Gurgel · 1988–1992
Gurgel BR-800
The Gurgel BR-800 is a Brazilian city car produced by Gurgel between 1988 and early 1992. The project started under the acronym CENA, meaning "National Economical Car" ("Carro Econômico NAcional", in Portuguese), designed to be essentially a small car for urban daily use. It received great attention and good reviews from critics, regarding the mechanic solutions, comfort, drivability and stability. When it was introduced in September 1987, the car was named the Gurgel 280 but by the time sales started it was changed to the BR-800. The car could only be purchased if the buyer also bought 750 shares in Gurgel, making it considerably more expensive than the much bigger and more capable Chevrolet Chevette, the then cheapest new car available in Brazil. The project was favoured by Brazil's then-president, José Sarney, who ensured large unsecured loans for Gurgel's project and also allowed it to be sold at an especially low sales tax. Nonetheless, only about 40,000 were built in around four years of production.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Successor: Gurgel Supermini
All Gurgel BR-800 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Gurgel BR-800
- Manufacturer
- Gurgel
- aka
- Gurgel 280
- Production
- 1988-1992
- Assembly
- Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Body style
- 2–door Coupé
- Class
- City car (A)
- Successor
- Gurgel Supermini
- Layout
- front engine, rear-wheel drive
- Engine
- 792 cc Enertron H2
- Transmission
- four-speed manual
- Wheelbase
- 1900 mm
- Length
- 3195 mm
- Width
- 1460 mm
- Height
- 1460 mm
- Kerb weight
- 650 kg
- Related
- Gurgel Motomachine
- Designer
- João do Amaral Gurgel
- sp
- en
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5620012CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurgel_BR-800CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1348413274 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gurgel_BR-800.JPGCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Frenz 69 · 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.