Opel was born in Rüsselsheim and studied at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, eventually earning his doctorate. After graduating, he became a testing director and head of publicity for the Opel company. His father, Wilhelm von Opel, was ennobled in 1917, extending the title to his descendants, including Fritz.
Opel’s early motorsport success included victory in a 1923 race at the AVUS track on an Opel 346 cc motorcycle, averaging 87 km/h. He also excelled in motorboat racing, dominating events on the Seine in Paris in July 1927 with his "Opel II," equipped with two 260 hp Maybach Mb IVa engines, winning the "Coupe de France," the "Prize of the French Naval Minister," and the "Trophée de Paris." He continued his winning streak in Germany with the "Blue Band of the Rhine" and the ADAC regatta on Lake Starnberg, ultimately being crowned German Champion at the ADAC Motorboat Championship on Templiner See.
The Opel RAK program, commissioned by Fritz von Opel in association with Max Valier and Friedrich Wilhelm Sander, involved a series of rocket-powered cars and planes. These demonstrations were highly effective publicity for the Opel automotive business and initiated a public fascination with rocketry, dubbed “Raketenrummel.” In 1928, the Opel RAK.1 achieved a top speed of 75 km/h, demonstrating the feasibility of rocket propulsion. A rail vehicle, the RAK3, reached 256 km/h.
The program also pioneered rocket-powered flight. On 11 June 1928, Fritz Stamer piloted the Lippisch Ente, the world’s first rocket glider. Following a crash during a test flight, von Opel commissioned a new aircraft, the RAK.1, designed by Julius Hatry. On 17 September 1929, Hatry piloted the plane about 500 meters at a height of 20 meters at a speed of 100 km/h, propelled by solid fuel rockets. Von Opel himself then flew the RAK.1 publicly on 30 September 1929, proclaiming it the “world’s first rocket plane.”
The Opel RAK experiments had a lasting impact. They influenced a young Wernher von Braun, who was inspired by the demonstrations to build his own rocket car, and paved the way for jet-assisted takeoff and the development of the Messerschmitt Me-163, the first operational rocket fighter craft. The German military also took notice, funding further rocket development that ultimately led to the V-2 ballistic missile.
Following the break-up of the Opel-RAK collaboration, Max Valier continued rocket research but died during testing and is considered the first fatality of the space age. In 1928, Opel rejected a merger of German automobile companies proposed by the Association of the German Automobile Industry. In 1929, 80% of the Opel company shares were sold to General Motors, with GM acquiring the remaining 20% in 1931. Von Opel invested his fortune in the USA, where it was later confiscated during the war.
Von Opel left Germany before 1930, eventually settling in France and Switzerland, where he died in 1971. He was present at a 1933 meeting where German industrialists pledged support to Adolf Hitler, but did not personally contribute to the donations. In 1947, he married Emita Herrán Olózaga and became the father of Formula One driver Rikky von Opel. He was briefly detained by British authorities in 1940 and later investigated by the FBI in 1942, but was eventually released.
[unverified] Further research into the post-war activities of Fritz von Opel and his involvement in any business ventures beyond those mentioned in the corpus would be needed to fully understand his life after leaving Germany.
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