Opel Tigra

The Opel Tigra name has been applied to two different cars engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel, both based on different iterations of the Corsa supermini, the first built in Spain, the second in France. The first Tigra was a small 2+2 coupé, produced from 1994 to 2000. The later compact hard topped convertible roadster model was introduced in May 2004.

The Tigra was sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Tigra, in Australia as the Holden Tigra, and in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico as the Chevrolet Tigra.

The first Tigra was based on the coupé concept car of the same name that was shown at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show, alongside an open top Tigra Roadster concept and the Scamp off roader/pickup. The première of the concept Tigra in the United Kingdom was in October 1993, at the London Motorfair.

The Tigra was built on the platform of the second generation Opel Corsa. The production vehicle was introduced in the beginning of 1994, and was built at Opel's Zaragoza plant in Spain. Production commenced in September 1994. General Motors' Pontiac division had considered importing the Tigra to the United States, but in the end it was determined that the car was too small for American consumers. Television advertisements in the United Kingdom for the (Vauxhall) Tigra featured the tune "Fiesta" by The Pogues.

The Tigra shared no body panels with the Corsa on which it was based, and the interior layout was different, however still kept the Corsa dashboard and most major engine parts. The Tigra also included a 2+2 seating arrangement. Due to the coupé styling and compact dimensions of the car, rear seat space was limited. The design incorporated a lightning theme as per the Opel logo; this can be seen in the way the roof and waistlines meet the reverse rake of the B-pillar, while lightning-shaped reflection appears in the metal ahead of the rear wheelwell in certain lighting conditions.

The Tigra was available with two petrol engines options, both from the Ecotec family, an entry-level 1.4 L with 90 PS (66 kW), and a larger sportier version, powered by the 1.6 L engine with 106 PS (78 kW), sourced from the Corsa GSi and later Corsa Sports. Both were DOHC 16 valve engines with electronic fuel injection.

The smaller engine was available with an optional four-speed automatic gearbox. The 1.6-litre model came with front fog lights as standard, a feature unavailable on the 1.4-litre version. An automatic option for the 1.4 was added in February 1995.

The suspension was essentially unchanged from the Corsa donor model, although the setup had been tweaked by Lotus. However, the car carried extra weight, with 150 kg (331 lb) over the equivalent engined Corsa models. 0–100 km/h acceleration on the 1.6 L model was 10.5 seconds, one second slower than the Corsa GSi.^{[citation needed]} A higher top speed of 203 km/h (126 mph) was obtained thanks to the higher gear ratios, a lower drag coefficient of 0.31, and standard 15" wheels on the more powerful model.