Holden Epica
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Fate | Rebranded as Chevrolet in South Korea |
| Successor | Chevrolet |
| Headquarters | South Korea , South Korea |
Area served | South Korea, China, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Iceland |
| Products | Automobiles (including Daewoo Tosca) |
The Daewoo Tosca is a mid-size car engineered by Daewoo Motors in South Korea and sold under the Chevrolet Epica and Chevrolet Tosca names by Chevrolet, while Holden marketed it as the Holden Epica. Identified internally as V250, this model replaced the Daewoo Magnus. The Chevrolet Epica made its European debut at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. A distinctive feature of the Tosca is its use of transversely mounted straight-six engines, which are uncommon in this category. Unlike earlier designs by Italdesign Giugiaro, the V250 was developed entirely by Daewoo’s own design team.
After Daewoo was rebranded as Chevrolet in South Korea, production of the Tosca ceased domestically in early 2011. However, manufacturing persisted in China from March 2007 until 2014. The vehicle was eventually succeeded by the Chevrolet Malibu, marking the Malibu's initial production in South Korea.
Name
According to GM Daewoo’s official communications, Tosca stands for "Tomorrow Should Come Always". The "Chevrolet Epica" badge had previously been applied to V200 Daewoo Magnus models distributed across Canada, Latin America, China, Europe, Arabia, and Micronesia. Beginning in April 2007, the Tosca was sold as the Holden Epica in Australia and New Zealand, taking over from the Holden Vectra imported from Opel in Germany. Due to poor sales performance, Holden discontinued the Epica in 2011. Additionally, since June 2007, it has been produced and retailed as Chevrolet Epica in Kazakhstan. In Iceland, the vehicle carries the "Chevrolet Tosca" nameplate.
Powertrains
The Tosca is distinguished by Daewoo's XK straight-six engines, which were designed with input from Porsche. This front-wheel-drive V250 model features transversely installed engines that necessitate a compact configuration. At launch, two straight-six engine options were offered: a 2.5-litre unit carried over from the Magnus and a newly introduced 2.0-litre engine that replaced the previous Holden-sourced 2.0-litre D-TEC. Starting in 2006, a 1.8-litre D-TEC engine became available in South Korea, paired with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission.
In early 2007, GM rolled out a 2.0-litre RA 420 SOHC common rail turbodiesel engine developed collaboratively with VM Motori, delivering and torque; this marked Daewoo's inaugural diesel powerplant. The 2008 update introduced a six-speed automatic transmission—GM 6T40 for gasoline engines and GM 6T45 for diesel variants—along with refreshed rear-end styling.
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 L D-TEC I4 | 90 kW (121 hp) | 165 N⋅m (122 lb⋅ft) |
|
| 1991 cc RA 420 SOHC I4 turbodiesel | 110 kW (148 hp) | 320 N⋅m (236 lb⋅ft) |
|
| 1993 cc L34 I4 (China 2006–2009) | 104 kW (139 hp) | 195 N⋅m (144 lb⋅ft) |
|
| 2492 cc XK I6 | 115 kW (154 hp) | 237 N⋅m (175 lb⋅ft) |
|
(Source: Auto Motor i Sport, June 2006)
Gallery
Design before facelift
Design after facelift