The first Opel Commodore came on the market in 1967 and was very American styled at the insistence of its parent company GM. The car was almost sensual for an Opel.
The Opel Commodore 2500 GS
In 1968, Peter van Burik's father - Peter is a dealer in commercial vehicles, vans and so on - bought his Opel Commodore GS coupe from Hessing in de Bilt after selling his Camaro.
The six-cylinder Rekords
The Rekords were already available with six-cylinder front, but from 1967 they got their own name: Opel Commodore. And with that, Opel lost its Betuwe controversy of "Every l * l his own Opul." Because the time was right.
We are going back to the late XNUMXs. Everything changed. Everything was possible. Everything was allowed. Sex was still safe. Everyone had long hair and smoked weed. And tapping thirty beers in an evening was no binge drinking, but just fun. It was that spirit of the times that led the people of Opel to rename the already existing Rekord six-cylinder line to 'Commodores'. This new name also brought a new impetus.
Bullying BMW and Mercedes
Because it was Opel's serious intention with the Opel Commodore, the people of BMW and Mercedes to deliver sleepless nights. Opel did so with the six-cylinder 2,5 liter GS with its double register carburetors. But in order to make it clear to the world what the GS 'topper was, the looks of the still standard Rekord coach had to be seriously pimped.
The GS got 14 inch rims with a Rostyle-like, instead of the 13 inch Rekord wheels, and a set of decorative strips including the characteristic aluminum strip between the rear lights, usually a set of optional spotlights and its characteristic vinyl top.
Inside the house it was also spacious
More clocks than many Opel drivers could imagine, a poker, a luxurious interior with beautiful wooden finishing details. Including a sports steering wheel with wooden edge. With upgraded brakes and stabilizers, the GS was such a very serious beast with which you could make it very difficult for the driver of a Mercedes 280SE or BMW 2500 on the unlimited Autobahn.
Competitively priced
Moreover, such an Opel was almost a third cheaper than the Benz. The GS / E that was for sale from 1970 had Bosch-D-Jetronic injection and a plus of another twenty horsepower. From Opel to 0-100, Opel could even compete with a Porsche 911T. And their cornering behavior was similarly exciting, but much nicer with the Opel.
Sometimes something blew off ...
And that such a GS on full trot sometimes wanted to lose a chrome part and that he was not very steady anymore at top speed? That it was very noisy in the interior against the 190 km / h on the counter? Well, that was just normal at the time. Also with his much more expensive fellow competitors. Just like the consumption of 1 on 5 with combat deployment. This kind of top player from then makes it very clear how far the current automobile development has come.
Look for the differences
Only the connoisseurs saw - and see - the difference, because the Rekords and Commodores still had the same bodies. The six-cylinder in-line engine under the hood of the Opel Commodore could be supplied in three variants: with 2.239 cc (95 hp); 2.490 cc (120 / 130 pk) and 2.784 cc (150 pk). Yet there were more differences between the Rekords and the Commodores than just the motorization. Because in addition to the other engine, Opel's option list was fully checked. Plus, of course, the distinctive vinyl roof under which rustworms so eagerly nestled in a later phase of the Opel's life.
At the Opel Commodore, the chrome fender edges above the wheels were not a camouflage of rust, but simply chic. And that the rust settled there later? This was entirely in line with the times when cars were used as consumables according to the standards of the American parent company. The GS / E model was also famous and notorious (in competition), which was unprecedentedly fast for its time and price and had an electronic fuel injection system from Bosch instead of the double carburetor. That resulted in an 150 horsepower strong firecracker whose muzzle in the rear-view mirrors scared many BMW and Porsche pilots.
A modified chassis
The chassis was adjusted to the power by, among other things, gas-filled shock absorbers, rear disc brakes and an extra bearing for the PTO shaft. The Opel Commodore A was available as a sedan with two and four doors, as a Coupé and (very rare) as a station wagon. From 1968 the GM-Strasbourg fully automatic three-speed gearbox was on the accessories list. That made the Opel Commodore slower and thirsty. But staggeringly relaxing to ride.
A funny detail
After this GS extensively in the monthly magazine 'Auto Motor Klassiek'He has stood' was 'discovered' by various other magazines. We have seen that phenomenon before 🙂
We say: "You're welcome!"
If I remember correctly, this Commodore was named on the license plate: Commodore six.
Hello. Have a question. My son has muscle disease and wants a commodore b 1974 in his last years. Do you have any information about that? thanks in advance
Reaction to your comment about the first Opel Commandore. In 1965 my father got an Opel from his employer. I'm not an Opel connoisseur but I think Commandore 6 was already on the right-hand side of the boot lid. The model had 4 round rear lights and to indicate that it was an 6 cylinder, the rear was painted silver, was nice with the red paint that the car had. There are pictures of it in the family, will look for it to see if it already had Commandore on it.
After reading your story, I have a serious suspicion that your father's car did not have a Commodore 6 on the boot lid, but Rekord 6… At the end of 1965, the B Rekord was released which could also be ordered with a 6 cylinder… This 6 cylinder Rekord B indeed had 4 round taillights and indeed a silver-colored rear panel… With kind regards, Rob C. Ferwerda.
Hi, thank you for your response, I have found a photo of the Opel, 1965, with a magnifying glass I can see that there is indeed no Commodore but probably Rekord 6. With difficulty I have now found a photo of an emblem with the red 6 with a partially checkered finish flag above it. Again, I always thought it was a Commodore because of the 6 cylinder, I have to repair something in my upper room, it was an Opel Rekord B 6, you are right. I also did not know that it was an intermediate model and was produced for less than a year and that the Commodore name could indeed be found in the C series. Great all of you, if you have a tip where I can come across a photo where the Rekord B 6 emblems are clearly depicted, according to my on the front fenders, please. I cannot send my own photo according to me but give you my e-mail address, if you still need a photo of the Opel Rekord B6, regards ce-es@live.nl
so the addition GS comes from this model. was it later done "copy-paste" at the Cadets GSi ?? and other (Ascona ed) models ??