's imagination exactly 20 years ago, continues to live on with the striking design and advanced technology features of Opel's new premium SUV model Grandland. Blending superior German engineering with an enjoyable driving experience, Opel also differentiates itself with the surprises it hides in the models it offers to its users. The most striking of these surprises are the small sharks skillfully placed in various parts of Opel vehicles. The brand invites its customers to find these well-hidden tiny sea creatures by taking them on a pleasant journey into the inner world of an Opel. This unique tradition, which has been making drivers and passengers smile for nearly twenty years, is refreshed with the new Opel Grandland.
Opel’s new premium SUV model Grandland, which has been awarded the prestigious “Golden Steering Wheel” award, aims to offer an exclusive experience in every detail. Equipped with smart solutions such as adaptive headlights with Intelli-Lux HD lighting technology that literally turns night into day, standard Intelli-Seats seats that offer unparalleled comfort even on long journeys, and the semi-transparent Pixel Box center console that stands out with its innovative design, Grandland also promises a pleasant journey of discovery with the cute sharks hidden in its interior. However, it is necessary to be as careful as a detective to find exactly where these sea creatures are hiding. These tiny surprises, which do not give themselves away at first glance, can sometimes appear under a cover, sometimes in the depths of a storage area, or even when you look at the surroundings of your wirelessly charging phone from a different angle. Offering electric engine options in all versions and using a significant amount of recycled materials in its production, Grandland conserves resources in line with Opel’s “Eco-Friendly Innovation” approach, ensuring that the iconic sharks feel even more “at home” in the vehicle.
Opel Design Director Karim Giordimaina said that sharks have become a cute symbol of the Opel family and added: “These small details are a living proof of the great attention our designers pay to even the smallest detail. Many of our customers are already excited to find the sharks they will discover when they buy their next Opel model. These playful sharks are a living proof of how our vehicles can evoke emotions and inspire passion, both in detail and in the whole.”
So how did these cute creatures become such an indispensable feature of Opel vehicles? The interesting story goes back to a Sunday afternoon in 2004. While working on a drawing for the Corsa D model, which would be launched two years later, designer Dietmar Finger was focusing on the outer panel of the glove compartment, which was normally hidden by the closed passenger door. The panel had to be secured when the glove compartment was opened, and this was achieved by grooves in the plastic surface. While Finger was working on these grooves, his son looked at the drawing and asked, “Why don’t you just draw a shark?” The idea appealed to the designer, and he gave the grooves a characteristic shark shape. The next day, he showed this distinctive shark profile to Niels Loeb, then Corsa Chief Designer, and Loeb was amazed by the idea. Thus, with a tiny shark in the glove compartment, the Corsa D went into series production and the “Opel shark story” began.
Following the Corsa D came the Zafira model, and Karim Giordimaina, who was responsible for interior design at the time, hid three sharks in the cockpit of this compact van. Over time, these cute sea creatures began to appear in other Opel models. First appearing in the Opel ADAM, sharks embarked on an adventure that extended to the current Astra and Astra Sports Tourer series, and now this tradition continues in the new Grandland. Since the mid-2000s, the interior design director of each new model has made it a ritual to always “signature” a shark on the interior in the final stages of the development process. The locations of the sharks are kept a great secret, even from the company’s top executives. These small surprises, which usually remain secret until the vehicle’s launch, turn into an exciting “treasure hunt” for both company employees and Opel enthusiasts, ensuring that this legendary tradition of Opel remains alive. These tiny sea creatures, waiting to be discovered inside the new Grandland, await curious eyes in different corners of the vehicle.
These tiny predators will continue to be present in future Opel vehicles. Sometimes more obvious, sometimes more cleverly hidden, they will continue to surprise Opel enthusiasts by finding new “nests” in different locations specific to each model. So for customers, discovering how many sharks are hiding where in the new Opel models will always be an exciting adventure.
