The Opel Corsa is Opel’s supermini, on sale since September 1982. It was the best-selling car in the world in 1998 with 910,839 cars sold, and by 2007 more than 18 million Corsas had been sold worldwide under five different marques.
Opel Corsa at a glance
| Maker | Opel, a General Motors brand until 2017 |
|---|---|
| Production | since September 1982 |
| Class | supermini, B-segment |
| First generation | Corsa A (S83), from 1982 |
| First plant | Zaragoza, Spain |
| Bodies | three-door hatchback, two-door saloon, later four and five doors |
| Engines at launch | 1.0 45 PS, 1.2 55 PS, 1.3 70 PS |
| Diesel | 1.5 turbo diesel of 67 PS, from 1987 |
| Best year | 910,839 cars sold in 1998 |
| British name | Vauxhall Nova, later Vauxhall Corsa |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Opel Corsa.
History of the Opel Corsa
Filling the gap below the Kadett
The front-wheel-drive Corsa was launched in September 1982, after a two-seat roadster concept had been shown at Geneva six months earlier as a teaser. It went on sale first in France, Italy and Spain, markets where small cars made up 34 to 43 per cent of all sales, and the rest of Europe followed by March 1983. General Motors called the car the S-car internally; the name had earlier been used for an abandoned supermini project that became the three-door Kadett C. Opel and Vauxhall had no true supermini before it: the Kadett C was rear-wheel drive and its successor, the Kadett D, competed in the larger class, leaving a gap at the bottom of the range. The Corsa therefore followed the recipe of the Fiat 127, Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta, with a transverse engine and front-wheel drive.
Corsa A
The first Corsas, built in Zaragoza, Spain, were three-door hatchbacks and two-door saloons; four- and five-door versions came in 1984. Commercial van versions were sold in some markets. In mainland Europe the saloon was called the Corsa TR until May 1985 and had its own styling, without the hatchback’s wheelarch blisters and with a traditional eggcrate grille. The TR sold poorly in most of Europe but was popular in Spain and Portugal, where it accounted for half of all Corsas sold. Trim levels ran from the plain Corsa through Luxus and Berlina to the sporting SR with a rear spoiler, alloy wheels, checkered seats and a 70 PS engine. Britain knew the car as the Vauxhall Nova; the Corsa name was rejected there because it sounded too close to “coarser”.
Engines and the GSi
Power came at first from 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3-litre petrol engines of 45, 55 and 70 PS, all carburetted at the start; fuel injection came later, but never for the 1.0. The engines used GM’s Family I design apart from the 1.0 and early 1.2, which came from the Opel OHV unit that had served in every Kadett since 1962. At the Frankfurt show in May 1987 Opel added an Isuzu-built 1.5-litre turbo diesel of 67 PS, also used in the Isuzu Gemini, and the GSi with a 1.6-litre multi-point injected engine of 101 PS and a 186 km/h top speed, its mapping done by Irmscher. A light facelift in September 1987 brought a new grille shared by hatchbacks and saloons, and for 1989 the 1.3 was bored out to 1.4 litres. A rare white Sport model of 1985, of which 500 were built, homologated the car for the British rally championship.
Design and features
- Front-wheel drive from the start: transverse engines in the mould of the Fiat 127 and Ford Fiesta.
- Global best seller: assembled on four continents and sold under five marques; 910,839 cars in 1998 alone.
- GSi: a 101 PS 1.6 with Irmscher engine mapping and a 186 km/h top speed.
- Rally Sport of 1985: 500 white cars with twin Weber carburettors and 93 hp.
Opel Corsa versions
- Corsa A hatchback (1982): three doors, later five.
- Corsa TR saloon: two doors, with its own grille and styling.
- Corsa SR: the sporting trim with spoiler, alloys and 70 PS.
- Corsa GSi (1987): 1.6 multi-point injection and 101 PS.
- Vauxhall Nova: the British version of the Corsa A.
- Corsavan: the commercial van version.
The Corsa sat below the Astra, and its platform was used for the Combo van. More cars are in the Opel collection.
Sources
- Opel Corsa, English Wikipedia: history, engines, Corsa A details, sales
