Corsa Spider Prototype

On the Geneva Motor show in March 1982, Opel presented the Corsa Spider, a forerunner of the new small cars series of Opel. For the first time the name "Corsa" was used and thus the public reaction was "tested".

The Spider was built by chief director Gordon Brown and his team. Browns condition for the study was that it would be developed within a month. Design studio chief Hideo Kodama was responsible for the body design, together with Mark Jordan, Tony Hatter and Joge Nagashima. Chris Bangle was responsible for the interior.

The entire project was supervised by Gordon Brown and George Gallion.

The first design drafts of Joge Nagashima of a Sportcoupé and Spider. These were however rejected, since they were too radical and were too different of the production version of the Corsa

A sliding cover could be installed over the passenger seat , which disappeared in the door panel when not used. The fixings of the seat belts were integrated in the backrests. Furthermore the steering column was adjustable in the height and the driver seat-back could be flipped forward so that the interior could be locked completely with a cover.

The display and control lights originated from other Opel prototypes. Speed and RPM were indicated digitally. A Sony Walkman could be attached on the centre console, so that the music could be heared over the loudspeakers located in the head restraints. All switches and buttons in the interior were splash-water proofed.

The car was laid out as a single-seater and could be transformed by replacement of individual components into a 2- or 4-seater.

   

The roof was laid out as a folding top, which was stretched over a transparent roll bar and 4 telescope bars.

As there was a good feedback on the Motor Show, the Opel management division thought about a regular production, which would be manufactured either at Opel or at body specialist.

The Spider was only a rollable shell, without steering and engine.