Here at ViaRETRO we love a good obscurity and it’s sometimes surprising where they turn up. You may imagine that finding such gems means you need an encyclopaedic knowledge of low volume manufacturers and a photographic memory for casts-offs from famous styling houses, but the major manufacturers often provide a rich seam of unusual motors to explore, and they don’t get much bigger than General Motors. The American conglomerate has long had a global reach and although the concept of a “world car” has been around forever, regional markets still have a voice. Where region-specific variants are required, major sheet metal changes are largely avoided due to the eye-watering expense of commissioning new tooling. Manufacturers will generally transplant core models and make changes to trim and running gear before creating an illogical niche product. However, that hasn’t always been the case, as the Chevrolet Hatch neatly demonstrates.
General Motors founded their South African operations way back in 1913. GMSA (and I’m sure you can decode the acronym for yourself) was initially an import and distribution operation for Chevrolet. Headquartered in Port Elizabeth, they sold American-built models until local production commenced in 1926. In time, the number of brands on offer increased and by the 1960s South African buyers were able to purchase locally built Vauxhall derivatives, including the new Viva range. The GMSA Viva HA was actually the only generation to be offered with the Griffin badge, and whilst the replacement HB was sold as “Viva by General Motors”, the 1971 HC was marketed as the Chevrolet Firenza.
In the UK the Firenza moniker was reserved for the sporty coupe body shape, but the South Africans glued the badge to every variant from the two and four door saloons, the three door estate and the two door coupe. These African Chevrolets were assembled from CKD kits, shipped over from the UK to be completed with sufficient local component content to qualify for the all-important tax breaks. Interestingly, the quest for local content combined with the requirement to equip cars for the longer distances motorists might drive on the African Continent led to one of the largest gaps within a range ever seen in the motor industry. GMSA offered their Firenza with a choice of either the imported 1159cc Vauxhall engine or the GM Chevrolet 153 cubic inch four cylinder, equivalent to 2507cc. The later addition of a 1256cc option did little to offer a compromise.
Of course, there was one other infamous variant that earned the GMSA Firenza a place in the history books. Ford of South Africa had taken local tuner Basil Green under their wing, resulting in a series of faster Fords including the Capri Perana with its thumping Windsor V8 transplanted from the Mustang. Not to be outdone, GM took things even further with the limited run Firenza Can Am V8, using a 302ci small block engine lifted from the Camaro Z28 to create by far the fastest Viva HC variant ever produced. With an 11:1 compression ratio and a 800 CFM Holley carburettor it officially produced 290bhp and 300ft lbs of torque which was enough for 0 to 60mph to be dispatched in 5.4 seconds, and onwards to 140mph. But that’s a story for another day.
In 1975, GMSA announced a facelifted Firenza and introduced a much needed 1953cc engine option, but simultaneously limiting choice to the four door saloon body only. Elsewhere in the GM empire the big news of 1975 was the T-Car global platform, which was launched in the UK as the Vauxhall Chevette. The Chevette was Vauxhall’s first hatchback model, a bodystyle that had become essential to retaining market share in the small and medium car market. Equally popular when sold as the Opel Kadett City in European markets, the new cars were neat and modern, selling well alongside their saloon, coupe and estate stablemates. The T-Cars made the HC Viva look very old fashioned and the clock was set ticking on the last of the Vivas. Down in South Africa, the hatchback hadn’t stormed the market in quite the same way. The Volkswagen Golf was available as an import but wouldn’t enter local production until 1978. GM could surely see the opportunity in the T-Car but their strategy for a South African hatchback was, at least from our perspective, rather strange.
Rather than take the quick engineering win that a CKD Chevette or Kadett would have delivered, they embarked on a strange retooling of the Chevrolet Firenza that really must have been more trouble than it was worth. The only obvious benefit of this route was to further increase the local content of the body shell. Vauxhall’s stylists set to work at the Luton Design Centre and penned a shape that used cues from the Chevette, but also borrowed the flat nose of the Kadett City. Although the new Chevrolet would look similar to the European T-Cars, there was no commonality in the metalwork. The nearest to a carryover panel was the tailgate but it wasn’t a 100% match. What appeared at first glance to be a restyled Chevette was really nothing of the sort. The Chevrolet Hatch, for that was its given name, stood alone.
Under the skin of the Chevrolet Hatch, the Viva HC platform remained meaning it was longer and more spacious than the European T-Cars. Look closely at that new body and clues to its lineage become apparent. From the front bumper back to the A-pillar it was pure GMSA Firenza and by comparing photographs the presence of Viva front wings suddenly become obvious. Similarly, the doors were carried over from the HC Viva but you could be forgiven for missing their origin in this context. Your brain might still be trying to convince you that you’re looking at a slightly weird Chevette but here’s a fun interactive experience for you to try. Look at the profile of the Chevrolet Hatch and put your hand over the picture, obscuring everything behind the B-Pillar. It’s a Viva, as clear as day! Now move your hand to cover the front end up to the same point. Suddenly, it’s neither Viva, nor Chevette. But take your hand away completely and the whole thing merges like some kind of drunken optical illusion. Incidentally, this interactive experience is even more confusing if you are actually drunk. I made sure to check.
The Hatch hit the market in late 1975 and was offered in 1300DL and 1900SL variants. It was reasonably well received by the press but didn’t set the world alight and slow sales meant that by the summer of 1978 it was quietly dropped. It all seems like a lot of effort for something that didn’t last very long and it’s probably most interesting to define this curiosity by what it wasn’t, rather than what it was. Just as the Chevrolet Hatch disappeared, Volkswagen fired up their line at Uitenhage and the SA Golf made a grab for local domination of the small hatchback market. Perhaps in hindsight, GMSA should have just assembled CKD Chevettes in the first place.