Opel Kapitän P2
(1959 - 1963)
Opel Kapitän P2: All models
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The first Opel Kapitän was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 1938, 75 years ago. This report summarizes the various Kapitän generations and shows them in pictures.
When hobby-Auto editor Werner Oswald compared the new Chevrolet Corvair with the Opel Kapitän P2 in December 1959, the future of the rear-wheel-drive American with its air-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine was still written in the stars. Oswald believed that it would cause a similar revolution in the automobile market as Chevrolet had once triggered when the Chevy overtook the Ford Model T. Oswald was quite wrong with his speculation, as was already recognized in the mid-sixties. This article reproduces the original text from 1959 and shows the two rivals from the GM Group in many archive photos.
For many years, Germany's best-selling six-cylinder car did not come from Stuttgart. The Opel Kapitän P 2.6 presented in 1959 was the Rüsselsheim-based company's big success. No Kapitän before or after it sold more; none embodied the dream of prosperity during the economic miracle more. This article tells the story of the Opel flagship with the panoramic windows and shows it in many photos as well as in the sales literature of the time. A sound sample of the six-cylinder engine is also included.
After an incredible three years of model consistency, Opel presented the new Rekord in the summer of 1960, which was soon called the "P2". In keeping with the style of the time, panoramic windows and body curves were no longer quite so pronounced, which benefited all-round visibility and ease of entry. The editor of Automobil-Illustrierte had almost nothing but words of praise for the new Rüsselsheim mid-size class, even apart from its looks. This article reproduces an original test report from 1960 and shows the 1961 Opel Rekord in extensive historical photos and sales material.
The second generation of the panoramic windshield Rekord continued the lineage of Rüsselsheim's mid-size cars, beginning in 1935 with the Olympia, and cemented Opel's reputation as a manufacturer of well-designed, reliable and affordable automobiles. The coupé, launched one year after the saloon, was not out of line. Nevertheless, there was a lot to report about the two-door model with the huge trunk... This article quotes an original test report from April 1962 and shows the Rekord P2 Coupé in historical photos and sales material.
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