The Chevy Corvair bowed for the 1960 model year as the Bowtie brand’s air-cooled economy offering. The name came from a contraction of the Corvette and Bel Air nameplates. The Corvair story began when GM rolled out the Corvair show car for the 1954 GM Motorama. The Motorama Corvair concept was a fastback version of the Corvette, but the 1960 production model shared almost nothing with the Corvair concept.
The Chevy Corvair was and remains the only mass-produced American passenger car powered by a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. So unique was the Corvair lightweight aluminum engine, design, and engineering, Motor Trend Magazine rewarded the 1960 Corvair its Car of the Year Award. The first-generation Corvair was built from 1960 to 1964 and could be had in two-door coupe, two-door convertible, four-door sedan, four-door wagon, pickup truck, passenger van, and commercial van variants.
The second-generation Chevy Corvair began production with the 1965 model year, available as a two-door coupe, two-door convertible, or four-door sedan. Total production for both generations totaled about 1.8 million units.
Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed greatly maligned the Chevy Corvair. Nader, who possessed neither an engineering degree nor a driver’s license, took it upon himself to criticize the 1963 Corvair’s handling characteristics. This hugely diminished resale value, despite a 1970 U.S. government study pitting the first-generation Corvair against five other lightweight domestic cars and found the Corvair’s sharp turn-in qualities did not “result in abnormal potential for loss of control,” nor did the Corvair experience a rollover rate greatly dissimilar that the other cars tested. The government’s findings further described Nader’s assertion “a shoddy, internally contradictory whitewash.” In 1972, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration commissioned Texas A&M to conduct a second study on the Corvair’s safety and handling. That study concurred with the previous government study’s findings, but the damage to the Corvair’s reputation had already been done. Chevrolet ended Corvair production at the end of the 1969 model year.
Our feature 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa Turbo is finished in PPG Artesian Turquoise over a black vinyl interior. It is powered by the 2.7-liter turbocharged flat six-cylinder engine backed by a four-speed manual transmission. The Corvair is equipped with a Delco AM-FM radio, a woodgrain steering wheel, telescopic steering, and Rally wheels with center spinners and trim rings.
This clean 1965 Chevy Corvair will cross the Mecum Auctions block at their Glendale, Arizona event Thursday, March 20th.
Comments
Gone, but not forgotten.
One of the best looking, most interesting GM vehicles ever produced. I was lucky enough to own a 1965 Monza Coupe for a period of time. I had to let it go in order to save it (no truly suitable shelter for it). For me, my Corvair is “the one that got away”.
Still looks better than most small new cars today. Would love to take this one for a test drive.
interesting car for daily duties.
I wanted one of these when I first started driving in 1978, but my dad said they were “dangerous”. I guess the stigma still existed… :-/
Had friend in high school who had one. believe it was the same color as this one. Always thought they were a cool looking car, a hellva lot better than the vega or Chevette
Great looking car, just like virtually every GM car from 1965-69.
There were no four door sedans from 1965 to1969. Only 2 door hard tops and 4 door hard tops. Also, convertibles were sold
These are great cars to get into the collector car market. They’re affordable, easy to work on and parts are accessible.
Nice car my dad had a 66 corsa 140 hp 4×1 carbs was a blast in the twisty back roads
I had the same configuration when I was going to college. In the winter on snow covered city roads this was the best passenger vehicle with the engine out back and rear wheel drive manual. It went through the snow like a speed boat on a lake. Only issue I had was interior cabin heating in the winter.
Although I never owned one I had several friends that had them back in the day. Fun, nimble cars that are a blast to drive on a twisty road. I’ve said for decades: people that don’t like Corvairs have never driven one.
Chevy offered a flat 6 before Porsche did…..
My best friend had the best designed fan belt stabilizing pulley. At higher RPM they were prone to “throwing” the fan belt.