Discover

The 'Opel Commodore' was an executive car produced by German automaker Opel. It is the six-cylinder variant of the Rekord with styling differences. The Commodore nameplate was used by Opel from 1967 to 1982. However, its lineage continues with the Australian model Holden Commodore.

Contents

Commodore A (1967-1972)

Commodore B (1972-1977)

Commodore C (1977-1982)

Trivia

External links

Commodore A (1967-1972)

The Opel Commodore A was manufactured from 1967 to 1972, based on the Rekord C. Initially, there was a Rekord-6 powered by a 2.2 L engine, but in 1967 the Commodore was introduced with a larger 2.5 L engine and a more luxurious equipment. It was available as a two-door or four-door sedan and as a two-door hardtop coupé. The standard engine produced 115 hp (85 kW), the sporty 'Commodore GS' offered 130 hp (96 kW).
An even more sporty model, the 'Commodore GS/E', debuted in 1970. It had a 2.5 L engine equipped with Bosch D-jetronic fuel injection system developing 150 PS (110 kW), which gave the car a top speed of 197 km/h (123 mph). The Commodore GS/E also had a career in motorsports, with a car prepared by Steinmetz.

Commodore B (1972-1977)

The Commodore B was based on the Rekord D, and launched in 1972. As in the previous generation, four models were offered: 2500 S, 2500 GS, 2800 GS and 2800 GS/E, as a four-door saloon and two-door hardtop coupé (although the fastback design was replaced by a more conventional three-box design). Power ranged from 115 to 160 PS (84.5 to 118 kW).
The Rekord and Commodore were also assembled as CKD kits in Switzerland in the early to late 1970s. These cars carried the name "Ranger" and differed from the originals in having different grilles and trim. These cars were exported to various countries.
In 1974, due to new regulations regarding polutant emissions, the 2.5 L base models were dropped and the 2.8 L was detuned. The Commodore B's production ended in 1977.

Commodore C (1977-1982)

The Commodore C was introduced in late 1977, at the same time as the Rekord E. The Commodore continued to be a larger and more luxurious version of the Rekord, but was available only as a saloon with a more conservative and boxy design, following the European trend of the time. There was no Coupé version of the Commodore C, as it was replaced by the Monza, which was instead sold as a Coupé version of the Senator. The single engine used by the Commodore was the straight-6 2.5 L.
The new model featured a similar front end to the larger Senator. It was sold in the UK under the name Vauxhall Viceroy, which was a larger and more luxurious version of the Carlton. It was the Opel Commodore and Vauxhall Viceroy that formed the basis for the first Holden Commodore in Australia, and was sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Commodore until 1982, when it was rebadged as an Opel. There was an estate version (dubbed the 'Voyage' in Germany) that was offered in the Opel range from 1979 to 1982 but was never offered in the UK as a Vauxhall Viceroy. This estate, however, became a mainstay in the Holden range in Australia, and was also available in the Chevrolet range in South Africa.
The Commodore was dropped by GM in Europe and absorbed into the Opel Rekord range of 1983. However, in South Africa, Delta (formerly General Motors South Africa) offered a revised version of the Commodore 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.
It is this model which the early Holden Commodore models were based on, introduced in late 1978, and eventually replaced (after several facelifts) in 1988, with a model based on the Senator and Omega.

Trivia

★ A one-off Vauxhall Viceroy estate car was built in 1981 for Queen Elizabeth II, for her to carry her Corgi dogs. The car still survives today.

★ As of 2006, there are now only 15 Vauxhall Viceroys left registered in the UK.

External links

★ Opel Commodore history (in Russian)

★ Opel Commodore A technical information (in Finnish)

★ Opel technical specifications at Histomobile