Opel first announced the Corsa GSE in February, at the time still largely without concrete data. However, the car is now officially available to order from 1 September, with a starting price of €39,900.
During our first test drive on public roads east of Vienna, and on the closed handling course of the Driving Camp, the Corsa GSE revealed more about itself than a data sheet ever could. On tight right-hand bends, early on the accelerator, the full 345 Nm of torque arrives with no delay. Where the front axle should start to scrabble for grip, when the steering wheel should tug at your hands, and the traction control should frantically cut power. None of that happens. The Opel Corsa GSE pulls out of the corner on the outer front wheel cleanly and without any drama. You have to deliberately provoke it to unsettle it.
This is remarkable because, here, 207 kW (281 PS) are unleashed on just two driven front wheels. The fact that this doesn’t cause any issues is down to a component that Opel mentions almost casually in the press kit. More on that later.
A small car with lots of heritage
Opel never completely abandoned the sporty Corsa line, but it did let it languish for a long time. It began in 1988 with the Corsa A GSi: it weighed 820 kg, had an output of 74 kW (100 PS), and accelerated to 100 km/h in 9.5 seconds. This was followed by the Corsa B GSi with 80 kW (109 PS) and the Corsa C GSi with 92 kW (125 PS). In 2007, the OPC (Opel Performance Center) era began: the Corsa D had 141 kW (192 PS), and the Nürburgring Edition of 2010 raised the bar with 154 kW (210 PS). The latter even achieved a top speed of 230 km/h.
