The Opel Rekord D was an upper mid-range vehicle from Adam Opel AG, which at the time belonged to the US automotive group General Motors (GM). The Rekord D was also the basis for the Opel Commodore B introduced in March 1972. The Opel Rekord D, drawn by designer Chuck Jordan, was officially unveiled in January 1972 as the successor to the Opel Rekord C. Initially, it was called “Rekord II” to avoid being misinterpreted as a diesel model.

The Rekord D was available as a basic version, as a luxury version “Rekord L” and with sporty equipment as “Rekord Sprint”. In September 1974, the “Berlina” equipment line was added, which focused even more on comfort and equipment than the “L” version. In South Africa and some European countries, however, the model was also known under the model names Ranger B, and in South Korea by Shinjin Motors under the names Shinjin Record 1900, Shinjin Record Royale and in Iran as Chevrolet Iran. The production figure of one million units of the Rekord D was celebrated with the special “Millionaire” model, which appeared in September 1976. Other special models that followed were the “Maharajah”, “Hit” and “Sport” versions in the spring of 1977.

The Rekord D was produced in 1,128,196 units from December 1971 to July 1977. Its successor was the Opel Rekord E1.

The newly formed self-supporting all-steel body offered space for five people. It was available in five different variants: as a two- and four-door sedan, as a three- and five-door Caravan, and as a coupe. Three-door caravans without rear windows were also available under the designation van. The trunk of the sedan was relatively small at 355 liters, due in part to the increased fuel tank capacity of 70 liters.

Some corrections were made to the front axle, which was essentially the same as its predecessor (double wishbones of unequal length with coil springs; torsion-bar stabilizer bar and telescopic shock absorbers): the control arms, which were now wider, had a point of application for the stabilizer bar that was moved closer to the wheel. The caster and track width were larger, to which the increased negative camber contributed. There were also minor changes to the rear axle (rigid axle with four trailing arms, Panhard bar, coil springs, torsion bar stabilizer and telescopic shock absorber) compared to the Rekord C. Among other things, the shock absorbers were now almost upright and the stabilizer and coil springs were better matched. A change in the geometry of the recirculating ball steering system increased toe-in during braking (disc brakes at the front, drum brakes at the rear). Depending on the model, there was a brake force limiter for the rear wheels. Furthermore, a compliant safety steering column increased accident protection.

Initially, little was changed in the engines compared with the Rekord C. The 1.5-liter engine was dropped. The 1.5-liter engine was dropped. The unchanged 1.7-liter engine was satisfied with normal fuel. The significantly higher-compression engine of the S version received a power boost to 83 hp (61 kW) with a modified camshaft. This engine required Super fuel with 98 octane, which contained a lot of lead at the time, as did the 1.9-liter engine of the SH model. However, the “H” does not stand for “high compression” but for “hydro tappet.” The 1900 SH was Opel’s first four-cylinder engine to be equipped with them. The hydro tappets were easy to maintain, but slightly reduced power.

In addition, and for the first time on an Opel passenger car, a diesel engine was available from July 1972. It had a displacement of 2.1 liters and produced 60 hp (44 kW). In the export market, there were also 2.0 liters and 56 hp (41 kW). The diesel models were recognizable by a hump on the hood. This was necessary because the diesel engine was higher than the gasoline engines due to the overhead camshaft. The diesel model was aimed at the cab industry. Since 1954, Mercedes-Benz was the sole manufacturer of diesel passenger cars in Germany, which changed with the Rekord D 2100. Other vehicle manufacturers slowly followed suit. The curb weight of gasoline-engine vehicles was 1065 to 1090 kg, while diesel-engine models weighed 1210 to 1230 kg.

Early versions of the Rekord D had steering wheel gearshift as standard (except coupes), the diesel models until the end of production. The center shift, called “sport shift”, initially cost a small premium and was not available for the diesel versions. A 3-speed automatic transmission was also available as an option.