J D P O W E R
1 Like
The post-reboot original Cheetah lives up to its name; from the front it reminds me of a Sierra RS Cosworth or Alpine A310, with those quad sealed-beam headlights and low-mounted grille.
1 Like
Woah mama, it’s a news report from 1985!
Sisten, Corsica warehouse robbed in East Detroit
February 6, 1985
On the evening of the 4th of February, 6 individuals broke into the Sisten Motoring Corporation in East Detroit, stealing nine (9) shipping containers. The containers were loaded up earlier in the day with steering wheels and foot pedals.
Police were first notified of the crime the following morning and a quick lead was found in the security cam footage, showing the burglars loading the containers onto three trucks. A later search found that all of the trucks were registered in Canada. The Daily Motors have contacted Canada and their automotive business about the burglary and we will give an update when we hear back.
The damage has been rated at approximately $800.
9 Likes
Oh scheisse
In 1982, the Sisten Motoring Corporation struck a deal for a partnership with the Pajaro Motor Corporation. From 1982 until 1995, Sisten and Pajaro would take advantage of each others engines, platforms and even cars, as was to be showcased in 1984.
After the partnership was made, Jack Tennant (CEO of SMC, former comedian) traveled to Japan in order to find a compact and fuel-efficient vehicle they could re-work into a Corsica. After going from a plane to a taxi to the Pajaro headquarters, he was met with the Pajaro XRZ. All-new for 1982, the XRZ was a compact 4-seater kei-car, available with a 660cc straight-3 or a Turbocharged 1.3 Inline-4. The 1.3 turbo would become the foundation for Corsica’s first, and so far only subcompact.
In order to not make the same mistake as they did with the Oakwood, the Corsica Lazer had some different design cues from the car it was based on. The front features an off-center grille and a bigger bumper, to meet US crash safety requirements. At the rear, the license-plate indent was also made off-center and a small roof spoiler was added.
The side is distinguished by a long plastic piece, running across the car. On the XRZ, this piece was body colored on all but the entry-level model. To save costs however, all Lazers had it painted black, actually helping it stand out from the crowd in the long run.
The singular engine option on offer was the 1.3 turbo Inline-4, mentioned above.
One of the reasons for the collaboration was to make Sistens, Taluvecs and Corsicas more reliable… The CCI T4 1.3 Turbo happens to be one of the least reliable engines Pajaro has ever manufactured.
Very unusual for an American* car, no automatic transmission was ever available, as a 5-speed manual was the exclusive choice.
Trim versions
LAZER GL - The GL is a rare model, partially because it lasted just 3 model years, from 1984 to 1986, and mostly because it was as barren as a Turkish prison. Plastic bumpers and black steel wheels came standard and just 3 colors were available. The inside has an incredibly basic 8-track player and cheap cloth seats.
LAZER GLX - Essentially a direct upgrade to the GL, the GLX has color coded bumpers, wheels with style and foglights. The interior receives slightly better seats and A/C comes as standard.
LASER TL - The best version, because H O O D - I N T A K E and a cassette player too. Starting with 1987, ABS became standard.
The Lazer was never a volume seller, but it did well enough to be profitable. “BUT”, you scream, “What about a five-door version?!?!”.
This is the only evidence of a five-door version ever existing. Found in an old scan of a car magazine, the picture is dated around March 1985. The location where the image was taken is unknown.
It continued until 1990, before being discontinued. To this day, it remains to be the only small hatch to grace Corsicas lineup and has found a small- but loyal underground following
Specifications
1.3 I4 Turbo | 1984
Horsepower: 85hp @ 6000 RPM
Torque: 124 Nm @ 3200 RPM
Top Speed: 155km/h
0-100km/h: 10.7 seconds
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Price: Starting from $9300 (1984)
Skipping another model year in 1985, Corsica and Sisten continued their partnership with Pajaro, finally resulting in the 1986 Solar.
