Making the right choice when buying a car, satisfying your hobby, creating a strategy for your company, or simply broadening your horizons is only possible with complete and detailed information about each automotive brand, its history, and its products. This is facilitated by resources that collect, retrieve, and verify such information. Considering that the history of the automobile began more than a century and a half ago, it does not help to retain information that goes farther back in time. Already today, we are increasingly faced with the fact that a lot of information about those who stood at the origins of the automobile industry is gradually lost, disappearing, remaining only in scraps of memories, old newspapers, photos, and postcards.
What car brands that start with O?
Opening the page with a list of car brands that start with the letter “O,” you notice that it is quite small compared to other lists. And this is not only because automakers did not very like this letter. Nevertheless, you can find more than a dozen names, among which are brands from the beginning of the last century, as well as modern ones. The world-famous Opel and representative of the Brazilian car industry Obvio!, Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili, OM Carrelli Elevatori S.p.A. and many others.
Collecting and organizing the information found not only benefits those who are interested in it. It makes it possible to preserve the car’s history for future generations. Knowing your car’s past, which is closely linked to the history of humanity, helps you better understand your present and more accurately predict your future.
Opel
Since 1862, as a manufacturer of sewing machines, the German future automotive brand Opel Automobile GmbH, headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Germany, traces its history. In 1886, the production of bicycles began. The first Opel-Lutzmann car came out in 1899. In 1900, a contract was signed with Automobiles Darracq S.A., France, to produce Opel-Darracq until 1907. In 1902 the own development of the car appeared. In 1929 it was purchased by General Motors. In 1940, the millionth car was released. In 2017, PSA (Stellantis) became the owner of the brand.
Orca Engineering
In 2003, the René and Ralph Beck company was founded in Ebenholz, Vaduz, Liechtenstein to produce sports cars. They designed and built the Orca 113 platform and the Beck LM800 prototype. The Orca 113 was available in three versions. It produced seven cars – 3 C113 coupes, 2 R113 – a concept version of the C113 roadster, and 2 SC7 (exclusive model). Its production was discontinued in 2007. Until 2012, the Beck LM 800 was the only car created by the brand. It used an Audi Twin Turbo V8 engine.
ORECA
ORECA (Organization Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) was originally a French racing team founded in 1973 by Hugues de Chaunac. Since 2007 the brand began to be used as a manufacturer of sports cars. Courage Compétition prototypes were created on its basis. The first car of the brand was the Oreca 01 LMP1 class. In 2009, the FLM09 model was developed for Formula Le Mans. In 2015 and 2017, the Oreca 05 and Oreca 07 were released, respectively. A modification of the latter, the Acura ARX-05, participated in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
OSCA
The Italian OSCA (an acronym for Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili) was founded in 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena in Emilia-Romagna. The brand’s history begins ten years before its official registration when in 1937, the Maserati brothers sold the plant to Adolfo and Omar Orsi. And only in 1948, the company begin to operate as production of moving machinery. The first racing model, MT4, was produced. The company created elegant two-seat coupes based on the 1600 GT and 1600 GT2 racing chassis – Frua, Michelotti, Zagato, Fissore e Vignale. In 1967, after the sale of MV Agusta in 1964, the brand was closed.
Osella Engineering
Osella Engineering was an Italian racing team founded by Vincenzo ‘Enzo’ Ozella that began competing in the 1960s in Abarth, Italy. In 1975, in its workshops, the brand assembled its development of the Osella FA2 chassis, sold a year later. The next development Osella FA3 as a subject for sale, was not a success. At this point, the production direction of the sports team was discontinued. The team itself began to take the lead again and was not recalled until 1980 to 1990.
Oakland Motor Car Company
The Oakland Motor Car Company of America was founded in 1907 in Pontiac, Michigan, US. In 1909, General Motors acquired it to sell luxury and expensive models of cars to create competition in this segment to the leading brand Pontiac. The main achievement of the brand was to create affordable prices for the expensive category of cars to survive from the competitor’s market. The brand’s most popular models were the Oakland Model 40 of 1909, the Model 50 V8 of 1916, the Model 212 All-American Sport Cabriolet of 1928, and the Model 212 All-American Landaulette Sedan. In 1931, unable to withstand the competition, the brand was closed.
Obvio!
In 2001, a company was created in Brazil to produce low-cost micro-cars. It developed two models Obvio! 828 and Obvio! 01. The U.S. market played the main role in their distribution through ZAP. But the designer’s death, whose name played an important role in the deal, led to the impossibility of implementing the grand plan. In 2019, the company was shut down, and its facilities were sold or taken over by the government.
