During the 1990s, a lot of cars flopped in sales because of the remarkably struggling economy during that time. The car industry suffered a number of drawbacks, and this was the same case for the Opel Tigra. Opel, however, managed to bounce back as it provided the market a new Opel Tigra by 2004.
Originally produced in 1994, the Opel Tigra was then reincarnated by the company in 2004. This was four years after the company discontinued it. The Opel Tigra franchise has been carried out by two different cars. The first Tigra was built in Spain, while the second one was made in France. The basis for the design of the Opel Tigra was the Opel Corsa supermini.
Opel Corsa is easily recognizable, because of its compact design during the 1980s. This car was also sold in different brands from Chevrolet to Holden. Due to the popularity of the Opel Corsa, the Opel Tigra was designed to be a compact roadster and a coupe.
Tigra A 1994
The very first Tigra was made in 1994 as a concept car. It was introduced in 1993 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It was the Opel Tigra that expanded the market of the Opel Corsa. Built-in Spain, the Opel Tigra during the 1990s maintained the majority of the Opel Corsa’s engine.
There were two different engine options for the 1994 Opel Tigra. You either go for a 1.4L or a 1.6L engine version. The smaller-engined Opel Tigra comes with an option to have a 4-speed gearbox.
Much like other Opel cars, the 1994 Opel Tigra, was marketed by different brands. For instance, Brazil and Mexico have the Chevrolet Tigra, while Europe continued to have Opel. What made the Opel Tigra decrease in sales was the fact that the economy wasn’t doing well for some countries like Brazil in 1998 and 1999.
Tigra B 2004
The first Opel Tigra stopped in the year 2000. For the next four years, the company tried to improve what it can offer to the Opel Market. The Opel Tigra returned to the automotive scene in 2004. The 2004 version of the Tigra was a 2 seater coupe convertible that is more like a GT car than the former 1994 version. The hardtop was somewhat similar to the Peugeot 206 CC. This design was the brainchild of coachbuilder Haeuliez from France.
Staying loyal to the tradition of the Opel Tigra, the 2004 version was available in 1.4 or a 1.8 L engine. The Australian market, on the other hand, was an exception. Opel decided to sell the Australian market only the 1.8 L engined Tigra. The Opel Tigra was marketed as Holden Tigra in Australia.
There are cars that will simply be out of the production line for good. For economic reasons, Opel decided to shelf the Opel Tigra for four years. This way, the company does not saturate the market. Opel also learned the importance of technology in order to stay relevant in the automotive industry. Over the next four years, the Opel Tigra was recalibrated both in the exterior and in the performance of the vehicle. In fact, the Opel Tigra 2004 has a score of 4/5 from Euro NCAP. Euro NCAP is the organization responsible for testing the safety of vehicles.