Bertha Augsberger remembers it as if it were yesterday. It was 1963, in November. Josef, then her new boyfriend, they had only known each other for six or eight weeks, picked up the 23-year-old at home. He drove up to her parents‘ farm in Ursulapoppenricht near Amberg. In a new car, and what a car: an Opel Rekord A sedan, two-door, in lapis lazuli blue. She had never been picked up so elegantly for a rendezvous. „I was blown away,“ says the 87-year-old. „Where did you get it?“ she asked. The young farmer, a year older than her, answered: „I earned it. On the combine harvester.“

More than 61 years later, 88-year-old Josef Augsberger drives up to the Opel Classic building in Rüsselsheim. Again in his Rekord A sedan, two-door, lapis lazuli blue with a royal blue roof. The guardians of Opel’s history are no less amazed than Bertha was back then: „It’s all still original,“ says Classic employee Jens Cooper. „That something like this is still in private hands at all…“

In fact, Josef Augsberger remained as true to his Rekord A for six decades as he was to his Bertha. They married in October 1967, and the three of them went on their honeymoon: Josef, Bertha and the Opel. „We went to Austria, wanted to cross the Gerlos Pass, which was new at the time,“ the bride recalls. „But it was closed because of heavy snowfall. So we turned around – and our Opel brought us home safely.“

Twice already to zero

Today, the couple likes to accept invitations to classic car drives and has already won a number of trophies. However, Josef continues to use his Rekord A in everyday life. Why not? „It has never let me down.“ Twice already, all six digits of the speedometer display jumped back to zero. And if the Augsberger family has its way, it will do so a third time.

There have been no accidents or failures in all these years. Jens Cooper is not surprised when he sees Josef Augsberger manoeuvring the car across the yard: „The man has complete control of his vehicle.“ And not only behind the wheel. „It wasn’t even in a workshop,“ he says. „I always did everything myself.“ And impeccably. 31 TÜV stamps can now be found in the papers, which are of course all still original. „And there was not even a complaint.“ The 1.5-liter engine with 55 hp purrs and purrs, and probably still manages a top speed of 134 km/h – but should not push your luck.

During all maintenance, inspections and repairs, he meticulously ensured that every part remained as he received it on November 13, 1963. The Classic experts discover fascinating details again and again during their appraisal. The logo on the bonnet, for example: not a Blitz, but the Opel Zeppelin. „That only existed until autumn 1963,“ explains Opel Classic boss Leif Rohwedder. „This Rekord is one of the few that still bears the previous logo today. That alone makes it a rarity.“

The license plate is also special. „AM AY 237“ now bears an „H“ for historic, but is otherwise still the same as on the day of first registration. Today, the abbreviation „AM“ is only given in the city of Amberg. In Ursulapoppenricht, which belongs to the Amberg-Sulzbach district, „AS“ has long been in use. But no one at the registration office wanted to deny Josef Augsberger the wish to keep everything as original as possible.

He rarely needed help. Once he was looking for a suitable exhaust muffler and turned to motorsport expert, Opel dealer and Opel friend Alois Drexler in nearby Wackersdorf. He was able to help, got to know Josef and his Rekord – and was just as captivated as Bertha on the first date. „Simply phenomenal. Josef also maintains his agricultural machinery from the fifties himself and drives them to the fields. Visiting him is like entering a time capsule.“ Alois Drexler also established contacts with Leif Rohwedder and Opel Classic. There the three inseparables were given a dignified reception.

An Opel that belongs to the family

At the end, the Classic boss presented the couple with a certificate congratulating them on the „62 years of first ownership“ of their Rekord A. A moment that also impressed Norbert Augsberger, the couple’s son. „To be honest, it was only through you that I realised how special this Opel is,“ admits the son. „For me, it has always belonged to my parents as a matter of course.“ Together with his sister and two grandchildren, the family now proudly looks back on the history of the Opel sedan in lapis lazuli blue.