554 Opel Rekord berline 1960 (1961-63)

I start this thread because this well known German car deserves attention. This Opel Rekord P2 was a very well-known car on the Dutch roads in my youth. Opel emblem and logo. Opel Rekord P2 type badge. Wikipedia (shortened): The German Opel company was founded in 1862 by Adam Opel. In the beginning, Opel producedsewing machines. The first cars were designed in 1898 after Opel's widow Sophieand their two eldest sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court inDessauinSaxony-Anhalt, who had been working on automobile designs for some time. The cars are recognizable by the well-known Opel emblem as shown above. From 1960 to 1963 the Opel Rekord P2 was produced and the 4 door sedan became the prototype of the French Dinky Toys 554 Opel Rekord. August 1960 Introduction of the Opel Rekord P2 for about 200 journalists in the city hall of R?sselsheim. Assembly line Opel Rekord P2. Assembly line Opel Rekord P2. The Opel Rekord P2 was extensively tested on the factory's test track. 1960-61 Opel Rekord P2 4-door sedan front - prototype of the 554. 1962 Opel Rekord P2 4-door sedan rear. At launch the entry level 1,488cc two-door record came with a manufacturer's recommended price of DM 6,545. The Rekord P2 was produced at an annual rate slightly ahead of its predecessor. It was a commercial success. However, this was in the context of a growing economy and a growing auto-market in West Germany and in several key export markets. During the thirty-month period between summer 1960 and February 1963, Opel recorded production of 787,684 Opel Rekord P2s. For much of this time it was West Germanys second best seller, beaten to the top slot only by the smaller cheaper and seemingly unstoppable Volkswagen Beetle. 1960-61 German sales brochure Opel Rekord P2. Introduction Dinky Toys 554 Opel Rekord in French MM December 1961 Introduction Dinky Toys 554 in 1961 French catalogue in yellow. Dinky Toys 554 in 1961 French Meccano catalogue in red. My Dinky Toys 554 on its box. Real type name Rekord on both rear sides of the body with small letters. Type name Rekord DT 554 on both rear sides of the car with bigger, better readable letters. The cast type name 'Rekord' on both rear sides of the body immediately stands out. It is together with the chrome mouldings beautiful silver painted. A very nice casting and painting Job by Meccano Bobigny. In that respect, this model with its clear type name has an extra attractive feature. There are very few DT models with such a nice clear type name on the body. The car brand name OPEL in large letters cast in the hood and the nice Opel emblem in silver applied on the silver-coloured radiator grille.A very nice mask spraying Job. 554 rear Baseplate of the 554 with sales number 554 together with the scale 1/43 and number 61. Behind Opel Rekord is another text transverse to the baseplate with first a text that is difficult to decipher,but compared to my 552 clearly readablebaseplates should be: 'B te S.G. D G' and below that the word 'MECCANO'. I kept always wondering what the number 61 under the scale 1/43 and the model number 554 means. The same is the case with other French cars as the 517 Renault R8 (62), 518 Renault 4L (61), the 552 Chevrolet Corvair (61) and the 530 Citron DS 19(64), which all have a number after or under the scale. Is it the year of issue of the model by Meccano Bobigny or the model year of the real car? If I compare this to the 550 Chrysler Saratoga which also lists the number 61 under the 1/43 scale, it must be the year of issue of the Dinky Toys model, because the real Saratoga's model year is 1959, as stated in the French 1960-2 catalogue. It seems to me that from 1961 Meccano Bobigny, unlike Meccano Liverpool, started to mention the scale and the year of issue of the DT models on the base plate. Meccano Bobigny issued also some models with the model year of the real car in the base plate such as 24a Chrysler New Yorker 1955 and 545 De Soto 59 Diplomat, but always included in the name of the car. Dinky Toys 554 box with text on all end flaps of the box. Only one box was issued for this model and the colour of the model image on the box is the same on both sides of the box (yellow/white). Both end flaps of the box read in French, translated to English: 'The colour of the Dinky Toys contained in this box may differ from that of the design on the box'.This way you save costs for a new box. Both Meccano Bobigny and Meccano Liverpool have produced various Opel models. Of the 554 there are some colour variations and some South African issues, as shown recently in new arrivals by Dave.I hope that members will add other colour combinations. Jan Oldenhuis, 15 June 2022.

Dear Jan,An other good article. I can confirm that the number 61 is the date of issue of not model.Also 'Bte' and not 'B te' is the short for 'brevet' which means patented.Jacques