Chevrolet Corvair was unusual at any speed

Chevrolet Corvair was unusual at any speed by Bill Vance

The compact Corvair, which Chevrolet introduced in 1960, had an aluminum, horizontally opposed (flat), air-cooled engine in the rear, and four-wheel independent suspension.

This put it way out of the mainstream of an American auto industry dominated by big cars with front-mounted, cast iron V-8s driving through a solid axle.

The Corvair was inspired by the top-selling German Volkswagen, and along with cars like the Ford Falcon, Chrysler (later Plymouth) Valiant and American Motors Rambler, was meant as an import fighter.

But if the Corvair wasn't different enough already, Chevrolet took it even farther off the beaten path in 1962 when, along with Oldsmobile, it pioneered turbocharging in production automobiles. A turbocharger, short for turbo-driven supercharger, is an ingenious engineering device that produces what could almost be called "free" horsepower. By inserting a small turbine in the exhaust system, and using it to spin an air compressor to pump more air into the engine, significant horsepower increases can be achieved.

The turbocharger was invented by Alfred Buchi, a Swiss engineer, in 1905. Supercharging held a strong attraction for aeronautical engineers in their quest to maintain sea level performance at high altitudes. The turbocharger was a natural solution to this problem, and during the First World War, French engineer Auguste Rateau developed a turbocharged aircraft engine.

But if Alfred Buchi invented the turbocharger, it was Dr. Sanford Moss of General Electric in the United States who matured it, and could really be called the "Father of Turbocharging."

In 1918, Dr. Moss fitted a turbocharger to a Liberty V-12 aircraft engine and tested it on top of Pikes Peak using a truck-mounted dynamometer. At that elevation, 14,000 feet above sea level, the Liberty's horsepower increased from 221 without the turbo to 356 with it. It was a dramatic demonstration of the effectiveness of turbocharging.

Turbo development continued during the 1920s and '30s, and was given another push during the Second World War when virtually all military aircraft would have them. They were also used on large industrial engines, usually diesel, and found their way onto transport trucks, particularly in mountainous regions.

Some hot rodders and racers were experimenting with turbos during the 1950s, but it was not until the '60s that they would be fitted to production cars.

In the spring of 1962, both Chevrolet and Oldsmobile introduced turbocharged models. Oldsmobile put a turbo on its 215-cu. in. (3.5-litre) aluminum V-8 F-85 intermediate model and called it the "Jetfire." The turbo increased horsepower to 215, or one horsepower per cu. in., from the best non-turbo figure of 185.

Chevrolet applied turbocharging to its Corvair to increase its power and enhance its sporting image. The Ford Falcon and the Valiant, the Corvair's direct competitors, had conventional front-engine designs, so they could easily be fitted with larger engines.

Although the Corvair's air-cooled six could be increased in displacement from its original 140 cu. in. (2.3 litre), there were definite limits on how big it could be made. It would be increased to 145 cu. in. (2.4 litres) in 1961, and 164 cu. in. (2.7 litres) in 1964, but that's as far as it would go during the Corvair's 10-year life span. Chevrolet engineers therefore chose turbocharging as their route to substantially more power.

Turbocharged 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder
Turbocharged 1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder with genuine wire wheel option

In 1962 the Corvair's normally aspirated base engine developed 80 horsepower, or 84 when fitted with the optional "Powerglide" automatic transmission. When the turbocharged Corvair Spyder was introduced it had 150 horsepower, or almost double the power out of the same displacement. This improved performance significantly.

Car Life magazine tested a pair of Corvairs in its August 1962 issue. One was a "town or touring" automatic-equipped Monza coupe with the 84-horsepower engine. They recorded a more than modest zero to 60 m.p.h. (96 km/h) time of 21.6 seconds, and a top speed of 90 (145).

The "fun and games" Spyder coupe was a whole different matter.

Fitted with a four-speed manual transmission, this 150 horsepower turbocharged Corvair would sprint to 60 (96) in 10.8 seconds, and reach a top speed of 105 mph (170 km/h). According to the testers, the turbo completely changed the character of the car, and "puts this compact into a class by itself."

While Oldsmobile would stay with turbocharging for only a couple of years, 1962-63, before succumbing to bigger engines as the easier, less complex route to higher power, Chevrolet would keep its turbo until 1966. Horsepower of the Corvair turbo was increased to 180 in 1965.

Unfortunately for the Corvair, 1965 was the year in which Ralph Nader published his book Unsafe At Any Speed. In it he savaged the Corvair for alleged unsafe handling due to the rear swing axles fitted to the 1960-64 models. Ironically, by the time the book appeared, Chevrolet had replaced the swing axles with a fully articulated rear suspension. The damage was done, however, and the Corvair went into a steep sales decline; it was discontinued in 1969.

Although the Corvair came to a sad end, it and Oldsmobile managed to pioneer production-automobile turbocharging and demonstrate its potential. It would be another decade before it would return, this time from Porsche in the 1975 Turbo Carrera.

Posted with the permission of the author. Thanks, Bill. Bill Vance is an automotive journalist specializing in history and technology. His auto history column is syndicated to newspapers across Canada.

Thanks as well to the Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Rd., P.O. Box 5020, Ottawa, K2C 3M4.