Chevrolet · 1982–present

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The Opel Corsa is a supermini car manufactured and marketed by Opel since 1982. The car is known as the Vauxhall Corsa in the United Kingdom. Before General Motors sold Opel and Vauxhall to PSA Group in 2017, the Corsa was also rebadged under the Chevrolet, Holden and Buick brands. The Corsa was once the best-selling car in the world in 1998, recording 910,839 sales. At that time, the Corsa was assembled on four continents, marketed under five different marques and offered in five body styles. By 2007, over 18 million Corsas had been sold globally.

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Predecessor: Chevrolet 400

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Corsa A (S83; 1982)

The front-wheel drive Opel Corsa was first launched in September 1982. A two-seat, roadster "concept car" had been shown as a teaser six months earlier at Geneva. It went on sale first in France, Italy, and Spain — markets where small cars represented from 34 to 43 percent of overall automobile sales. Sales across the remainder of Europe were to have begun by March 1983. General Motors' internal code for the Corsa/Nova was the S-car. The S-car designation had originally been applied to an abandoned supermini proposal from the early 1970s, which evolved into the 3-door hatchback ("City") version of the Opel Kadett C/Vauxhall Chevette, for which the Corsa/Nova acted as a de facto replacement. The Corsa was GM Europe's entry into the burgeoning supermini market — a market in which Opel/Vauxhall were not yet represented, as the Kadett C/Chevette was not a true supermini in the sense that it was rear wheel drive, while its successor — the Kadett D/Astra — competed in the larger C-segment, thus leaving a gap at the bottom of the range. The new car would therefore follow in the template already set by established superminis such as the Fiat 127, VW Polo and Ford Fiesta in using a transverse-engined, front wheel drive layout. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door versions added in 1984. In certain markets, commercial "van" models were also sold, with or without rear windows depending on local requirements. In mainland Europe, the saloon versions were known as the "Corsa TR" until May 1985 and had subtly altered styling — the distinctive wheelarch blisters of the hatchbacks were deleted and the saloons used a traditional "eggcrate" grille instead of the hatchback's integrated bumper/four-bar

Corsa B (S93; 1993)

In April 1993, the Corsa B was unveiled and in the United Kingdom, Vauxhall dropped the Nova name, with the car from now being known as the Corsa. In May 1994, it was launched by Holden in Australia, as the Barina, replacing a version of the Suzuki Swift sold under that name. This proved a success, and was the first Spanish built car to be sold in significant volumes in the Australian market. Unlike the previous model, there was no saloon version for the European market, but one was designed in Brazil for the Latin American market, as saloons were much preferred to hatchbacks there. This was also introduced in South Africa and India. An estate car, panel van and pickup truck were also introduced, and a convertible version was produced for the Australian market, called the Holden Barina Cabrio. Vauxhall also marketed a limited edition of the cabriolet in the UK from 1998 to 1999, as the Vauxhall Corsa Cabriolet. Chevrolet Corsa Saloon, Chevrolet Corsa Pick Up and Chevrolet Corsa Wagon were Designed by Wagner Montes Cla Dias in the GM Brasil Studios in São Caetano do Sul. Italy was the only European country where the Argentinian-built estate version was offered, which meant that the Italian importer had to shoulder the entire cost of homologation. In Italy, the estate was offered with a 1.4-litre 16-valve petrol engine or the 1.7-litre naturally aspirated diesel. The Corsa also spawned a small coupé, named the Opel Tigra. Four-cylinder power came from 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6 litre Family 1 petrol engines, as well as an economical 1.5 L turbodiesel engine. Most cars received a five-speed manual transmission, although a four-speed automatic was also available with certain engines. In the first few years, a four-speed manual was also available, only coupled to the smallest 1.2-lit

Corsa C (X01; 2000)

The Corsa C was revealed in 1999, and introduced to the European market in October 2000, and the facelift arrived in February 2004. General Motors dubbed the new chassis Gamma, and intended to use it for a number of other models. A saloon version was also offered in Latin America, South Africa and the Middle East. In 2002, the Corsa chassis spawned a mini MPV called the Opel Meriva, development of which began under Opel in Rüsselsheim. In Japan, where the car was sold through the Yanase dealership chain as the Opel Vita, it was discontinued in April 2004 due to sluggish sales. The vehicle won 2001 Semperit Irish Car of the Year in Ireland. Safety. Euro NCAP test results for a LHD, three-door hatchback variant on a registration from 2002: Argentina. The Argentinian version of the Corsa C (rebranded as "Corsa II" or "Corsa 2") was manufactured in GM's Alvear plant in Santa Fe Province, the export markets are unknown. The Chevrolet Montana wasn't neither manufactured or imported. Brazil. The Brazilian version of the Corsa sold in those countries featured a more conservative front end than its European counterpart. Brazil also offered a pickup truck version of the Corsa named the Chevrolet Montana (sold in some markets as the Tornado), which, as well as the saloon, was exported in a completely knocked down form to South Africa for local assembly. Mexico. The Corsa C arrived in the 2002 model year as a five-door hatchback, and was imported from Europe; but for the model year of 2003, the Corsa sold in Mexico began coming from Brazil and a saloon version was added. In 2005, the saloon version introduced an automated manual transmission called Easytronic because it was only offered in a five-speed manual transmission, however, the easytronic transmission was rapidly discontinu

Corsa D (S07; 2006)

