Tigra A 1993-2002
At the 1993 Frankfurt IAA, Opel showed a very attractive coupé, the Tigra. Opel is into coupés and with the Tigra it launched a model which was a massive departure from the mass market. The model was primarily aimed at a young public and underlined Opel´s sporty image.
The Tigra was based on the Corsa B chassis which had been brought out a year earlier. Remarkably the car had been designed by a Japanese designer, Hideo Kodama. There was a choice of only two engine types: a 1.4i-16v (90hp) and a 1.6i-16v (106hp) petrol engine.
The exterior hardly changed during the production period. Production of the Tigra stopped, without a direct successor in 2000.
Corsa B 1993-2002
With the introduction of the second generation Corsa in 1993, Opel retired its Corsa A model after 8 years. The Corsa B was offered in 3 models: 3 door, 5 door and a van/saloon?. In the United Kingdom the Vauxhall version was called Corsa from this time onwards, instead of the Nova.
The Corsa B was only available as a hatchback model; the Corsa was only available in South America and in Italy as a station car. With the introduction of the Corsa B came the end of the sedan. Refurbishing cars with a solid roof into a cabrio became a popular activity amongst bodywork builders in the nineties.
The German company R&R Kupfer focussed on the Opel Corsa B introduced at the start of 1993. For 8,950 guilders (4,060 euros) you could have the roof of your Corsa sawn open. The standard was a black top. The fore part worked as a sliding sunroof and only the Corsa three door was suitable as a cabrio.
Critics called the exterior of the new Corsa B a mix of Japanese ingredients. Modern names such as City, Swing and Joy were used to further distinguish between the existing GLS, sport and GSI models. For the football World Cup in 1994 in the USA, Opel also brought out a special “World Cup” version.
The engine range consisted of a 1.2 with an ECO version, various 1.4 models and the 1.6-16V for the GSI. This GSI was an image builder with 100 hp, meant as an eye catcher without a lot of ambition but a good seller. The GSI is fast but is also a calm drive, built cleverly, sits well and offered a lot for its admittedly high price. Opel had put a lot of effort into the construction as regards safety, strengthening bars in the doors, ABS braking system and, in later models, airbags. The initial price varied from between 23,000 guilders (10,545 euros) for the 3 door 12E city and 36,500 guilders (16,590 euros) for the GSI.
Mid 1997 Opel introduced a facelift for the Corsa with new bumpers, mouldings, grille, dashboard (this became black whereas the older versions were grey). In 1999 Opel launched the “Opel Corsa Centennial” in honour of the 100th anniversary of the brand. The last versions of this type were produced in 2000.