23 Likes
Oops, here goes my plan to upload everything in chronological order. But, I think this break is still worth it! Also, another reminder that the Sisten Motoring Corporation is the company in which Corsica is a sub-brand in, alongside Sisten and Taluvec.
From Arion’s side:
Around 1988, the executives at the Sisten Motoring Corporation started taking notice of Arion Automotive, a company located in the Greatest of Britains. They started having talks with the higher-ups at Arion about acquiring a large stake in them in hopes of not only borrowing engines and technologies, but also in order to increase the size of Sisten size in the European market.
By '89, Sisten acquired a 29.6% stake in Arion, and this resulted in their first collaboration car, the Arion Starling & Corsica Zeta.
The Zeta and Starling were unveiled in 1990, both going on sale the same year. The three versions offered for the first three model years were the GL, GLX and Sport.
The Zeta was designed to be the more “budget-friendly” version of the Starling… something that didn’t make too much sense as the Zeta was offered exclusively in the US market.
When it comes to the engine, both of the twins used the same Arion designed 2.0 V6 engine, outputting 193 horsepower and achieving a 0-62 mph time of 5.3 seconds. This engine was mounted either to a 5-speed manual (standard in the base GL trim) or a 4-speed Corsica G-Tron automatic (standard in every other model).
In 1992, the Zeta became available with All-Wheel Drive with the CS Altrive trim (pictured above). The CS used a basic AWD system borrowed from a 10-year old Sisten and only managed to get through to 1995 before being discontinued.
When it comes to the design, the exterior was mostly done in-house by the designers from Arion. However, the interiors for both the cars were very different. As the Starling was the more luxurious offering with leather seats, it was in stark contrast to the Zeta’s black plastic dashboard and cloth seats.
The suspension of the Zeta was cheaper and more basic too, as were the brakes.
Specifications
2.0 V6 Turbo | 1990
Horsepower: 193hp @ 6800 RPM
Torque: 267 Nm @ 3500 RPM
Top Speed: 155km/h
0-100km/h: 10.7 seconds
Transmission: 4-speed automatic, 5-speed manual
Price: Starting from $25500 (1990)
The collaborations between Corsica and Arion would not end after the Starling/Zeta twins, as was showcased later in such models as the 1998 Cheetah CR Superspeed. Corsica’s next model would be the 1992 C900.
29 Likes
Fiero ripoff? Maybe
@desperatedonut5 I don’t see any visual cue that remembers me of a Pontiac Fiero.
...
I think it’s time for us to get a dislike button.
6 Likes
I was actually more inspired by the early SW20 and early 90’s Ferrari models for the design on my half lol
Also why does my post of the collaboration only have half the likes c’x
4 Likes
I think there will be some trouble with the naming… 
1 Like
Oh, I do apologize for this. I hope you won’t mind if I keep the name, but if you do, then I’d be glad to change it!
No problem. I was just pointing out the thing for a laugh.
1 Like
Around 1982, Sisten was engineering a compact sedan for their new brand, Corsica. However, around 1983, the company that was supposed to supply Sisten with the materials the new sedan was supposed to be built from went bust. Their demise came from mismanagement issues. Due to the problem, Corsica’s first sedan instead became the Oakwood, a stop-gap model until Sisten managed to find a new supplier.
After many delays, the now named Solar went on sale in 1986, with a design that was done in '82.
Now, a few months before the official launch, Mr. Tennant had a great idea.
“Why don’t we promote our new model with a product placement in the show EVERYBODY is watching tonight?”
With that, the '86 Solar was featured in the third season premiere of Miami Vice Florida Cops.
Many thanks to @Mr.Computah for allowing me to use his excellent Module UR-82 for the video! Really, couldn’t have done that without it.
Corsica Solar Gen. 1
from 1986-1993
Designed by Kenneth Carmichael, it was only Corsica’s second design made from scratch, after the original 1981 Cheetah. The design is made from sharp edges and boxy shapes, everything that would fit on a car in 1983.
