Produced only until July 1966, it shared the wheelbase and 1,696 mm (66.8 in) width of its predecessor, but the front and rear panels were restyled to give it a more modern appearance.

Previous Rekords were noteworthy for combining eye-catching new bodies with a robust four cylinder engine[citation needed] that dated back to 1937.

By the 1960s the old engine was outdated, being replaced in the Rekord B by a newly designed inline four cylinder with a unique camshaft in head (CIH) configuration.

As the engine was developed further during the later 1960s, 1970s and 1980s increased torque was seen, resulting, along with the design's durability and inexpensive manufacture, in it surviving into the mid 1990s fitted to the Rekord B's distant successors, the Omega and Senator.

The new model was produced between late summer 1965 and mid-summer 1966, replaced on the Opel production line during the annual vacation shut-down by the Rekord C, which began to roll of it by August.

Opel also offered a three-door delivery van which was essentially identical to the estate except that the rear side windows were replaced with metal panels.

The cam-in-head design four cylinder engine was introduced on the 1900 S version of the Reckord optionally equipped with fully automatic transmission.

The new four-cylinder engine range self-evidently had plenty of scope for further development, and continued to power Opel Rekords until the model's 1986 demise.

The 1959 upgrade had left this unit with a claimed 100 hp (74 kW) of horsepower which should have provided a useful performance boost over the fastest of the new four cylinder powered Rekords.

The standard transmission package for the saloon and estate-bodied Rekord Bs featured a manual all-synchromesh gearbox, controlled by a column mounted lever.

Coupé buyers found the four speed manual transmission, but controlled using a centrally positioned floor mounted gear lever, included in the price.

At the other end of the range a factory built Rekord coupé L-6, powered by the six cylinder 2,605cc engine borrowed from the Kapitän, could be purchased for DM 9,570.

Rekord 1900S customers wishing to specify and pay for the GM Power-gilde two speed automatic transmission were required to find an extra DM 950.