Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair was a rear-engined automobile produced by General Motors from 1960 to 1969. The Corvair was offered in a wide range of body styles (such as a four-door sedan, coupe, convertible, station wagon, pickup, a van called the Greenbrier) and featured an air-cooled engine, which was unusual for American cars at the time.

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Chevrolet - Rear-engined - Automobile - General Motors - Sedan - Coupe - Convertible - Station wagon

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The Corvair remains one of GMs most unusual creations. Design began in 1956 under the auspices of Ed Cole, and the first vehicles rolled off the assembly line in late 1959 as part of the 1960 model year (in which it was named Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year).

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1956 - Ed Cole - 1959 - 1960 - Motor Trend - Car of the Year

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The Corvair—like the Ford Falcon, Studebaker Lark, Nash Rambler, and the Plymouth Valiant—was created in response to the small, sporty and fuel-efficient automobiles being imported from Europe by Volkswagen, Renault and others.

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Ford Falcon - Studebaker Lark - Nash Rambler - Plymouth Valiant - Volkswagen - Renault

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The Corvair was part of GM's innovative A-body line of cars, but this was by far the most unusual, due to the location and design of its engine. It was a rear-engined vehicle in the style of the Volkswagen Beetle and the Porsche 356 Speedster. The "trunk", on the other hand, was in the front of the vehicle, while the spare tire was stored above the flat engine, saving trunk space.

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A-body - Rear-engined - Volkswagen Beetle - Porsche 356

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The entire line (which eventually grew to incorporate sedans, coupes, convertibles, vans, pickups and station wagons) initially shared an aluminum, air-cooled 140 in³ (2.3 L) flat-6 engine. The first engines produced as little as 80 hp (60 kW), but later developed as much as 180 hp (134 kW). For 24 hours, the Corvair was tested at the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, one car did a roll but the other did the 24 hour drive and only lost a quart (1 L) of oil (Source: Riverside Raceway Palace of Speed by Dick Wallen)

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Sedan - Coupe - Convertible - Van - Pickup - Station wagon - Aluminum - Air-cooled - Flat-6 - Engine - The first engines - Riverside International Raceway - Riverside, California

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The first Corvairs (1960-1964) were factory equipped with an ignition lock wherein it was possible to start the car and then remove the key. Doing so in Southern California and being caught by the Los Angeles Police Department was a guaranteed ticket to a weekend in jail.

Related Topics:
California - Los Angeles Police Department

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