A coupé version of the P1 had been offered but this was a conversion by a specialist body builder which made it hugely expensive and it found few buyers.

The Rekord P2 consistently achieved second place in the West German sales charts, beaten to the top slot only by the smaller and cheaper Volkswagen Beetle.

The front grille was wider and the tail fins almost completely disappeared, although the embellishment of body creases around the rear lights was curiously elaborate.

In technical terms the car in most respects followed its predecessor, though some attempt was made to improve secondary safety through attention to the detailing of the interior.

There was still a price to be paid by passengers in the back seat in terms of the drastically reduced rear head-room provided by this body type, but the P2 coupé nevertheless sold well.

Unlike the modern bodywork, the 1,488 cc ohv four-cylinder water-cooled engine was very little changed since it had first been offered in the Opel Olympia back in 1937.

The system was broadly similar to the Fichel & Sachs "Saxomat" automatic clutch beginning to be offered at this time by other German automakers.

[1] For much of this time it was West Germany’s second best seller, beaten to the top slot only by the smaller cheaper and seemingly unstoppable Volkswagen Beetle.

The "Badewanne" Taunus, so called because commentators claimed that it resembled a bath-tub, and the Opel Rekord P2 were closely matched in terms of size, specification and price.