The Opel Tigra has been out of production since 2009, but that didn’t stop X-Tomi Design from envisioning what a possible third generation model could look like through this render.
The second generation of Opel Tigra, based off the third generation Opel Corsa, was a two seat convertible with a retracting hardtop built by French coachbuilder Heuliez. The Tigra nameplate was discontinued in 2009, even though the car proved to be pretty safe.
X-Tomi’s render borrows styling cues from the Opel Adam, mainly the front fascia and roof line. As attractive and promising as this concept for a new Tigra is, with the aging Corsa waiting for an update, it seems unlikely Opel would direct their attention to the Tigra.
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The coachbuilder Heuliez actually separated from the Heuliez “Automotive ingenuity” in 1998. Heuliez Bus is now part of Iveco thru the Irisbus division.
The remaing Heuliez, a special car builder and developer, was one of the first victims of the world economic crisis of 2009; it was finally liquidated end of October 2013.
Heuliez was one of those specialty car manufacturers who produced smaller runs of cars, especially convertibles, like Karmann in Germany, and Steyr-Magna in Austria, for larger mass market automakers. The former two went under when the larger companies withdrew their orders of convertibles during the crisis, like GM/Opel of the Opel Tigra. Only Steyr-Magna in Graz, Austria survived. Opel is now producing its convertible Cascada in its own factory.
Heuliez also manufactured special bodied cars, like ambulances or morgues based e.g. on a Citroën DS or CX, or those long transporters with two axles in the back based on the Citroën DS, of which several hundred rushed newspapers and other perishable goods on the highways and autobahns of Europe, before being finally replaced by the mass produced vans of the type of Mercedes Sprinter, Fiat Ducato, or Opel/Vauxhall Movano aka Renault Master.
Tigra is cool