In 1987, the Solar became the official company car of the Sisten Motoring Corporation, after the Sisten Sunburst.
This model would be known as the car that truly launched Corsica, being their first true volume-seller.
Underneath the shell, the Solar features a basic steel monocoque chassis with a Transverse FWD layout. MacPherson Struts can be found in the front with Torsion Beams taking their place in the back.
Inside, the traditional gauge cluster was replaced with a SPACE AGE digital screen cluster, shown above.
Unusually for a car like this, all three engines that were available were designed from the ground up just for this model.
Our first option is a 1.6 liter Inline-4, making a whole 93 horsepower and speeding this beast from 0-100 km/h in 10.4 seconds. It utilizes a 16 Valve, double overhead cam design as well as Multipint fuel injection.
The second engine on offer is a 1.8 liter Inline-4, now making 110 horsepower. Essentially using the same design as the 1.6, the 1.8 was on offer from 1986 until 1990. Interestingly, this engine (with some modifications) is still in use on the South American Sisten Cargovan.
The third engine available is the turbocharged 2.2 liter Inline-4. Internally named “SC Molecule”, this version generates 146 horsepower and 211 Nm of torque. The “Molecule” was only ever available with the Sport trim.
In total, there were 4 trim versions. The base model GL included cloth seats, an 8-track player and no air conditioning. This trim was only ever available with a 5-speed manual, like the Sport.
The mid-line SL upgraded the cloth seats to slightly nicer cloth seats. A/C was standard and a 3-speed automatic became available and the mirrors were mostly body-colored.
For the recently retired grandpa, the luxury SE trim came exclusively with the 3-speed automatic and a fancy cassette player. And you could get it in beige (as pictured above).
The most expensive version however, would be the Sport. Optioned from the factory with a nice spoiler and “TURBO” stickers, it would actually end up being the second most popular version, behind the SL.
From '86 to '93, a total of 1,004,601 first generation Solars were produced. Until 2010, this would be the most popular Corsica model.
Karen took the kids again.
SPECIFICATIONS
1.6 I4 | 1986
Horsepower: 93hp @ 6000 RPM
Torque: 132 Nm @ 2700 RPM
Top Speed: 165km/h
0-100km/h: 10.4 seconds (5-speed)
Transmission: 5-speed manual1.8 I4 | 1986
Horsepower: 110hp @ 6200 RPM
Torque: 154 Nm @ 3600 RPM
Top Speed: 170km/h
0-100km/h: 10.7 seconds (3-speed)
Transmission: 3-speed automatic, 5-speed manual2.2 I4 Turbo | 1986
Horsepower: 146hp @ 5900 RPM
Torque: 211 Nm @ 3700 RPM
Top Speed: 188km/h
0-100km/h: 7.9 seconds (5-speed)
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Skipping yet another year in 1987, Corsica’s flagship and their halo model, the Cheetah would get its first generation change for 1988.
And then in 1989 they made a minivan. Because “sports brand”.
30 Likes
The Solar is synthwave tastic and that chase was awesome! 
3 Likes
Fantastic piece of 80’s design, excellent video and nice interior! I wish I could put something this nice together!
Dammit Karen!!
1 Like
bookmarks this for when I’m done with LC and reboots Derrickson
1 Like
A print advertisement from 1990, after the launch of the Zeta sports car.
By 1984, the Corsica Cheetah had proven itself to be a popular pony car. Models were flying off the shelves (by Sisten standards, at least) and nearly every TV show featured one as a background extra. Indeed, it was proving to be so popular that the smart heads at Corsica immediately started working on the new one.
After 4 smooth years spent in development, the Cheetah II was launched at the North American International Auto Show in 1988, the same place where the original Cheetah had been introduced.
