Opel celebrates half a century since the debut of its first model equipped with a diesel engine. This is the Rekord-D 2100 D, presented by the German car manufacturer in 1972, a car that, according to Opel, was the forerunner in a new market segment of which it became the undisputed queen. The success of this model was immediate: in 1973 6,332 copies were delivered, roughly double that of its closest rival, which became 7,503 the following year when the Rekord Diesel was confirmed. the best-selling diesel car in Italy.
“It was enough to turn the ignition key, like on any petrol car, to start the engine or to stop yours 4 cylinders of 2,068 cc – explains Opel describing the Rekord-D 2100 D – A step forward in terms of practicality that is anything but negligible. The engine then had a power of 60 HP which at the beginning of the 1970s was very important for a diesel engine ”. The engine itself was one of the most interesting aspects of that car: an extremely modern engine for that time, with super-squared internal dimensions, a chain-driven overhead camshaft and cast iron block derived directly from the Opel Rekord petrol engine. In many ways they define the Rekord Diesel as a “fast because it was born from 20 records”: the prototype of the diesel engine that equipped it was in fact mounted on the Opel Diesel GT which in 1972 it conquered 2 world records and 18 international speed and duration records running non-stop for three days and two nights on Opel’s private track in Dudenhofen.
To crown the success of this car on the Italian market, Opel decided to give life to a special version of the Rekord Diesel exclusively for our country: it was unveiled in the frame of the Turin Motor Show in 1974, and it was equipped with a 1998 cc 58 HP engine for a top speed slightly lower than that of the original Rekord Diesel (130 km / h against 135 km / h). The displacement of these special edition cars allowed its buyers to benefit from the reduced VAT rate and road tax, provided for cars of less than 2 liters.
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