Happy 25th Birthday to our beloved Corsa​​

An era famous for Britpop, shell suits and the Spice Girls, the 1990s was a standout decade for British culture that welcomed another icon in 1993 – the Vauxhall Corsa. A British classic in the motoring industry for the last 25 years, our beloved Corsa’s iconic design has expertly moved with the times, continually meeting the needs of motorists including families, as well as new and experienced drivers.

Cherished as Vauxhall’s best-selling model with over two million sold in the UK since its debut – the equivalent of nine purchases an hour – the Corsa is still as popular as ever. Now available in a number of top-of-the-range models and colours to meet the ever-growing desires of the market, the Corsa continues to be one of the UK’s favourites.

Did you know?

So, to mark the 25th birthday of one of the nation’s most beloved vehicles, here at York Ward & Rowlatt we have looked at 25 facts you may not know about this iconic car:

• The original Corsa was introduced in an advert with supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.
• It was once claimed that about 70 per cent of learners buy the Corsa as their first car so they can drive the same model as they passed their test in.
• Vauxhall has sold 9.86 million Corsas globally.
• ‘Corsa’ means ‘race’ in Italian.
• When Arctic Monkeys signed a deal with EMI publishing, lead vocalist Alex Turner celebrated by buying a Vauxhall Corsa.
• The Corsa replaced the much-loved Vauxhall Nova.
• Rapper Tinie Tempah, boxer Nicola Adams and ex Doctor Who actor Matt Smith all bought the Corsa as their first car.
• Ex Doctor Who actor Matt Smith sold his Corsa on eBay for £6.3k, donating the fee to children’s charity Starlight.
• In recent years, the most popular colour of the Corsa is grey, with 45,050 grey Corsas currently on British roads.
• When the car first went to sale, it sold for £7,195 with the price rising by just £3,850 in its 25 years. Assuming an annual inflation rate of two per cent, it would be less expensive now than in 1993.

• Vauxhall has sold 20,000 Corsas to the UK Police forces in the past ten years.
• Original Corsa designer Richard Shaw still works at Vauxhall, and has risen through the ranks to Chief Designer for Interiors.
• Famous celebs involved in campaigns for the Corsa include singer Sean Paul, model Claudia Schiffer, British Chef James Martin and fictional rock band The C’mons.
• Vauxhall has supplied thousands of Corsas to driving schools including BSM, Red and Hitachi Capital.
• British artist Alex Chinneck designed a gravity-defying illusionary piece of artwork which saw the artist suspend a Corsa fifteen feet in the air at London’s Southbank Centre.
• In 2017, Vauxhall renamed its yellow colour to Maddox Yellow to show support for pensioner Peter Maddox, who’s yellow Corsa was vandalised.
• The Corsa is one of the most popular used cars bought, with 63,000 sold each year through Network Q, the best place to buy a used Vauxhall.
• Over 100 models of the Corsa have featured in the annual Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair at locations across the UK for the past thirteen years.
• The latest generation of the Corsa is available in 13 colours.
• Some Corsa models have a hidden shark on the hinge of the glove compartment.

• Unusual Corsa models have included a convertible version and a sporty pick-up.
• In 2014, the prototype fourth generation Corsa attempted to achieve a Guinness World Record for the world’s “largest GPS Drawing”.
• Vauxhall created a pair of bespoke headphones in the shape of a Corsa to help launch the fifth year of the UK Beatbox Championships in 2011.
• The Corsa previously shared some of the same parts with sports car, the Lotus Elise.
• A new electric Corsa model will be launching in 2019 – Vauxhall’s first electric Corsa.

So there you have it; 25 facts you probably didn’t know about the classic Corsa. If you’re interested in booking a test drive in the supermini or any of our Vauxhall models, get in touch here.