xiao car has posted shots of a car we have never properly appreciated here before, and it’s not going to be hard to feel some love for it, as it’s a sweet little coupe. The Opel Rekord P2 arrived in the summer of 1960, just shortly before we left Austria, so I remember that it was a pretty big deal. The Rekord consistently was the number two selling car in Germany, behind the Volkswagen Beetle, but it did not compete with it, as it was a good class or two above it. If the Beetle was Germany’s Chevy, then the Opel was their Buick, and the Mercedes was their Cadillac.
The really sweet part is that the P2 now offered a coupe, and not just a glorified two-door sedan. Germans took their coupes seriously, and they were invariably genuine, with a shorter and lower roof, and typically a sloping rear roof line. The one on this Rekord rather nails it; all the right ingredients with which to tell the world that you could afford to pay significantly more for this coupe and that you either didn’t have kids or weren’t going to care how cramped they were in the back seat.
The significantly shorter roof resulted in a quite long rear end, not unlike the 1960.5 Corvair coupe that arrived just a few months earlier. There were more similarities, inasmuch as these two were about the same size, with the Opel 178″ long and the Corvair 180″ long. But other than that, they were obviously very different, as the Opel was highly conventional and was really just a new body on its predcessor’s platform. A rather elderly pushrod OHV four that dated back to 1937, with either 1.5 (50 hp) or 1.7 liters (55 hp), three speed manual on the column, with an optional four speed, also column-shifted. It was Germany’s version of the venerable Buick straight eight.
The fins are age-appropriate, and looked more at home on the Opel than the ones on the similarly-new Mercedes “fintail”.
Yes, there was a lot of US styling influence everywhere; that steering wheel looks very much like it would be at home on a Buick too. Of course the dash and the rest of the interior were a lot more basic (spartan) than a Buick or even a Chevy, but then that reflected the reality of the market in Germany at the time.
The Rekord’s front end design is an interesting thing, as it’s not really American-influenced, at least not directly.
It’s a pretty blatant crib of Pininfarina’s 1957 Alfa Romeo 2000 Coupe “Sestriere”. Admittedly, the Alfa coupe’s front end was conidered to be “American influenced” and that’s undoubtedly true, as there none of the usual Alfa styling cues to be seen there, and the wide, low grille was one that had popped out on several 1957 American cars.
The one that was the most obvious influence was the ’57 Ford. Since the new ’57 American cars came out in the fall of 1956, there would have been plenty of time for Pininfarina to “be inspired” and make it his own on a coach-built car like the Alfa coupe. So in a curious twist, the Rekord P2 is paying a bit of homage to the ’57 Ford.
And with that long tail, it could have been a retractable roof like the Skyliner. Never mind…
I did like Opel’s wheel covers back then: simple and with that little gold bullet in the center.
PS: The previous generation Rekord (P1) was imported to the US and in pretty decent numbers, but the P2 generation was not, as the Corvair was arriving at the same time. Buick dealers that had sold Opels had nothing to sell until 1964, when the smaller Kadett arrived.
Never seen one of these. Not a bad looking car.
And this must be the inspiration for the styling for the Fuselage Chryslers. The proportions are so similar.
New one on me, and certainly looks “German”, which in the context is a compliment. Some how, many German cars from that period, say from the early 1950s to the first Audi 100 and the last Rekords somehow look German. Something to do with the stance, the window shapes and pillars, maybe even the configuration. Look at an Ascona estate, VW Type 4 Variant, Audi 100 Coupe, many Kadetts.
And it looks like a well cared for example, and the first photo could almost be a period shot.
A rather attractive, appealing and “easy-on-the-eyes” stylish 2 door coupe.
What did it drive like?
As good as it looks?
I keep seeing ’56 Chevy in that front end. And the crossed-flags steering wheel has an Impala SS vibe to it.
This is new to me, and is fascinating to look at. I can’t say that I love it, but I like it.
That tail end reminds me of several cars, like a 53-54 high end Packard, the 54 Pontiac (though it only used a single taillight) and the 58 Rambler (which went a little wilder on the fins).
I recognize the Rekord – but not the coupe. I’ve never seen a real Rekord of this style. However I do have French Dinky # 554 which is the four door sedan version, so I knew the car.
I see Pontiac in the styling. The rear fenders have the line of the ’55/’56 Pontiac and the steering wheel seems ’58/’59 Bonneville.
Very attractive car. The rear appears to be a dialed back 1957 Cadillac….
100%
These cars are often nicknamed “rasender Kofferraum” (speeding trunk) because of their long rear end. Sadly they are quite rare nowadays, but are often refered as one of the most attractive cars of the era, so they got their share of love from car enthusiasts over here.
It is one of my favourite Opels.
