The Vauxhall Nova is a rebadged version of the Opel Corsa A. It was produced between April 1983 and March 1993 for the United Kingdom only, as it had been decided to phase out the Vauxhall brand entirely in favor of Opel in the Republic of Ireland. ("Nova" is a trademark which GM had already used in North America). It effectively replaced the aging Chevette, which finished production in January 1984. Nearly 500,000 Novas were sold in Britain over the next ten years, but by February 2016, only 1,757 were still on the road. In its best year, 1989, it was Britain's seventh best selling car with more than 70,000 sales. All Nova models were manufactured in Spain, with the first customers in the United Kingdom taking delivery of their cars in April 1983. It gave Vauxhall a much needed modern competitor in the supermini market in the United Kingdom, as the Chevette was older than the majority of its main competitors which consisted of the Ford Fiesta and the Austin Metro. With the late 1990 facelift a small van version arrived, called the Vauxhall Nova Van.
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. Vauxhall dropped the Nova name in 1993 when their version of the Opel Corsa B made its debut, and later models were sold as the Vauxhall Corsa instead. This was the second Vauxhall to adopt the same model name as the Opel version, the first being the Senator.
Appearances[]
- In Clarkson: At Full Throttle, Jeremy Clarkson challenged then-current Top Gear host Vicki Butler-Henderson to a race in modified variants of their cars, Clarkson's Rover SD1 and Henderson's Vauxhall Nova, with Clarkson winning due to Henderson spinning out at the final corner.
- In Series 21, Episode 1 of Top Gear, Richard Hammond's car of choice was a red Vauxhall Nova SRi, which was later outfitted with an arctic camo paintjob. The car had numerous problems. For one, it can be easily stolen without even having the car keys by removing the hazard warning light switch and placing it upside down. Not only that, but the Nova was also prone to rolling over, as Hammond rolled the car into a ditch after finishing the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb track, and he crossed the finish line during the supermarket run with the car on its side. Last, but not least, the Nova suffered from engine problems.