CHEVROLET

Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair is one of the most technically daring and historically significant American compact cars ever produced, built by General Motors from the 1960 to 1969 model years with a total of 1,835,170 units manufactured. Introduced on October 2, 1959 as a 1960 model, the Chevrolet Corvair was unlike anything Detroit had built before: its air-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder aluminum engine was mounted in the rear of the car, driving the rear wheels through a rear-mounted transaxle and giving the Corvair a completely flat floor. Developed under GM vice president Ed Cole, the Chevrolet Corvair was designed to counter the wave of European compact imports. Body styles grew rapidly: four-door sedans, two-door coupes and convertibles, a station wagon (Lakewood, 1961-1962), a passenger van (Greenbrier), and even a pickup truck (Rampside) were all offered under the Corvair banner. The sporty Monza coupe with bucket seats, introduced late in 1960, became the best-selling Corvair variant. The turbocharged Monza Spyder (1962-1964) gave the Chevrolet Corvair genuine performance credibility with 150 horsepower. A full independent rear suspension redesign in 1965 launched the second-generation Chevrolet Corvair, resolving the handling criticisms raised by Ralph Nader in his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed -- ironically just as sales began their decline. The high-revving Corsa (1965-1966) offered an optional 180 horsepower turbocharged engine. GM ended Chevrolet Corvair development in 1966 but continued production through May 14, 1969, when the final Corvair was assembled. Today the Chevrolet Corvair is celebrated as a misunderstood classic and widely considered undervalued by the collector market, especially the rare Corsa and Yenko Stinger variants.