Who wouldn’t love to have one of these as a weekend city car in 2022…
Rekords of this generation were pretty popular here in Uruguay, and they were at about the same class as in Germany. 2 and 4 door sedans as well as the Olympia 2 door station wagon were very common, but I remember only 2 coupes, one of them off white with a red top and the other one in some kind of silver. The cars were about 15 years old at the time, the off-white one was still in pretty good shape and I remember it being driven by an older guy who probably was its original owner. Nice seeing these pictures!
Well, yes, it is a really nice looking car. And with a V8 and auto it would have had chance to be a great car. I regret to say Opel started selling it with 40 hp and a manual three speed. Those poor 40 horses were meant to move more than 2000 lbs – no good idea. To reach 60 mph it would take more than half a minute.
A friend of mine had inherited one of these in nice condition, but when he was offered a Lancia Aurelia he was more than happy to trade in that Opel.
I’m definitely a fan, including of the color – like lime sherbet. I would never have guessed after looking at both cars that the Rekord and Corvair coupes were roughly the same length.
Thanks for a thoughtful perspective which opened my eyes to some of the positive aspects of this car. Well that, and the passage of time has changed my feelings as well. As a little kid, I liked that these cars, along with German Fords and Vauxhalls, looked like small American cars … unlike those weird Beetles or Mini’s. As I got older, with more sophisticated 😀 tastes, and GM Europe, especially Opel, developed some really nice designs in the late sixties and through the early eighties, this generation of Opel just looked dated. But it has aged well, and that airy greenhouse and elegant grill are in a completely different class than, say, a Ford Consul Capri of the same vintage.
It would look even better with less fender over the wheel openings, but I’ve been trained in “lower, wider, longer” since birth.
I was going to echo Ralph; these American-styled small Eurocars of the period often had their proportions spoiled (to the native eye) by wheels, and wheel openings, that were a little too small. But it’s a sweet thing, anyway. I’ve certainly never seen it before . . .
I don’t mind being consistently ignored, here—but I do wish that, after checking the “notify me” boxes, I would actually receive emailed notification. Perhaps my posts bring the conversation to a screeching halt ?
Nice looking car except for the grille, which reappeared in Australia on BMC OZ answer to the Holden Falcon and Valiant sixes they added two cylinders to the 1622cc four and changed the grille, now I know where they got it.
Just so, the 2.4 6-cyl Austin Freeway with the local B-series engine stretch, and that grille effect to try and visually widen it. To no avail on sales, or, to me, appearance.
Opel were king in Holland and yes I remember these, our cheese supplier ( there were many door to door delivery men who made a pre-supermarket living) had a Caravan or estate.
I always loved those small twin taillights but for a 6 year old kid it was very disappointing that the reverse lights were never connected on these Opels in Holland
The 2 door saloon was the most popular, there hardly wre any 4 doors around, except for Dinky Toys France who made a beautiful pale yellow 4 door with a white roof (I still have it in a rather poor condition – they also made a very rare German taxi version in black which is worth a fortune) and the Caravan was very popular . There were also quite some coupés around, the Caravan as a closed van but the 4 door this must still be the rarest beast.
And these were good, simple reliable cars that any blacksmith could fix
These were about when I grew up, but not many. Most were the 4 door sedans of course but I still remember these coupes as well. Most of them were on their last legs, they rusted away as all older cars did then.
Never saw the appeal in them. Not a beautiful car, too high and big on its tiny wheels. They were slow and had bad roadholding. At least that was the opinion of my uncle, who was glad when he eventually sold it.
Just saw the comment from Rammstein and he is right, the 2-door sedan was the most common, not the 4 door as I said. Not sure why I said 4 door, I had the 2 door in my mind. Sorry for the confusion.
I’m with the crowd: mildly impressed. It’s really not bad, and a good deal prettier than the sedan (which is itself two miles in front of the gormless P1). The roof angle must make the rear seat a bit of a headbanger, though.
Like the Austin mentioned above, I’m sure the grille-stretch is an attempt to visually lower and widen it. And like that car too, the fact the panels can be seen behind makes it a bit obviously decorative.
I owned one in d 60’s bought from a friend of my father
Never gave me any trouble very economical
I service it myself with very small 4 cyl engine with no much power
I regretted selling it but I was looking for more engine power at d time
The ’58 Buick has a wrap-around rectangular grille below its quad headlights, but the rest of the car is too abominable to post a picture here, and the grille texture is unique. The turnsignals are in the same spot, but in pods, chrome, of course.
’58 Buick grille. tinyurl.com/3enttdyh That’s quite a casting. I wonder how that sort of shape is cast, in production. Surely not sand-cast ?
A few P2 Rekords did find their way to the US, like this patina-mobile / P2 Coupe in my driveway right now. Was a fun challenge to bring back from the dead.