Meet the Owner – Lou Brisdon and his Opel Rekord E Berlina

Only last week, Lou exchanged his Ford Granada Mk. II for a 1981 E-Series Opel Rekord 2.0 Berlina. Now, he can cross the Woolston Toll Bridge in velour-upholstered luxury.

For those unfamiliar with this very agreeable motor, the Rekord E debuted at the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show as Opel’s rival to the lower half of the new Ford Granada Mk. II. The marque’s post-war UK sales had commenced ten years earlier, and while I (born the year of the Austin Maxi) have few memories of the Rekord C, the 1971- 1977 Rekord D was occasionally glimpsed in the driveways of ‘executive villas’.

As with so many Opels of the 1950s – 1970s, the Rekord D’s body reflected Detroit’s ideas, but the E was emphatically a ‘European Express’. Macpherson front suspension was a departure from previous Rekords, while the styling still makes me think of Kraftwerk’s output. This was a car for the manager with BMW 5-Series aspirations who valued efficiency.

UK sales began in early 1978, and Opel imported three versions – the entry-level 2.0S, the Berlina with a far more opulent interior, and the Berlina HL with electric windows, a sliding roof, tinted glass and headlamp washers/wipers. Car found the Rekord “An uncomplicated vehicle without affections, obviously easy to maintain and service, it surely achieves almost all its designers can have expected of it”. They further noted: “Roll on the Vauxhall version of it”.

By that time, it was a foregone conclusion that a Gryphon-badged version of the Rekord E would replace the VX 1800/2300 range. The Carton starred at the 1978 NEC Motor Show, although Vauxhall and Opel retained separate UK dealerships until 1981. A Rekord Berlina then cost £6,694, while £6,288 could have bought you the very similar Carlton. Buying a Vauxhall also had the advantage of more dealership’s pre-merger: 625 outlets, compared to 221 for Opel.

However, this is to ignore the social cachet of driving an Opel, for the marque did have an image faintly upmarket of Vauxhall in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One 1981 advertisement aimed at fleet managers claimed that: “The car you drive says a lot about you and your Company. And no car says it better than the Opel Rekord”. They could also add that the Berlina was much less expensive than the £8,008 Ford Granada 2.0GL.

Opel facelifted the Rekord E in 1982, by which time the marque’s only car officially sold in the UK was the Manta. Today, what once appeared almost clinically efficient now looks fascinatingly exotic, and we look forward to hearing more of Lou’s incredibly rare Opel. And did we mention that velour upholstery?