These are carefree childhood memories – saved from the perspective of the back seat of an Opel Corsa Gran Turismo: “Our feet romped around on the checked pattern of the back seat, sandals brimming with sand lay in the footwell. And the waves of the Atlantic roar in front of the side window.” We have an appointment with the Opel manager Marc Fetzer, he talks about a road trip through Portugal. That was in the mid-1980s. A smile inevitably creeps onto his face: “The wheel arches in the style of a rally car,” says the 47-year-old, “I was particularly taken with them.”
It’s those memories that he had in mind as he typed a message into his phone: “Just an idea. Let’s bring out a Corsa special edition ’40 years’ with colors/fabrics from the 80s.” Today, a good two years later, the news is reality. It’s been a few weeks since the special model “Corsa 40” was presented. The reactions to it – euphoric. Hundreds of articles, online news and photos have appeared. Even American and Japanese magazines are celebrating the milestone birthday and the model with the “Rekord Red” paintwork and the reinterpreted checked seat covers. The special edition limited to 1,982 copies – sold out after a few weeks.
It started with a message: On September 11, 2020, Marc Fetzer types the idea for a special Corsa model with a nod to the 1980s into his cell phone. The recipient is Tobias Gubitz, Head of Opel Product Management.
“The Corsa is an absolute popular figure.”
The passion for the automobile is reflected in the details: the special model “Corsa 40” comes with an anniversary box with socks in the vintage design and in the original design of the seat covers.
What is the true size of the smallest model in the current Opel portfolio? “The Corsa is a reliable and likeable car that, like no other model, consistently stands for the claim of making innovations accessible to everyone.”
After four decades and six generations, the Opel Corsa is as popular as ever. So what is the true size of the smallest model in the current Opel portfolio? “The Corsa,” says Marc Fetzer, “is an absolute popular figure.” The industrial engineer isn’t just the idea generator for the special model. Since he joined Opel 14 years ago, he has supported the small car bestseller in various functions, most recently as the responsible Program Execution Manager. Under his direction, the sixth generation grew into one of the most successful small cars in the B segment. Because the special position of the Corsa can be substantiated not only with pleasant memories, but also with immovable facts.
Immovable facts
On the one hand there is the model name “Corsa” – it is the most traditional in the current Opel portfolio. “Neither the Astra nor the Kadett can beat the number of 14 million units produced,” says the manager. No small car was bought more often in Germany in 2021; in the United Kingdom, the Vauxhall Corsa was at times the best-selling car of all. And in the electrified version, the current Corsa wins the coveted “Golden Steering Wheel 2020”. “Today, the name ‘Corsa’ is almost synonymous with a small car,” says the manager, “and has been associated with the attributes reliable and likeable for six generations.”
Success story in six chapters
1Corsa A (1982 to 1993)”It’s the model of one of my fondest childhood memories,” says Marc Fetzer. The of a road trip through Portugal. Sandy feet on the checkered back seat of a Corsa Gran Turismo, accompanied by the view of the Atlantic waves through the side window. The favorite detail of the elementary school student at the time: “The wheel arches in the style of a rally car!”
2Corsa B (1993 to 2000) Headlights like googly eyes, the soft lines penned by designer Hideo Kodama: “The rounded shapes of the Corsa B,” says the Parisian, “were everywhere on our streets from the mid-1990s .” No generation has been more successful worldwide. More than four million copies rolled off the assembly line in Zaragoza.
3Corsa C (2000 to 2006)The interior is larger, more modern. The first built-in navigation system and the first signs of infotainment in the Corsa C show where things are headed: “To make innovations affordable for everyone,” says the Opel manager. Combined with low fuel consumption and the lowest emissions, the third generation also combines all the key success factors.
4Corsa D (2006 to 2014)While the fourth generation of the Corsa, equipped with a start/stop system and highly efficient engines, has been on the road for two years, Marc Fetzer has his first day of work in Rüsselsheim in September 2008. One of his tasks as Accessory Product Manager is to develop a new accessory strategy for the small car – in order to be able to offer Corsa customers even more personalization options.
