CarBrandLogos archive · Opel · 1982
Opel's first supermini, built in Zaragoza and sold under four different badges.
Discover the storyPhoto: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Opel Corsa, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
Opel came late to the small hatchback. By the time the Corsa arrived in 1982, the Fiesta had been on sale for six years and the Polo for seven, so General Motors built a new factory at Figueruelas near Zaragoza specifically to make it and priced the car to take share quickly.
'06-'08 Chevrolet Chevy 3-Door · Bull-Doser · Public domain
02
It took it. The first car was compact, cheerful and cheap to run, and it was sold in Britain as the Vauxhall Nova, one of the more successful badge changes of the era. From the second generation of 1993 it became a genuine world car, built and sold in Brazil, Mexico, India, South Africa and China, usually as a Chevrolet, and it remains one of the best-selling nameplates Opel has ever had.
1996-1997 Holden Barina City 3-door hatchback 01 · OSX · Public domain
03
Successive generations grew, gained safety structure and weight, and picked up hot versions in GSi and OPC form. When PSA bought Opel in 2017 the car moved onto French underpinnings, which is where it sits today under Stellantis, offered with combustion, mild-hybrid and fully electric drivetrains.
'10-'12 Chevrolet Chevy Sedan -- Rear · Bull-Doser at English Wikipedia · Public domain
04
Forty years in, it is still the car Opel sells most of.
At a glance
Produced
1982–presentTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Corsa's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →From the journal
Contemporaries from the 1980s
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