1969 Chevy Corvair Drag Races 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Doesn't Stand a Chance

And there's a reason why the Corvair is an exotic presence among V8-powered muscle cars. While the latter were also offered with V6 units back in the day, the Corvair stands out for two things. First, it's a rear-engined car. Second, it features a boxer engine. Yup, just like the Porsche 911, the Corvair was fitted with a flat-six mill.

This 1969 Corvair, produced a few months before the nameplate was discontinued, comes with a 2.7-liter flat-six under the hood. Is it as powerful as the Oldsmobile Cutlass it's being raced against? By no means. The rather small boxer engine cranks out 140 horsepower and 160 pound-feet (216 Nm) of torque.

By comparison, the 1970 Cutlass features a 5.7-liter V8 good for a whopping 325 horsepower and 360 pound-feet (487 Nm) of torque. You don't even need to see the video to know that the Corvair doesn't stand a chance.

But the Chevy is almost 1,100 pounds (499 kg) lighter than the Olds, so it puts up a good fight. The Cutlass wins the quarter-mile duel by crossing the finish line in 12.45 seconds at 112.61 mph (181.23 kph). The Corvair manages a 15.1-second run at 95.68 mph (153.98 kph). That's a big gap, but definitely smaller than the horsepower deficit of the Corvair would suggest.

But it's still a great display from a vehicle that was significantly different than any other Chevrolet offered in the late 1960s.

The Corvair is regarded by many as America's Porsche 911. But this title is often used for aftermarket mods by Don Yenko. Known for his souped-up Camaros, Yenko produced around 100 upgraded Corvairs, called Stingers. Some of them featured engine upgrades that increased output to 240 horsepower.