Corsica Cheetah II
from 1988-1996
Design
The first drafts for the second generation Cheetah featured a design very similar to the original model, with key differences including slimmer headlights, a completely redesigned B-pillar and an overall lower height. However, once these designs reached Jack Tennant (CEO of the Sisten Motoring Corporation, former heavyweight champion), he quickly rejected them. In his famous words: “It’s exactly the same!” Following this, he ordered the design team to take cues from the Sisten 2000 concept vehicle. As a result, the final version looked radically different, with a much more muscular stance, a shark-nose element in the front and a two-tone paint job on all models.
Engines & Transmissions
Overall, a total of three engines were offered. The first of these is the entry-level, 3.0 liter V6. Internally known as the 30C680, this was a modified version of the V6 in the original Cheetah. Utilizing the same 24-valve layout, power output was increased from 171 to 184 horsepower. With that, 0-100 km/h was decreased to just 6.9 seconds. Torque numbers increased as well, namely from 218 to 240 Nm. When it comes to transmission options, the 5-speed manual in use was the SMTYR4 from the 1988 to 1991 model years. Starting in 1992, it was replaced with the SMTUR4 version, being much more reliable and easy to fix than the original. The automatic on offer was a 4-speed automatic, again being the same as in the original Cheetah.
The second engine, the 4.5 GV was again a modified version of the engine used in the first generation. Thanks to more modern techniques, horsepower shot up from 200 to 237 horsepower, torque went up from 271 to 330 Nm. This version of the engine ended up also being used in the base-model Sisten Canyon pickup truck. With a 0-100km/h of just 6.3 seconds, the V8 was definitely quick for its day.
The third engine is actually a turbocharged version of the V6, available exclusively with the Sport Turbo. While horsepower went to 192 horsepower, it was just 0.1 seconds faster to 100 km/h. This was due to the secret fact that the Turbo was simply meant to be a more fuel efficient version in the range. The average fuel economy rating was 17.4 MPG.
Trims and Special Versions
Each engine corresponded to their own trim version. As is tradition with the Cheetah, the V6 Sport was the “entry-level” model and the V8 Supersport was the flagship model. However, another model entered the range in 1990; the V8 Circuit Special.
The Circuit Special (pictured below) filled two spots with its existence. It was both a cosmetic upgrade to the V8 and it was also a more track focused version. With stiffer suspension, a spoiler and louvres, the CS lasted from 1990 until 1995.
The V6 Sport Turbo (pictured above) joined the model range in 1992, sitting between the Sport and Supersport. As mentioned earlier, it used a modified V6 with a turbo attached to it. This model would last until the production for the Cheetah II would end.
Production
Nearly 800,000 units from this generation were produced. About 700,000 of those were in the Sisten Detroit plant in Detroit, the other 100,000 were made in Mexico.
The last unit of the second generation Cheetah rolled off of the production line in 1996.
Specifications
| Corsica Cheetah II | V6 Sport | V6 Sport Turbo | V8 Supersport | V8 Circuit Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | ||||
| Engine Type | 30C680 | 30C680 TC | GV V8 | GV V8 |
| Horsepower | 184 | 192 | 237 | 237 |
| Torque | 241 | 251 | 330 | 330 |
| Drivetrain | Rear-Wheel Drive | - | - | - |
| Performance | ||||
| Top Speed | 221km/h | 223km/h | 239km/h | 234km/h |
| 0-100 km/h | 6.9 seconds | 6.8 seconds | 6.3 seconds | 6.2 seconds |
| 80-120 km/h | 4.4 seconds | 4.4 seconds | 3.8 seconds | 3.7 seconds |
| Fuel Economy | 16.7 MPG | 17.4 MPG | 13.8 MPG | 13.7 MPG |
| Car | ||||
| Weight | 1196kg | 1250kg | 1257kg | 1240kg |
| Price (N/A) | $12,700 | $13,000 | $14,200 | $14,500 |
Then they made a minivan in 1989. Screw everybody.
28 Likes
Why is the turbo V6 offered when it doesn’t have much more power than the atmo V6? Oh, I get it. It’s meant to provide better economy. But with any engine, the Cheetah lives up to its name - it has the moves to match its looks.
2 Likes