Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1
Tuesday 1st December 2009
Registration Number: NOP 420F Chassis Number: 105678W104849
The Corvair — like the Ford Falcon, Studebaker Lark, Nash Rambler, and the Plymouth Valiant— was one of the first of a new compact class introduced into the American market. These were offered in response to the small, sporty and fuel-efficient automobiles being imported into the USA from Europe by the likes of Volkswagen and Renault.
The Corvair stood out from the crowd of conventional cars offered at the time. With an engineering concept significantly different from other American offerings, the Corvair was part of GM‘s innovative Y-body ("Z"-Body from 1965-on) line of cars, being by far the most unusual, due to the location and design of its engine. The Corvair was powered by a rear-mounted, air-cooled flat 6-cylinder engine, like Porsche’s sports car. Most other compacts such as the Chevy II / Nova,