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Chevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Rear-Engined Porsche Rival

If you're looking for an attractive classic American project car, you could do a lot worse than the Chevy Corvair. It used to have a bad reputation which may have ultimately led to its demise, but it's fun to imagine what would have happened if GM didn't pull the plug.
Chevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports Car 10 photos
Photo: Rostislav Prokop for Holley
Chevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports CarChevrolet Corvair Imagined as American Mid-Engined Sports Car
Artist Rostislav Prokop created this set of renderings for parts specialists Holley. But this feels like so much more than just a rendering. It captures what Corvair could have ultimately become.

Of course, it also ties in with the mid-engined madness that swept over car culture. Due to the successful launch of the C8 Corvette, other older cars which had the engine in the wrong place are getting attention. The Pontiac Fiero is the main target, and perhaps the Corvair doesn't have the horsepower or technology to get people's attention.

Not this rendered version, though. Rostislav basically kept the wedge shape with quad light from the original and then turned the rest of the body into a sports car. It's kind of missing the point of the Corvair, but nobody gets excited about a compact, efficient commuter car nowadays.

America was experiencing a consumer boom in that era, leading to the rise of luxo-barges with all the features you could possibly imagine, long, chromed bodies, and oversized engines. But what if you just wanted to pop to the shops for bread and a magazine? You probably bought a VW Beetle.

Detroit's Big Three responded with more efficient, simpler versions of tech they already had, like the Ford Falcon and Chrysler Valiant. But Chevrolet was uncharacteristically ambitious and created a commuter with a boxer-style engine at the back. It was air-cooled, simple, and light. GM must have spent a lot of money to develop a revolutionary new compact. It had a coupe, convertible, sedan, van, and pickup version. But all didn't go according to plan.

In 1965, a young loyal named Ralph Nader famously wrote a book called "Unsafe At Any Speed." One chapter was dedicated to the Corvair, which he called a "one-car accident," forever changing the public perception of the car.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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