5Corsa E (2014 to 2019)Dynamic, practical and stylish – the Corsa E also becomes a bestseller. And Marc Fetzer, as a product manager and later also as a pricing manager, is fully committed to the fifth Corsa generation on the European market. He controls and is responsible for the marketing strategy over the entire life cycle.
6Corsa F (since 2019) As head of the program execution team, Marc Fetzer is responsible for profitability, schedule and quality for the Corsa with the “number 6”. He regularly meets his new French colleagues in Paris. Together they put one of the most successful B-segment vehicles on the road. As a pure electric vehicle, the Corsa-e wins the “Golden Steering Wheel 2020”.
MARC FETZER
The CV of the native Parisian is long. The constants: It’s always the automotive industry and it’s always about Franco-German cooperation. The industrial engineer studied in Paris and Pforzheim. His first job: the French Information Center for Industry and Technology in Frankfurt. Later, as manager of the French consulate, he continued to develop the network between the automotive industries of both neighboring countries. Marc Fetzer then started at Opel in 2008, as a product manager, supporting various functions within the international marketing team. From 2016, as program manager, he will be launching the sixth Corsa generation together with his French colleagues in Velizy. As Head of Future Products, he has been responsible for future models for two years. Marc Fetzer, born in 1975, is married, has two children and lives in Frankfurt.
It doesn’t matter whether the tomcat Tom was chasing after the agile Corsa with Jerry the mouse at the steering wheel, a queen double sitting on the roof announced “Girls just wanna have fun!” or fashion tsar Karl Lagerfeld photographed his purring Burmese cat Choupette on the bonnet – “the status as a figurehead, the advertising campaigns have always been creatively underpinned.” At the same time, the Opel engineers have created a reliable car from generation to generation that carries the Opel DNA in its purest form: “The Corsa makes innovations accessible to everyone,” emphasizes the Opel Manager, “a goal that we are passionate about and for which we are willing to go the famous extra mile.”
Someone who loves cars
Marc Fetzer grew up in Paris. As a primary school student in Portugal, he fell in love with the Corsa A. “In the mid-90s, the striking, round shape of the successor was appearing all over the streets,” he recalls. Whether year of construction, displacement or equipment lines – Marc Fetzer knows every detail. Also from past decades. Because he is what is called a “Car Guy”. “In a very distinctive form,” he adds with a wink, “cars are my passion.” Engines have always fascinated him. Especially when the cylinders are slightly offset on both sides of the crankshaft. The proven connoisseur of air-cooled boxer engines has already restored several classics himself.
Anniversary Edition: The “Rekord Red” paintwork of the special model “Corsa 40” is reminiscent of the original red of the Corsa A. In contrast, a number of applications such as the roof, the exterior mirrors and the Corsa lettering on the rear are in black .
Signature: Each “Corsa 40” example has its own numbering from 0001 to 1982 on the dashboard on the passenger side.
Symbiosis: The characteristic striped check pattern of the seat covers is a reinterpretation of the pattern from the 1980s.
His model car collection has also been growing for many decades, spread across various showcases and cabinets. “I had to store parts in boxes in the basement,” says the father of two. And then there is another drawer dedicated to automotive passion at Fetzer. And it played an important role in the genesis of the “Corsa 40”. It is stuffed with socks. Their look is based on well-known automobile designs. “And socks with the distinctive checked pattern of the Corsa – that would be something!” Marc Fetzer can’t let go of this thought. At least since he and the interior designers examined the first fabric samples with the reinterpreted checked design for the “Corsa 40”.
An unexpected premiere
Ask the sock manufacturer, who is enthusiastic. It is the first inquiry of this kind from a car manufacturer. And so the Corsa is celebrating its 40th birthday with a special model – and a sock premiere. Each of the 1,982 models comes with an anniversary package with socks in the vintage design and in the original design of the Corsa seat covers. Marc Fetzer lifts his jeans. Today he wears the vintage version. With that pattern from the 80s, which for him will always be linked to the pleasant childhood memories of the road trip along the Portuguese coast – saved from the perspective of the back seat of a Corsa.
October 2022
Text: Tina Henze, photos: Marcus Weinert/Opel