Opel Commodore

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1970 Opel Rekord Coupé

The Opel Commodore was an intermediate-sized car from Opel of Germany. It is the six-cylinder variant of the Rekord with styling differences. Most notably the grille is different. Before the debut of the Commodore in 1969, six-cylinder versions of the Rekord were called the Rekord-6. The Commodore was built from 1969 to the early 1990s, though German production ceased in 1982. Its lineage continues with the Australian Holden Commodore today.

The Opel Commodore A was built from 1969 to 1971 and was powered by 2.2, 2.5 and 2.8 L engines. It was available as a two-door hardtop coupé or four-door sedan. A sporty model, the GS/E, débuted in 1970. It had a 2.8L engine equipped with Bosch D-jetronic fuel injection system developing 160 hp, which gave the car a top speed of 197 km/h. This began a line of cult Opels in the 1970s. (The current Opel Vectra C GTS five-door is meant to recall the spirit of the Commodore GS/E.)

The Commodore B was launched simultaneously with the Rekord D in 1972, now with 2.5 and 2.8 L engines. Four models were offered: 2500 S, 2500 GS, 2800 GS and 2800 GS/E as either a two-door notchback hardtop coupè or four-door saloon. The top engine in the GS/E now produced 160 PS, and 190 km/h was quoted as its top speed.

The Rekord and Commodore were also assembled as CKD kits in Switzerland in the early to late 70ies. These cars carried the name "Ranger" and differed from the originals in having different grilles and trim; presumably to satisfy those European customers who didn´t wish to own a German car, these cars were exported to various countries.

In 1978 the Commodore C was launched with the Rekord. The Commodore C went out of production in 1983.

The 1978 model, which featured a similar front end to the larger Senator, was sold by Vauxhall in the UK as the Vauxhall Viceroy. This model formed the basis of the first Holden Commodore in Australia, and was also sold in South Africa as a Chevrolet until 1982, when it was rebadged as an Opel.

A station wagon (dubbed 'Caravan' in Germany) was offered in the Opel range from late 1979 to 1983, and was not offered by Vauxhall in the UK as a Viceroy, but it became a mainstay in the Holden one, and was also available as a Chevrolet in South Africa. The coupé was not offered in the Commodore C range, its role taken up by the larger Opel Monza.

The Commodore (or Viceroy) was dropped by GM in Europe, absorbed into the revised Opel Rekord range of 1983. A revised version of the Commodore remained in production in South Africa until the early 1990s, again combining the bodyshell of the Rekord with the front end of the revised Senator, which was not sold in that country. (A similar model, the Royale, was also produced by Daewoo in South Korea.)

External links

• [Opel Commodore history (in Russian)]
• [Opel Commodore A technical information (in Finnish)]

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