At its height of popularity, the Corsa became the best-selling car in the world in 1998, recording 910,839 sales, assembled on four continents, marketed under five marques and offered in five body styles.

[8] The S-car designation had originally been applied to an abandoned supermini proposal from the early 1970s, which evolved into the 3-door hatchback ("City") version of the Opel Kadett C/Vauxhall Chevette, for which the Corsa/Nova acted as a de facto replacement.

The new car would therefore follow in the template already set by established superminis such as the Fiat 127, VW Polo and Ford Fiesta in using a transverse-engined, front wheel drive layout.

Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door versions added in 1984.

The SR receives a spoiler which surrounds the rear window, alloy wheels, checkered sport seats, and a somewhat more powerful 70 PS (51 kW) engine.

[citation needed] It launched in April 1983, following a seven-month-long union dispute due to British workers' anger over the car being built in Spain, in contrast to the rival Ford Fiesta and Austin Metro.

[citation needed] These Sport models were white and came with unique vinyl decals, a 13SB engine with twin Weber 40 DCOE carburettors, an optional bespoke camshaft, a replacement rear silencer, and few luxuries.

A 1.6 L multi point fuel-injected engine with 101 PS (74 kW) at 5600 rpm (98 PS or 72 kW in the catalysed version) and capable of 186 km/h (116 mph) was added to the Corsa/Nova at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show, giving decent performance and being badged as a GSi ("Nova GTE" in pre-facelift models in the United Kingdom, later models were all called GSi).

[16] Sales in the United Kingdom were strong right up to the end, but by the time the last Nova was built in the beginning of 1993, it was looking very dated in comparison to more modern rivals like the Peugeot 106 and the Renault Clio.

A television advert in 1987 featured the Ritchie Valens hit "La Bamba" playing in the background, and used CGI to allow a Nova to drive over vehicles in a busy city.

An estate car, panel van and pickup truck were also introduced, and a convertible version was produced for the Australian market, called the Holden Barina Cabrio.

Italy was the only European country where the Argentinian-built estate version was offered, which meant that the Italian importer had to shoulder the entire cost of homologation.

In September 2006, Chile became the first country outside China to receive the Chinese assembled Sail; it is called the Chevrolet Corsa Plus there, available as a four-door saloon with a 1.6 L 92 PS (68 kW) engine.

The Corsa Plus includes dual front airbags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, electric windows and central locking as standard equipment.

The hatchback model was still being produced, and extensively marketed in South Africa as the Corsa Lite under the Opel branding until 2009; at which point it was discontinued.

[41] The Corsa B was manufactured in South Africa and first entered the market in November 1996, featuring three models (Lite, 130i and 130iS), all having the same 1.3 L (13NE) 8 valve engine producing 58 kW (79 PS).

[43] For 2004 (after the Corsa C had been introduced in 2002), a Mexican designed and produced version of the hatchback and saloon,[citation needed] known as the Chevrolet Chevy C2, was released, which was also sold in Colombia.

All Mexican previous versions were known as the Chevy, with the names Monza used on the saloon, and Swing (five-door) and Joy (three-door) for the hatchbacks, all with a 1.6-litre 78 PS (57 kW) four-cylinder.

This move was because the Chevy's sales had been dropping constantly since the beginning of 2010, and also because it didn't meet the new safety requirement rules in Mexico that forced it to have standard front airbags.

Brazil also offered a pickup truck version of the Corsa named the Chevrolet Montana (sold in some markets as the Tornado), which, as well as the saloon, was exported in a completely knocked down form to South Africa for local assembly.

Holden also imported the SRi version with the 1.8 L Astra motor and uprated sports suspension including traction control, ABS brakes, a better tyre/wheel combination, and Irmscher body kit to produce a "baby hot hatch" Barina.

The 75 PS (55 kW) 1.3 CDTI engine was updated in the middle of 2007 to bring CO2 levels to just 119 g/km, meaning that twelve months' Vehicle Excise Duty in the United Kingdom costs £30 and is eligible for the Plan 2000E (a rebate of €2000 in the purchase of a new car) in Spain.

[57] This Corsa comes with a standard 18-inch alloy wheels and low profile tires, lowered suspension, dual tipped stainless steel exhaust, and special Nurburgring badge at B pillars and inside on gear knob and instrument dials.

The suspension was lowered by 10 mm (0.39 in) compared to standard Corsa models, and the car also received an optimised steering system with more direct and precise reactions.

Opel also offered the Corsa OPC Performance Package, which included a mechanical multi-disc differential lock made by Drexler, 18-inch wheels with Michelin tires, and an even more athletic chassis set up.

Styling-wise, the Corsa OPC/VXR received more aggressive body kits with new bumpers, aluminium frames for the fog lights, a small scoop in the hood, a big roof spoiler, and twin-pipe Remus exhaust with a diffuser.

[77] In December 2018, Opel announced the launch of an electric version of the Corsa, called the Corsa-e, which was originally planned to go on sale in 2019,[78][79] but was delayed into the second quarter of 2020.

[82] Under the WLTP driving cycle, the Corsa-e has an estimated range of 330 km (210 mi) using a 50.0 kW-hr battery (gross),[81] which is carried in the floor.

[85] Opel's latest range of aluminium three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines are projected to save around 15 kg over the predecessor four-cylinder units.

[90] On 6 November 2020, Opel Corsas manufactured between 18 March 2019 and 14 February 2020 were recalled due to the high-pressure pump not being tightened to the engine with correct torque, causing a potential fuel leak.