The original Matiz's body was a Fiat design that Fiat itself turned down — Daewoo picked up the rejected Italdesign concept and built a bestseller out of it.
Median 74 hp across 231 similar cars
Lead trim: 0.8 (51 PS) · up to 62 hp
Chevrolet Spark1998–2005
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Chevrolet Spark yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe original Matiz's body was a Fiat design that Fiat itself turned down — Daewoo picked up the rejected Italdesign concept and built a bestseller out of it.
The first-generation Daewoo Matiz, internally the M100, entered production in South Korea in 1998 and was marketed in South Korea and many European markets, later also as the Chevrolet Matiz. Its exterior design was based on the Italdesign Lucciola, a 1993 concept evolved from the 1992 Italdesign Cinquecento concept by Fabrizio Giugiaro at Italdesign, which Fiat had rejected. It was based on the Daewoo Tico, a licensed-built Suzuki Alto, which explains its narrow width, imposed by the Japanese kei car tax category. It was launched with just a 0.8-litre straight-three engine derived from the Suzuki F8B, developed by the UK company Tickford, and in certain markets it was also available with an automatic transmission. The M150 facelift, designed at Daewoo's Worthing Technical Centre in England, was introduced in South Korea in late 2000 and exported from 2001; a 1.0-litre engine followed in 2002.
Collectors Spotted in the Chevrolet Spark Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Chevrolet Spark yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 (51 PS) | 1998–2005 | 0.8 L Inline-3 | 50 hp | 51 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 1.0 (63 PS) | 2002–2005 | 1.0 L Inline-4 | 62 hp | 64 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Photographs
This Spark generation lived a double life worldwide: the same M400 car wore five different badges, Chevrolet, Holden Spark, Opel Karl, Vauxhall Viva, and even VinFast Fadil under license in Vietnam.
Domino's turned a Spark into a rolling pizza oven for its DXP delivery car — the left rear door became a warming compartment, unlockable only from the key fob or the driver's door.
The M300 Spark had its own Hollywood moment — it played Skids in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, custom-painted Vertigo Green down to the brake calipers.
In 2008, this Spark's 800cc engine got retuned just enough to slip under 120 g/km of CO2 — dodging the UK's road tax band and London's congestion charge in one move.
The original Matiz's body was a Fiat design that Fiat itself turned down — Daewoo picked up the rejected Italdesign concept and built a bestseller out of it.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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