CarBrandLogos archive · Vauxhall · 1993
The Nova's replacement, and Britain's default first car for a generation.
Discover the storyPhoto: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Vauxhall Corsa, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
The Corsa name reached Britain in 1993, some eleven years after Opel had begun using it. The first-generation car had been sold here as the Nova; when the rounded second-generation model arrived, Vauxhall dropped the separate name and joined the rest of Europe.
'06-'08 Chevrolet Chevy 3-Door · Bull-Doser · Public domain
02
It was a conventional supermini done carefully — transverse engine, front-wheel drive, a light body available as a three or five-door hatchback — and it landed at exactly the point when the supermini became the default British small car rather than a downgrade. Cheap insurance groups, low running costs and a huge dealer network made it the standard purchase for new drivers, and it has stayed near the top of the UK sales charts through four more generations.
1996-1997 Holden Barina City 3-door hatchback 01 · OSX · Public domain
03
Ownership has changed underneath it more than the concept has. General Motors built it until 2017, when Opel and Vauxhall were sold to PSA; the following generation moved onto PSA's CMP platform, shared with the Peugeot 208, and gained a fully electric version. Stellantis has built it since 2021. Through all of that it has remained what it was in 1993: the car most people in Britain learn to drive something in.
'10-'12 Chevrolet Chevy Sedan -- Rear · Bull-Doser at English Wikipedia · Public domain
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 1990s
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