Ogle Design
Ogle Design was a small British design company working in automotive design. It was founded by David Ogle in 1954 in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, to produce industrial and household equipment that was successful with the consumer. In 1959 the brand took up vehicle design. Its facilities began producing light-duty trucks and cars. After the death of the model’s founder, the SX1000, in 1962, the new executive closed the car production.
Ohta Jidosha
In 1922, Hiro Otoi founded one of Japan’s oldest car manufacturers, the Ohta Jidosha Seizosho Co., Ltd., in Tokyo, Japan. The prototype Ohta Model OS was created and produced when the company was founded. The beginning of the main car production was implemented only in 1934. In 1935, the brand was renamed Kosoku Kikan Kogyo Co., Ltd. In 1936, the Ohta Model OC was released. In 1937, was released Ohta Model OD. In 1947, the company became Ohta Jidosha Kogyo Co., Ltd. After the war; the brand released the Model PA, which became the Tokyo Taxi. The OE model, the VK-2 model, and the PK-1 model were produced. In 1957, the brand was closed.
OKA Motor Company
Australian automobile brand OKA Motor Company from Bibra Lake, Western Australia, was founded in 1986 and is known for its comfortable cabs and bodies installed on all-terrain vehicle chassis. The company created updated all-wheel-drive trucks and tour buses. It created three basic models – XT, LT, and NT, on which different body variants were produced – one or two-cab, multi-cab, for buses. The designer of such a prefabricated vehicle was Alan William Baker. In 2011, the company ceased to exist.
OM
Italian motor company OM Carrelli Elevatori S.p.A. traces its history back to 1917 and is located in Milan, Italy. It produces vehicles under the brand name OM Pimespo. Until 1933 it was an independent company. The brand’s first car was the Tipo S305 of 1918, based on the Italian Zust. In 1923 the legendary OM 665 Superba was produced. In 1968, the company was acquired by FIAT and became known as FIAT Carrelli Elevatori. In 2002 the company left the structure of FIAT and refocused on the production of high-quality material handling equipment.
OSI
OSI or Officine Stampaggi Industriali of Turin, Italy, since 1960, was engaged in the production of bodies created by Luigi Segre and Arrigo Olivetti as a design department of Ghia. During its short existence, the brand, which after the death of Luigi Segre in 1963 could not stay afloat and was completely liquidated in 1968, managed to create several custom models using Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Ford products. Among its first products was the Innocenti 950 Spider body from 1960. Ford’s modification of the Anglia Torino became very famous.
ÖAF
ÖAF or Österreichische Automobil-Fabrik was founded in 1907 as Österreichische Austro-Fiat in Floridsdorf, Austria to produce cars and trucks. Today the brand is a subsidiary of MAN SE. The brand’s fame was created by its 4-ton truck in 1911. The brand received its name Österreichische Automobil-Fabrik in 1925, immediately beginning the sale of Italian Fiat. The last private car of the brand was the Type 1001. In 1925, a light truck AFN was produced, and in 1928 – AF2. In 1929 the Austro-Fiat-1001 bus was produced, and the production of passenger cars began. After the privatization in 1970, the company acquired MAN. In 2001, the brand was renamed MAN Sonderfahrzeuge AG.
Otomo
Yunya Toyokawa 1924 founded the Otomo automobile company, which produced experimental automobiles and propulsion systems based on the plant Hakuyosha Ironworks Ltd. The brand produced Ales cars whose sedan or van bodies were two- and four-seaters. The mass production of Otomo models provided the formation of cabs. The models had a wood frame covered with sheet iron. In 1927, the company became part of Gorham, which another Japanese carmaker joined. The new company was financed by the American aircraft engineer William Gorham.
Overland Automobile Company
The Overland Automobile Company of America, founded by Claude Cox in 1903 at Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. After moving to Indianapolis, Indiana founder in 1908 sold his company to John North Willys, who renamed the company Willys-Overland in 1912. In 1910, the company created its iconic Overland 42 model, based on which Milton Reeves would create his eight-wheeler Reeves Octo-Auto. The Overlands were produced until 1926, when the Willys Whippet replaced them.
Oldsmobile
ODA
Osterreichische Austro-Fiat
What supercar starts with O?
Finding supercars whose name, trademark, or brand begins with the letter “O” proved to be quite problematic. And now, there are no supercar manufacturers among these brands.
What is the car with the O logo?
Two letters, “O,” are used in the logo of the Japanese model Otomo. To consider as letter “O” is possible and a variant of logos of Opel, OSCA, and other brands which use graphic element having similarity with this letter.
What expensive cars start with the letter O?
Among expensive models of cars whose brand began with the letter O, it is possible to allocate production of Oakland brand which models at one time were inferior in price only to Pontiac.
