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- Opel takes the Herberger record out of the garage
- Almost 400 marks surcharge for 90 hp
- Foresight is required because of bad brakes
Opel takes the Herberger record out of the garage
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The original record from Sepp Herberger.
Source: Opel
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Here the legendary coach (right) signs autographs for two German fans who traveled with a moped during the 1966 World Cup.
Source: picture-alliance / dpa / rf
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Herberger‘s record was bought by Opel and extensively restored.
Source: Opel
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Care was taken to ensure that the original condition was preserved as far as possible.
Source: Opel
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Also a parking sign…
Source: Opel
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…and a signed Shell atlas are part of the Opel stock.
Source: Opel
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The 90 hp engine cost Herberger an extra charge of 395 marks.
Source: Opel
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Another 95 marks was due for the four-speed gearbox, the rear window dryer cost 85 marks and the steel sunroof cost 395 marks. The Kuh has also been lovingly restored…lergrill.
Source: Opel
Today’s football stars drive Audi, BMW or Mercedes, or better still Ferrari, Lamborghini or Bentley. Former national trainer Sepp Herberger drove a record. Opel had the original restored.
E.There were, indeed, times when soccer heroes must have been humble people. Judging by her car, anyway. While nowadays national players and national coaches usually enjoy a Mercedes sedan refined by AMG.
But even after Sepp Herberger had led the German team to the Miracle of Bern in 1954 and the German automotive industry generously presented him with invitations to "permanent and free test drives", the football philosopher kept his feet on the ground and instead remained loyal to his house brand Opel.
His last car was an Opel Rekord B "L", which he bought twelve years after his triumph in Switzerland and two years after his resignation as "boss" of the national team on February 8, 1966 at the Sporer car dealership in Weinheim-Lutzelsachsen just outside Mannheim buys. For 9564 marks and 50 pfennigs – in cash and without any discount.
In the meantime, Opel has bought back the car and refurbished it again. The tundra-green painted four-door car leaves a good impression on a drive out. The full-width chrome-plated radiator shines in the hot summer sun, and the paint looks full. Inside, Herberger’s company car looks almost like it did on the first day: Lale Andersen sings on the Becker radio of the type "Mexico" as if it were only yesterday, and the carpeting in the doors or in the footwell still exudes the charm of the good old days.
Almost 400 marks surcharge for 90 hp
Herberger‘s record was not a Spartan car. The space is plentiful, and the modest graduate sports teacher was still able to enjoy a bit of luxury: In addition to the 395 mark surcharge for the 90 hp engine, the purchase agreement also includes 95 marks for the four-speed gearbox and 85 marks for the rear window dryer and 395 marks for the steel sunroof.
Although the car is now almost 50 years old, the 1.9 liter four-cylinder reports back with a friendly chug on the first attempt. Quickly put first gear on the thin lever of the steering wheel gearshift, caress the accelerator pedal with your foot – and the record starts moving without a murmur.
The colorful stripe in the barometer quickly takes on a new color and in this way signals very conspicuously that you are now leaving the "green area" and have to pay attention to star boxes again in the city. If you then keep your foot firmly on the little pedal and quickly shift up into fourth gear, the 90 hp accelerate to 160 km / h, with which the car, which weighs only 1,000 kilograms, still swims happily in traffic today.
Foresight is required because of bad brakes
The championship record doesn’t seem particularly strained on this trip. Time travel is also an easy exercise for the driver. A fresh breeze of summer wind fans in through the small vent windows behind the A-pillar and makes air conditioning superfluous.
The sun flashes through the sunroof. And the light brown upholstered seats are deep and comfortable like the old TV armchair at home in the living room. Admittedly, you have to steer the spindly steering wheel with the elegant horn ring with a tighter hand than you do today.
But that shouldn’t have been difficult for a football teacher like Herberger, who wasn’t always squeamish with his team. And because the brakes aren’t the best, the road requires a little of the foresight and intuition that characterize a good striker.
Although the second edition of the 4.55-meter-long sedan was only built for eleven months in 1965 and 1966, a record in itself was nothing special during this period. After all, Opel had put almost 300,000 of these on wheels since 1963.
But when you go on tour in your car today, you are guaranteed more glances than in any expensive luxury limousine in the team parking lot. And even advertising partner Jurgen Klopp could practice changing parking spaces in his head.
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