It is now 40 years since Opel launched the Corsa. The versatile city car, which has been one of the brand’s best sellers since its inception, quickly became essential in its segment. A look back at six generations of Opel Corsa.
Always remained in the shadow of the French stars in our regions, the Opel Corsa is no less familiar on our roads, and for good reason: it has been crisscrossing them for 40 years now. A real commercial card in certain countries such as its native Germany or the United Kingdom (where it is sold under the local brand Vauxhall), the city car at the Blitz has always been able to maintain itself at the top of sales elsewhere. It is now in its sixth generation and more than 14 million copies sold.
Opel Corsa, the right formula
The first Opel Corsa (Corsa A) was marketed in 1982 to fill the void left by the growth of the Kadett over the generations and thus ensure the brand’s entry level. Designed under the supervision of Erhard Schnell, it had an angular look that was intended to be sporty and was aimed, according to Opel, at an essentially male clientele. 3.62 m long as a five-door, it was also offered as a three-door, and even as a notchback coupé on certain markets. Its range of engines including gasoline and diesel was topped by the dynamic GSi offering 100 hp for 869 kg. To assemble the Corsa, Opel dedicated its new plant in Zaragoza, Spain to it. The success was immediate and the car was assembled at 3.1 million units until its replacement in 1993.
TO READ. Opel Astra series. The history of the compact at Éclair since 1991
The Corsa B gets a new look
For the second generation of Corsa, Opel kept the recipe that had made the success of its predecessor, starting with certain versatility and a varied range of engines, but radically changed the visual identity of the car. Claiming to seek to attract a more feminine clientele, the firm gave the Corsa B a curvaceous silhouette signed Hideo Kodama. In addition to the hatchback versions, a notchback sedan, station wagon and even a pick-up were born. The German factory of Eisenach brought reinforcement to that of Zaragoza to produce the city car. Nowadays, the second generation of Corsa remains the “best-seller” of its lineage with 4 million copies sold between 1993 and 2000.
Little Corsa goes big
On the eve of the 21th century, minivans dominated the European market and influenced the design of many other types of vehicles. The Opel Corsa C thus adopted an almost unibody silhouette and was 10 cm longer than its predecessor., reaching 3.84 m in length including 2.49 m in wheelbase to offer more generous interior space. Once again, its design was directed by Hideo Kodama. But the car did not meet the same enthusiasm as the previous model, without being a failure for all that since it sold 2.5 million units between 2000 and 2006.
TO READ. Retro. These fashions from the years 2000-2010 that have become has-beens
Corsa D and E, rediscovered liveliness
In 2006, the Corsa D changed its personality again. The three-door sported a sporty look to appeal to a young clientele while the five-door displayed a wiser look to attract families, while remaining a small millimeter under 4 m long. The German shared its platform with the Fiat Punto. A strong 192 hp Corsa OPC (or even 207 hp in the Nürburgring Edition) allowed Opel to regain a place in the small GTi segment despite road behavior not at the level of the best cars in the segment. 2.9 million Corsa D were produced until 2014. During the same period, history being an eternal restart, Opel launched the Adam and Karl less than 3.70 m long to remain present on the small car market. city dwellers.
In 2014, the Corsa E took up the technical basis of its predecessor and evolved smoothly stylistically. 4.02 m long, it was well equipped for the category, its 207 hp OPC variant offered significantly improved dynamic performance, and a 150 hp GSi returned to the catalogue. The PSA group bought Opel from General Motors in 2017, which probably contributed to making the career of the Corsa E relatively short. The latter was sold in 1.3 million copies until its discontinuation in 2019. This is the last Corsa produced in Eisenach.
With PSA, the Corsa becomes electric
Launched in 2019, the sixth and current generation of Opel Corsa is based on the Peugeot 208 platform, is only offered as a five-door and is 4.06m long. It is the first in its line to be available in a mass-produced 100% electric version called Corsa-e. This variant currently accounts for almost a quarter of the model’s sales.
For the first time, no sports version is in the catalog. There was once talk of an electric bomb called GSE, but the suspension of “cousin” projects badged PSE at Peugeot seems to have got the better of those of Opel despite the brand’s commitment to rallying with an electric Corsa.
The Corsa F is only produced at the Zaragoza plant, which passed the milestone of 11 million Corsas built in January 2022. Opel planning to become a “zero emissions” brand in Europe for 2028, the next Corsa expected for 2026 could give up the thermal.
