If this still wasn’t enough, Chevy offered an optional 180hp (!) turbocharged mill. But the Corsa was fitted with a 140hp engine (with four single barrel carbs). The base Corvair had a 95hp powerplant and there was an optional 110hp engine too. It debuted as a special edition when the second generation Corvair bowed, in 1965. And none of those cars had any negative press surrounding them.īut whether you believe that the criticism was warranted or that people simply didn’t know how to safely operate a rear-engined car with a swing-axle suspension there was one special edition particularly worth noting: the Corvair Corsa. Introduced in 1960 to an eager public, the Corvair soldiered on through 1969 facing stiff competition from all of GM’s rivals as well as some of General Motors own products (such as the Camaro). Not only that, but the engine was rear-mounted allowing a completely flat floor pan and an improved interior package. But the Corvair was conceived to compete with the silly, little imports that some confused Americans were intent on buying. Simply put, it was revolutionary for an American car in that era.ĭetroit effectively had one kind of car in the early sixties, the kind that was so massive it generated its own gravitational field. So, now that we’ve mentioned him, let’s move on and discuss the Corvair. Yes, his consumer safety campaign effectively killed the car and yes, there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the car. It seems you can’t mention the Chevrolet Corvair without mentioning Mr. ( Click here to see the rest of The Collector Series on Petrolicious.) The Collector is a weekly series produced in association with Gear Patrol, where we discuss the car, and Gear Patrol discusses the essential gear inspired by the car. Photography by Josh Clason for Petrolicious
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