After we told you about the Opel Calibra, today we get back into the “time machine” and remember another coupé of the German brand that appeared a few years later, its younger (and more successful) brother, the Opel Tigra.
Unveiled as a prototype (no more than the “undercover” production model) at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show — where it was accompanied by an elegant summer roadster — the public approval couldn't have been better. While it was a risky gamble in a low-volume niche, it looked like Opel had a winner between hands.
A year later, in 1994, the Opel Tigra hit the market and quickly created a legion of fans — and even waiting lists… Despite not being the first compact coupé to hit the market, he was responsible for “resurrecting” the niche of small coupés, giving rise to new rivals, such as the Ford Puma that would end up being another of its protagonists.
Who sees guys…
Like many other coupés in Opel history, the Opel Tigra also started from humble beginnings. So while the Manta was based on the Ascona, the GT drew components from Kadett, and the Calibra derived from the Vectra, underneath its elegant and dynamic bodywork, the Opel Tigra was nothing less than a Corsa B.
Here is the prototype that anticipated the Opel Tigra at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show.
On the outside, this familiarity was practically impossible to detect, as the Tigra and Corsa B did not share a single body panel. However, the tape measure is not deceiving: the wheelbase (2.44 m) and the width (1.60 m) were identical. But the Tigra was longer (3.91 m against 3.73 m) and much shorter (1.34 m against 1.42 m).
The only identical exterior components were the side indicators and… the door handles (which at that time were transversal to almost the entire Opel range).
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Inside, on the other hand, they were virtually identical. The dashboard was the same used by the Corsa and only the sportier quadrant (although with the same spatial organization), the different linings and the 2+2 layout were differences compared to the German utilitarian.
Finally, the connections to the ground were ensured by a suspension identical to that of his brother. Later, however, from 1997 onwards, both the Tigra and Corsa B would gain a superior dynamic stamp, courtesy of Lotus intervention — it's just a pity it didn't do the same thing it did with the Lotus Omega.
Mechanics? Inherited of course!
Like the platform, the mechanics used by the Opel Tigra also came from the Corsa B. Thus, the Tigra had two engines, a 1.4 l and a 1.6 l (this was only sold until 1998), both running on gasoline. Out of the offer were the 1.2 l that equipped the base versions of the Corsa and, of course, the famous diesel engines from Isuzu that equipped the German utility vehicle.
Here is the prototype of the Tigra Roadster unveiled in 1993.
Starting with 1.4 l, this one debited 90 hp and 125 Nm. Already at the top of the offer was the 1.6 l used by the contemporary Corsa GSi with 106 hp and 148 Nm.
In both cases the transmission was handled by either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. When equipped with the 1.4 l, the Tigra fulfilled 0 to 100 km/h in 11.5s and reached 190 km/h. With the 1.6 l the 100 km/h arrived in 9.4s and the top speed rose to 203 km/h.
the other tigra
As might be expected, the Opel Tigra's appeal was enormous. No wonder it was used as a basis for other projects. One of them was the Tigra V6, a prototype with rear-wheel drive and a V6 with 3.0 l and 208 hp in the center position.
Another of the projects developed based on the Opel Tigra was a pick-up variant created by Irmscher based on the work of a young... Portuguese designer (here I write from memory and I appeal to you: if you know his name, don't hesitate to contact him. because we would like to tell your story in more detail).
The end and return of Tigra
Launched in 1994, the first generation of the Opel Tigra was produced until 2001, the year in which it was refurbished without leaving a successor. In total, 256 392 units of the first generation of the small German coupé were sold, a substantial number for a vehicle considered to be a niche.
However, the story of the Opel Tigra would not end with the first generation. In 2004, the Tigra name returned, recovering the same formula of using the base of the Corsa to make a different model, with more style — the formula was recovered, but the success did not...
Assuming the then-fashionable format, that of a convertible with a metal top, the Tigra Twintop failed to convince, selling only 90 874 units between 2004 and 2009.
With a well-groomed look, but far from the elegance, dynamism and also irreverence of the first Tigra, the Twintop even surrendered to the “charms” of the Diesel engines (1.3 CDTI and only 70 hp) — at a time when the sales of this one engine types grew significantly in Europe — but even that didn't seem to help sales. The truth is that, unlike the first Tigra, the Twintop almost went unnoticed...
Can Tigra return?
Bearing in mind that the Opel Tigra's main rival, the Ford Puma , has become a compact SUV/crossover, do we want the Tigra to return? There is hardly room in the current market for small coupés; there just seems to be room for crossovers and SUVs.
Let's give you the floor: should Opel recover the Tigra name by putting it on a compact crossover/SUV?
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