Opel Rekord P2

Opel Rekord P2
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel
Production	1960–1963
Assembly	Germany: Rüsselsheim South Africa: Port Elizabeth
Body and chassis
Class	Large family car (D)
Body style	2/4-door saloon 3-door station wagon 3-door van 2-door coupé 2-door pickup (South Africa only)
Powertrain
Engine	1,488 cc I4 1,680 cc I4
Transmission	3-speed manual 4-speed manual optional
Chronology
Predecessor	Opel Rekord P1
Successor	Opel Rekord Series A

The Opel Rekord P2 is a large family car that was introduced in the summer of 1960,^[1] by Opel as a replacement for the Opel Rekord P1. It shared its 2,541 mm wheelbase with its predecessor, but was nonetheless a little longer and wider. The wrap-around windscreen which had been a defining element of the Rekord P1, and which had given rise to the P for "Panorama" designation, was now gone, but the P designation remained and the driver's view out, assisted by relatively thin A-pillars, remained good.

A departure with the P2 was a volume produced coupé version. A coupé version of the P1 had been offered but this was a conversion by a specialist body builder which made it hugely expensive and it found few buyers. Opel were able to price the factory produced P2 coupé far more competitively and it sold well. However, the big seller in the Rekord range was, as before, the saloon (sedan) version, available with two or four doors. The Rekord P2 consistently achieved second place in the West German sales charts, beaten to the top slot only by the smaller and cheaper Volkswagen Beetle.^[1] Despite selling at a rate marginally ahead of that achieved by its successful predecessor, the Rekord P2 was replaced in February 1963, after only 30 months, by the Rekord Series A.^[1]