Vauxhall celebrates Corsa’s 40th birthday with Corsa-e Anniversary Edition

Vauxhall Nova was the Opel Corsa for UK market and the iconic mini is celebrating its 40th birthday today. The model name Nova was used between 1982 and 1993 when Vauxhall went back to the Corsa nameplate. The car was sold in Australia and New Zealand as Holden Barina, it was known as Chevrolet Chevy in Mexico. In China it was sold as Chevrolet and Buick Sail and in Japan it was rebranded as Opel Vita.

The car is truly global, being manufactured over the last 40 years in Germany, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa, Egypt, China, India, Thailand and Ecuador. 14 million Corsas have been sold globally since the first model left the factory in 1982.

To celebrate the occasion, Vauxhall is releasing the Anniversary Edition Corsa-e based on the range topping GS Line. The car comes with new paintwork in Record Red which is inspired by the original Carmine Red first introduced on the Nova in 1982. To add more glamor the roof is painted gloss black and the 17” alloys come with matte gray inserts. To finish off the sporty look all the badges on the car and the front grille are painted in gloss black.

Interior gets a bespoke tartan upholstery that takes inspiration from the original Nova and Corsa. On the dashboard every car gets a prominently displayed Anniversary badge with serial number - only 1,000 Corsas will be released in this celebratory edition. The 7” central screen remains the same as on GS Line together with DAB radio and digital instrument cluster but the heated steering wheel and heated seats are now standard.

The usual set of driver assistance features comes standard with the lane departure, sign recognition and emergency braking. Reversing camera is on board as well and it compliments the front and rear parking sensors to ensure even the tightest spot is a piece of cake for Corsa drivers.

Powertrain remains unchanged from Opel Corsa-e with a 134 hp (98kW) electric motor driving front wheels and the 50kWh battery giving enough juice for 222 miles (357 km). Acceleration is decent with the sprint from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) taking a respectable 8.1 seconds. The classic Corsa GT from 1988 needed 13.3 seconds to get there.

With the Anniversary Edition coming in limited numbers the price is set at GBP 31,000 (€36,038 or $37,930) and for that money Vauhxall throws in a free pair of tartan socks to match the interior of the car. Seriously - a pair of tartan socks. I’ve seen it all now.

Via