Spotted: an Opel Rekord

The spotted specimen

Sometimes we can spot cars without even leaving our desks.
Passing by our editorial office in Bodegraven the other day, for example, was this still-as-new Opel Rekord of the 1977 model.
Unfortunately, the license plates are not readable at this distance, so this time we have no information about the specific year and version of the spotted specimen.
In any case, it is one of the more modest versions, which makes it all the nicer, as far as we are concerned, that it has been preserved.
Time for a review of this now perhaps somewhat forgotten mid-size car.

History of the Opel Rekord

The history of the Rekord goes back to 1953, when the Opel Olympia Rekord appeared as the successor to the Olympia.
The new 1957 model also appeared as the Olympia Rekord, but in 1959 Rekord became the type name.
This model is therefore considered the first generation Opel Rekord, afterwards referred to as the Rekord P1.
In 1960, the Rekord P2 already appeared.

The succession went quickly, because by 1963 another new Opel Rekord was already ready.
For this model, the still-used letter designation for the different model generations was introduced.
Despite the fact that the 1963 Rekord was actually the third generation, the “count” began again, with the letter A. Thus the model line continued to evolve until the introduction of the Rekord E in 1977.
All this time, the Rekord was positioned primarily as a large, spacious family car in the middle class.

The Rekord E

The Opel Rekord E adopted much technology from the Rekord D, but was otherwise completely new.
Like the earlier model, there was a choice of a two- or four-door sedan and a three- or five-door station wagon (Caravan).
In some countries, the three-door station wagon also came in van version.
In terms of engines, there was a choice of 1.7- to 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engines and 2.0- to 2.3-liter four-cylinder diesels.
Shifting was standard with a four-speed manual transmission, but a three-speed automatic was optional for most versions.
All models had rear-wheel drive.

In late 1982, the Rekord E underwent a facelift, with the car receiving almost entirely redesigned front and rear ends.
The moderate-selling two-door sedan was dropped.
The engine lineup was also updated.
It now consisted of 1.8- to 2.2-liter gasoline engines and a 2.3-liter diesel with or without turbocharging.
Because of the many changes, even the generation designation was changed, to E2.
Retroactively, the original 1977 model is now called Rekord E1.

Variants of the Opel Rekord

Those who found a Rekord not luxurious enough could opt for the Opel Commodore.
This was basically the same car as in previous model generations, but with extra luxury.
What was new with the Rekord E was that the Commodore now had its own front end and was thus positioned even more as a separate model.
In the United Kingdom, the Rekord was delivered as the Vauxhall Carlton, which before the facelift also had its own front end.
This was because before the facelift, the Opel Rekord and Vauxhall Carlton were simply delivered as competitors side by side in the UK.
In South Africa, the Rekord was briefly delivered as a Chevrolet.
Finally, the Opel Rekord and Commodore formed the basis for the Holden Commodore, which did differ from the Opels in a number of ways.

Succession for the Opel Rekord

The Rekord E would prove to be the last generation.
In 1986, the model was succeeded by yet another completely new Opel, the Omega.