The Corsa D was created using a new version of the SCCS platform, which was co-developed by General Motors/Opel and Fiat, and is also employed by the 2005 Fiat Grande Punto. The first official pictures of the Corsa D were released by Opel in May 2006. In the United Kingdom, What Car? awarded it 2007 Car of the Year. The Corsa D placed second in the European Car of the Year for 2007, only behind the Ford S-Max. The Corsa D is available in both three- and five-door versions and marketed as the Vauxhall Corsa in the United Kingdom. The same engines sizes from the Corsa C were available at launch, although the 1.3 L CDTI and 1.7 L CDTI engines were upgraded, with power ranging from 75 PS (55 kW) to 125 PS (92 kW). The 192 PS (141 kW) OPC/VXR version went on sale in the beginning of 2007, with a 1.6 L turbocharged petrol engine powering the front wheels. The 75 PS (55 kW) 1.3 CDTI (actual displacement was 1.25 litres) engine was updated in the middle of 2007 to bring CO2 levels to just 119 g/km, meaning that twelve months' Vehicle Excise Duty in the United Kingdom costs £30 and is eligible for the Plan 2000E (a rebate of €2000 in the purchase of a new car) in Spain. The Corsa D was briefly available in Australia under the Opel brand name, rather than as a Holden as the Corsa B and C had previously been, during Opel's short-lived foray into the Australian market. Less than a year after launching, Opel Australia announced it was ceasing operations, removing the Corsa from the Australian market. The Corsa D was never available in Japan, as Yanase had stopped importing the Opel Vita in April 2004, due to declining sales. Opel withdrew altogether from the Japanese market in December 2006, due to low sales the previous year. At an early stage of the Corsa D's development in 2004,

Corsa E (X15; 2014)

The Corsa E debuted at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. Interior space stayed the same, as did the 285-litre boot, but the interior was completely new. All of the exterior sheet metal (except the roof) was revised, but the underlying chassis and body structure, the glasshouse, as well as some minor parts such as side-view mirrors and turn signal repeaters, were carried over from the Corsa D. Corsa OPC/VXR. In February 2015, Opel introduced OPC version of Corsa E. Compared to the previous generation model, power output had increased by 15 PS (15 bhp) to 207 PS (204 bhp) from 1.6 Turbo engine, with a maximum torque of 245 N⋅m (181 lb⋅ft) between 1900 and 5800 rpm. An overboost function increased torque to 280 N⋅m (207 lb⋅ft) when needed. As a result, the Corsa OPC was able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 6.8 seconds and to reach a maximum speed of 230 km/h (143 mph). The Corsa OPC featured a sports chassis with Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) technology, which enabled the damping forces to adapt to the frequency of the car to balance sportiness with comfort. The suspension was lowered by 10 mm (0.39 in) compared to standard Corsa models, and the car also received an optimised steering system with more direct and precise reactions. OPC also worked on the brakes, adding 308 mm (12.13 in) discs on the front axle. Opel also offered the Corsa OPC Performance Package, which included a mechanical multi-disc differential lock made by Drexler, 18-inch wheels with Michelin tires, and an even more athletic chassis set up. The package also brought a Brembo high-performance braking system with 330mm braking discs on the front axle. Styling-wise, the Corsa OPC/VXR received more aggressive body kits with new bumpers, aluminium frames for the fog lights, a small scoop in th

Corsa F (P2JO; 2019)

The original project of Corsa F (project code: G2J0) was initially planned to be released in the third quarter of 2017 on a GM platform, the G2XX. However, the G2J0 project was cancelled due to PSA Group's acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall, with the cancelled project reaching production in a saloon form as the Buick Excelle in China. Development was then restarted after switching to the PSA CMP (EMP1) platform in 2017. The Corsa is thus the first of the Opel/Vauxhall models developed under the PSA ownership. The Corsa F was unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. Corsa-e. In December 2018, Opel announced the launch of an electric version of the Corsa, called the Corsa-e, which was originally planned to go on sale in 2019, but was delayed into the second quarter of 2020. In the UK, the Corsa-e is sold under the Vauxhall marque. The main competitors to the Corsa-e were expected to be the Nissan Leaf and the Renault Zoe, as well as its mechanically identical twin, the Peugeot e-208. The Corsa-e has the same two drivetrain options as the e-208. In the weaker one of the two (and the only option initially available), the electric motor produces 136 PS (100 kW; 134 hp) and 260 N⋅m (192 lb⋅ft) of torque, and a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration takes 8.1 seconds. Output is restricted in the Normal, 81 kW (109 hp) and 220 N⋅m (162 lb⋅ft), and Eco modes, 60 kW (81 hp) and 180 N⋅m (133 lb⋅ft)) modes. A more powerful, 156 PS (115 kW) option became available later. Under the WLTP driving cycle, the 2019 Corsa-e had an estimated range of 330 km (210 mi) using a 50.0 kW-hr battery (gross), which is carried in the floor. Real-world testing showed the actual efficiency was 3.1 to 3.7 mi (5.0 to 6.0 km) per kW-hr, yielding a range of 145–190 mi (233–306 km) considering the 46 kW-hr usabl

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Specifications

name

Opel Corsa

Manufacturer

General Motors (1982–2017), PSA Group (2017–2021), Stellantis (2021–present)

aka

Vauxhall Corsa (United Kingdom), Vauxhall Nova (United Kingdom, 1982–1993), Holden Barina (Australia and New Zealand, 1993–2006)

Production

1982–present (Europe), 1993–present (Vauxhall brand)

Class

Supermini (B)

Layout

Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

Predecessor

Opel Kadett City, Vauxhall Chevette

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2876349CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_CorsaCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377454026 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chevy_malibu.jpgPublic domain · Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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