If you’re terribly concerned about being seen in the right brand of car, then you may want to simply move on to another article already now. This is no stylish Italian roadster from the sixties to boost your image. In fact, in the world of early eighties German executive saloons, this one doesn’t even boast a three-pointed star or a blue and white propeller.
But brand-snobbery aside, the Opel Commodore C has plenty else on offer. Just like the two preceding incarnations of the Commodore, the C which was manufactured from 1978 to 1982 was of course based on the large – but much more common – Opel Rekord of the same vintage. The bodywork was identical from the A-pillar and back while the entire nose of the car was slightly longer than the Rekord’s as it was shared with Opel’s new flagship: the Senator. Of course this also meant that there was enough space under the Commodore’s bonnet for the sturdy old cam-in-head straight-6 engine as utilised in the Senator. While the Senator A got the choice of either the 2.8-litre og 3.0-litre, the Commodore made due with the smaller 2.5-litre thereby slotting nicely in between the 4-cylinder Rekord and the new Senator.
But compared to the Rekord, it wasn’t just the 6-cylinder engine which made the Commodore stand out as the luxurious choice for the well-off executive. Inside, the occupants were cosseted with soft velour seats and tinted windows while further luxuries such as electric windows, sunroof, heated seats and even cruise control and air conditioning were options with just a tick in the right box. If you didn’t want to be flash in the new Senator, the Commodore was indeed the more subtle way to achieve almost the same.
Inevitably though, it was quite a narrow niche market which the Commodore occupied between the Rekord and the Senator. It didn’t help that compared to both the competition and Opel’s own Senator, the 2.5-litre of the Commodore lacked torque at low revs and was relatively noisy too. This meant that Opel only managed to sell approximately 80,000 Commodores during the five years they kept it in production. By late 1982 the Commodore C bowed out and wasn’t replaced either. While the UK-market Vauxhall Viceroy suffered a similar fate, it’s interesting to consider that the RHD version sold in Australia as the Holden Commodore soldiered on until 1988 – albeit aided by several facelifts, more soul-stirring engines including a 5-litre V8 and not least a glorious motorsport career in the touring car championship.
However, while the Commodore C might not have been the most accomplished executive saloon in period, things seem to look rather different through todays rose-tinted retro-glasses. After all, if we were aiming for the most refined and luxurious driving experience available, let’s be honest, we wouldn’t be looking at classic cars in the first place.
A four-door executive saloon with plenty of that fabulous late-seventies aura to it. Add to the equation, a big lazy straight-6 engine and vast expanses of soft, green velour. The dashboard is even colour-coded! What’s not to like?
The Opel Commodore C 2.5S which caught our fancy as this week’s Prime Find is currently for sale with a classic car specialist in Denmark. The car is from 1982 – so the very last year of production. It looks great in that ohh-soo-period light green metallic and the matching green velour interior is truly a fabulous space to spend time in. Ehrm… did I mention that I love the interior? Thankfully, this is one advert which comes with plenty of good and clear pictures – we’ve borrowed them here:
The Commodore looks amazingly original with factory alloy wheels and even the factory radio still present in the centre console. The dealer claims that the big Opel has covered a mere 157,000 km – equating to less than 98,000 miles. While that’s not collector-territory mileage, it’s also not much for a 38 year old car. There’s no mention of whether the mileage can be verified, but judging by the pictures, it could very well be accurate.
There’s a bit of a colour difference on the lower part of the right front door, but other than that everything looks remarkably clean and well presented – even the engine bay and the boot. With a valid Danish MOT, the dealer is asking DKK 89,800 which currently equates to approximately Euro 12,000 or £ 11,200. While we obviously always recommend a thorough pre-purchase inspection, that really does seem like a lot of executive saloon for you hard-earned savings…
Find the full advert here: 1982 Opel Commodore C 2.5S
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk