CarBrandLogos archive · Daewoo · 1997

DaewooNubira

Part of the trio meant to prove Daewoo could design its own cars.

Photo: IFCAR · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Daewoo history.

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

Origins

In 1997 Daewoo launched three cars at once — Lanos, Nubira and Leganza — and the point of the exercise was independence. After a decade of building licensed Opels, the company wanted models it had commissioned itself, styled by European houses and developed at its own technical centres in Korea, Britain and Germany. The Nubira was the compact of the set, shaped by Justyn Norek and Francois Lampreia at I.DE.A, and offered as saloon, hatchback and estate.

00-02 Daewoo Nubira wagon rear · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

Mechanically it stayed close to what Daewoo knew: transverse Family 1 and Family II fours from 1.3 to 2.0 litres, front-wheel drive, and a suspension layout tuned more for ride than for entertainment. Equipment levels were the selling point. Cars arrived in export markets with air conditioning, electric windows and long warranties at prices that mainstream rivals reserved for stripped-out base models.

Daewoo Nubira rear · Rudolf Stricker · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

The timing was terrible. The Asian financial crisis hit within months of launch, and Daewoo's debt-funded expansion — new plants in Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Vietnam and Egypt, several of which built the Nubira — collapsed with the group in 1999. GM eventually took over the car operation, and the Nubira's replacement, the Lacetti, would be sold worldwide as a Chevrolet.

'00-'02 Daewoo Nubira Sedan · Bull-Doser · Public domain

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1997–2002

Engine

1.3 L Family 1 engine#E-TEC

Body

4-door sedan

Technical specification

The Nubira, in detail.

Production: 1997–2002 (South Korea); 1998–2008 (Romania); 1997–2009 (CKD and license-built models)
Class: Compact car (C)
Body style: 4-door sedan; 5-door hatchback; 5-door station wagon
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Engine: 1.3 L Family 1 engine#E-TEC; Family 1 Straight-four engine; I4 (gasoline); 1.5 L Family 1 I4 (gasoline); 1.6 L Family 1 I4 (gasoline); 1.8 L Family II engine; Family II I4 (gasoline) ; 2.0 L Family II I4 (gasoline)
Transmission: 5-speed Daewoo D-20 manual; 4-speed ZF Friedrichshafen; ZF ZF 4HP14 transmission; 4HP14 automatic; 4-speed General Motors; GM GM 4T40 transmission; 4T40-E automatic
Designer: Justyn Norek and Francois Lampreia at I.DE.A Institute
Assembly: Gunsan, South Korea; Cairo, Egypt (Daewoo Motors Egypt: 1998–2012); Craiova, Romania (Rodae); Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (AvtoZAZ); Warsaw, Poland (FSO); Hanoi, Vietnam (VIDAMCO)
Manufacturer: Daewoo