DeAgostini 1:43 Chevrolet Opala: Brazil Federal Highway Police

The Chevrolet Opala was a Brazilian executive car sold under the Chevrolet brand in South America from 1969 to 1992, by General Motors do Brasil. It was derived from the German Opel Rekord Series C, Opel Commodore Series A, but used local design styling and engines sourced from North America. GM manufactured about one million units including the Opala sedan, Opala Coupé, and the station wagon variant, the Opala Caravan. It was replaced by the Chevrolet Omega in 1992, also an Opel spinoff. It was the first passenger car built by GM in Brazil by the General Motors do Brasil division. A luxury version of the Opala was marketed as the Chevrolet Diplomata.

It was used by the Brazilian Federal Police for many years. The military government issued Opalas to its agents through the 1970s. Its reliability and easy maintenance made the Opala the choice of many taxi drivers and was also popular on racetracks.

The Opala "Coupé" continued as a pillarless hardtop well into the late 1980s, long after U.S. automakers dropped the body style.

The Opala's long-lived 250-cubic-inch (4.1 L) engine was also used in its replacement, the Chevrolet Omega (which featured electronic fuel injection in the GLS and CD trims) from 1995 to 1998. Some of the Opalas components and chassis were used in other Brazilian cars such as the Santa Matilde, Puma GTB, and the Fera XK (a Jaguar XK replica).

Founded in January 1925, General Motors do Brasil originally only assembled, and later, manufactured, light trucks and utilities until the mid-1960s, when they decided to produce their first Brazilian-made passenger car.

The options varied between the traditional, large, more expensive American-style cars that GM was already selling in the United States line, such as the Impala, and the lighter and more economical models from German GM-subsidiary Opel (such as the Kadett, Olympia, Rekord and Commodore) which were already imported to Brazil in small quantities. After wavering between the small Kadett and the somewhat larger Rekord/Commodore line, GMB opted for the latter, but later introduced the Kadett as well.

On November 23, 1966, in a Press Conference at the Club Atlético Paulistano in São Paulo, GM publicly announced "Project 676", which would become the Chevrolet Opala.

The name Opala may come from the opal, which is a precious stone, colourless when extracted from the soil, but which acquires multiple tones when exposed to light. Some commented that the name was a portmanteau of the brand name "Opel", and the Chevy Impala, as the model was derived from the German Opel Rekord, and one of its engines (the 230 in³, and later, 250 in³ Chevrolet straight-six) was also used in the North American Chevrolet Impala. GM claims that this was not their intention, as the name Opala - one of six finalists from thousands of suggestions - was chosen by a journalist. Its rapid acceptance with the general public led to the approval of the choice.