CarBrandLogos archive · Daewoo · 1990

DaewooEspero

A Bertone-styled saloon wrapped around thoroughly conventional GM hardware.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Daewoo history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Daewoo Espero, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Daewoo's ambitions in the early 1990s outran its engineering department, so it went shopping. The Espero's body was drawn at Bertone under Marc Deschamps, and it shows: a steeply raked windscreen, a high tail and a lot of glass gave the car a cab-forward look that was fashionable and, for the price, genuinely striking.

1995-1997 Daewoo Espero CD sedan 02 · OSX · Public domain

Design and engineering

Beneath the styling sat familiar GM material — Family 1 and Family II four-cylinder engines from 1.5 to 2.0 litres, front-wheel drive, and underpinnings related to the Ascona. That kept it cheap to build and easy to service, and Daewoo priced it as a mid-size car for compact money in export markets across Europe, where it became many buyers' first Korean car.

1995-1997 Daewoo Espero CD sedan 03 · OSX · Public domain

In production

Assembly spread well beyond Korea, to FSO in Warsaw, Rodae in Craiova and Doninvest in Russia, extending the model's life years past its 1997 retirement at home. The Leganza and Nubira took over, both of them further steps in Daewoo's attempt to look like a full-line manufacturer.

daewoo espero 2 · Chu · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1996–2002

Engine

Petrol engine

Designer

Bertone under Marc Deschamps

Body

4-door saloon

Technical specification

The Espero, in detail.

Production: August 1990 – February 1997 (South Korea); September 1990 – May 1999 (Export Markets); 1996–2002 (Romania)
Class: Mid-size car (D)
Body style: 4-door saloon
Layout: FF layout
Engine: Petrol engine; petrol: ; 1.5 L Family 1 engine#A15MF; A15MF Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1.5 L Family 1 engine#G15MF; G15MF I4 ; 1.8 L Family II engine#1.8; C18LE I4 ; 2.0 L Family II engine#C20LE; C20LE I4 ; Liquified Pet
Transmission: 4-speed Aisin 50-42LE automatic; 5-speed manual
Designer: Bertone under Marc Deschamps
Assembly: South Korea: Bupyeong; Poland: Warsaw (FSO); Romania: Craiova (Rodae); Russia: Aksay (Doninvest)
Manufacturer: Daewoo