Opel Rekord
Born: 1953 Died: 1986
Some car models are remembered because they were innovative or special, others simply because they do what they were designed to do without fuss, and achieved longevity for that. And so, needing something fresher than the pre-war family car Olympias with which they had restarted car production after the second World War, Opel in Germany tapped the style and marketing ideas of its US parent General Motors and came up with the first generation Olympia Rekord in March of 1953.
The car had the heavy fronts of contemporary American designs, but following the frugality of European practice was powered only by a 40hp 1488cc petrol engine, something of a struggle pushing the ton of metal in its various guises of 2-door saloon, soft-top saloon or wagon. In the US it was also the era of the yearly remodelling job, and over its five years the Olympia Rekord in Europe had no fewer than four facelifts, typically involving new grilles and chromework, but the roofline was changed at least once. In 1956 the engine gained five hp. The company sold an average of 12,000 units a year and for the times it was a success.
In 1957 the Rekord P1 introduced a larger car and the very American wraparound windscreen and rear window shapes, which echoed the Chevrolet Bel Air styling of Stateside. The 1.5-litre engine was retained, and the formats were two-door saloon and two-door wagon. This latter was the first Opel to appear in the US market itself, sold through the Buick network. An entry-level version with a 1196cc engine was introduced in 1959, which wasn't a disadvantage as it had an output of 40hp while the larger engine was still only 45hp. In 1960 a 1680cc engine option appeared in the catalogue, outputting 55hp. About 900,000 units were sold over the three years it was produced.
A totally new body, minus some of the extremes in the glasswork, was produced in 1960 as the Rekord P II. The underpinnings were pretty much the same, but in 1962 a more powerful (60hp) version of the 1680cc engine became optionally available. The body style didn't change much through the life of the version, which sold over 780,000 copies. A complete style change came in 1963, and the Rekord A which was to become quite familiar in Ireland, appeared with sharp-edged and flat panel styling, once again reflecting how the styling mood in America was developing and moving ahead of the still curvy European norms. Though it looked lighter, and the bodymetal was actually quite easily dented, the overall car was heavier and the 1488cc engine had now been uprated to 55hp. The larger engine now came in 60hp and 67hp versions, and in some markets the 2605cc six from the Opel Kapitan provided 100hp and the ability to top the 'ton'.
It was around this period that the 3-door wagon became the car of choice for every central heating and plumbing contractor in Ireland (this writer amongst them). This was not least because the car could take 10 lengths of ¾" gunbarrel piping on the roof rack, and inside with the rear seat down could accommodate a boiler and five or six radiators! The rear leaf springs often weren't enough to keep the chassis off the rubber bump stops, but it always made it to the work site.
In 1966, the Rekord B was reworked and given rectangular headlights. More important was the new engine, available in a 60hp 1492cc or 75hp 1,698cc sizes. In markets outside Ireland, there was a 90hp 1897cc and that 100hp 2605cc. The 1967 Rekord C brought the 'coke bottle' styling to Opel. It used uprated versions of most engines, but a 2,239cc with 95hp replaced the previous 2.7-litre. It became the first Rekord model to sell more than a million. The Rekord D between 1972-1977, a bit bigger in style and with more powerful versions of the engines as well as the first diesel option, a 2.3-litre unit that required a bulge in the bonnet to accommodate it.
A six-cylinder version became the Commodore B, and it was through this that the Rekord can be said to have been the ancestor of the Omega that was Opel's flagship car until recently. Finally there was a Rekord E from 1977-1986, and halfway through the lifecycle, in 1982, the Vauxhall Carlton version was the beginning of the demise of the British brand as an independent producer of its cars.