Opel built 145,618 of this Kapitän in just over four years — more than any Kapitän before or since, making the P2 the best-selling generation the nameplate ever had.
Lead trim: Kapitän P2 2.6 OHV I6
Opel Kapitän P21959–1963
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Opel Kapitän P2 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactOpel built 145,618 of this Kapitän in just over four years — more than any Kapitän before or since, making the P2 the best-selling generation the nameplate ever had.
The P2 Kapitän came to market in August 1959 and, while it still had the panoramic windscreen, gained a new grille and a revised body with a more angular roof and a new rear. It was driven by a stronger new, oversquare 2.6-litre inline six (bore × stroke 85 × 76.5 mm instead of 80 × 82 mm), still of OHV and pushrod design; the 3-speed and 4-speed overdrive transmissions were carried over, the latter replaced from December 1960 by GM's 3-speed Roto-Hydra-Matic automatic. The P2 climbed to a top speed of 150 km/h (93.2 mph), reached 100 km/h in 16 seconds and consumed 12 L/100 km. From August 1959 to December 1963 Opel built 145,618 units of this series, more than any other Kapitän model; the highpoint for the big Opels was 1960, when the Kapitän and Admiral together were Europe's top-selling six-cylinder saloons with nearly 48,000 sold, though the large Opels never dominated their segment on the scale of the smaller Rekord and Kadett, possibly due to the strength of Mercedes-Benz.
Collectors Spotted in the Opel Kapitän Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Opel Kapitän yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapitän P2 2.6 OHV I6 | 1959–1963 | 2.6 L Inline-6 | 89 hp | 139 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Opel's last Kapitän flopped hard — only 4,976 were built in 15 months, as buyers of big cars kept choosing the pricier Admiral and Diplomat for more prestige instead.
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Opel built 145,618 of this Kapitän in just over four years — more than any Kapitän before or since, making the P2 the best-selling generation the nameplate ever had.
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This Kapitän’s unibody construction was advanced enough that Soviet engineers studied it — and its influence shows up in the GAZ-M20 Pobeda.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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