French company dares to resurrect the Corvair

[30DodgePanel]

I know there are some out there who are passionate about the Chevy Corvair history. What are your thoughts on bringing back this version of a Chevy Corvair? 

 

Personally never cared for the Corvair or it's style, but with other brands making a comeback lately (Camaro, Challenger, Charger etc.). After seeing this article I can't help but wonder what a modern Corvair would actually look like or if it would keep any of it's 1960s appearance. If the latter was the motive, I think they may have slightly nailed it. 

 

 

 

A French Company Resurrected the Chevy Corvair That You Can Buy (motorbiscuit.com)

 

The Chevrolet Corvair, produced from 1960 to 1969, has always been one of GM’s most controversial cars. It was also one of its most ambitious, with its air-cooled six-cylinder engine in the rear. Corvairs have mostly evaporated from the auto scene as classics, muscle cars, and sports cars take the forefront in collectors’ eyes. But, incredibly, a company in France has completed a contemporary version of the 1965 to 1969 Corvair and has plans to start making them in Orange County, California. 

Who makes the Corvair and is it a real Corvair?

 

NewRide carbon fiber Corvair | NR

The company is called NewRide, owned by Romain Roulleou, in Burgundy Dijon. It has been long in the works and was scheduled to debut at the 2020 SEMA Show, which was canceled over COVID restrictions. Other delays and projects pushed it off until this year when it made its debut this week at SEMA in Las Vegas. 

 

The Corvair 2020 is a contemporary, reimagined Corvair, from the original design by Ron Hill. Its crisp, clean design and signature airy top resulted in one of GM’s best designs of the mid-1960s. But by the time it debuted in 1965, the Corvair was in the crosshairs of consumer advocates like Ralph Nader for the fiversion’s sometimes scary handling.

 

What is the Corvair’s body made of?

 

Though the Corvair’s body is made completely out of carbon fiber, it is placed over a sixth-gen Camaro. In this case, it is a 2018 Camaro SS. That means, unfortunately, the engine is not in the rear as in the original. But with the weight bias to the rear of original cars, this might be a good thing. 

 

While the windshield is stock Camaro, the rest of the glass is custom-made. The only OEM pieces are the VW Polo mirrors, Dodge Demon headlights, and Ferrari 812 Superfast taillights. Alcantara and custom carbon fiber bits upgrade the basically stock 2018 Camaro interior. NewRide has also chosen to use carbon fiber for the headlight surrounds, and bumpers, as opposed to chrome as with the original Corvair. 

 

The engine is the factory 6.2-liter LT1 V8, with custom stainless steel exhaust added. EBC brake rotors replace the stock versions, and the suspension is upgraded with AirLift Performance components. Vossen EVO wheels run 19-inch fronts and 20-inch rears. Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires hit the pavement. 

 

In all, the project took 5,600 hours to complete, which is an astronomical amount of time. But with molds, five-axis milling of components and panels, and flaying, then reskinning the Camaro, it is a time-consuming process. For series production, we expect that number to fall sharply.

[SC38dls]

Looks like a customized Camaro with a new name. 
dave s 

[CChinn]

My first old car was a 1965 red Corvair convertible I bought when stationed in San Diego in the mid 90s. Don’t see any features of the original design in this version IMO

[1937hd45]

I like the DON'T CHOP the top, RAISE the door window sill look, reminds me of the HEMI Chrysler station wagons of 10+ years ago. Still think the Mini Cooper Clubman is the best looking new car out there. Just bought a chance on the Billion dollar lottery, might buy one if I win. 

[30DodgePanel]

38 minutes ago, CChinn said:

My first old car was a 1965 red Corvair convertible I bought when stationed in San Diego in the mid 90s. Don’t see any features of the original design in this version IMO

Agreed!! The ONLY reason I said they may have nailed it "slightly" was due to the front grille. If one imagines a new Corvair, similarities in the front grille are a must. I think they at least got some of those details correct, granted it's not exact nor should it be. The rest of it is definitely not my thing but I thought it would be interesting to hear from Corvair enthusiasts. It's always interesting to see the range of reactions. 

 

 

[1937hd45]

Did several companies made the back seat SBC conversion kits?

[zepher]

I think they look as good as any of the other modern versions of 60's cars being produced.

If the price isn't outrageous they should sell quite a few.

[Jim Skelly]

tail panel resembles the '65-'69 Corvair

[Frank DuVal]

Yep the front panel and the rear panel are very similar to the late model Corvair (1965 to 1969). They got that right.

 

No rear engine, no rear weight bias, it is just a Camaro!🙁 Nothing wrong with a Camaro, it is just a different driving car.

 

And the 1967 to 1969 Camaro share the side look of the late model Corvair.

 

With that low roof line I think it looks like a Dodge too.

 

Yes, 1937, Crown and Kelmark are the two best known V-8 kits for mid engine Corvairs. Of course, you can just shove a powerplant in the "normal" spot too, like a Buick V-6 or the aluminum V-8. LS1 engines are also showing up in the "normal" spot.

[plymouthcranbrook]

I think it looks good but looses it's way with the 6.2 V-8. Now it's just a styling exercise. As Frank says, a funny looking Camaro. And they are funny looking enough now.

[John348]

Does it leak oil for the full effect? And have no heat?

Edited November 4, 2022 by John348 (see edit history)

[8E45E]

8 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Yep the front panel and the rear panel are very similar to the late model Corvair (1965 to 1969). They got that right.

 

12 hours ago, zepher said:

I think they look as good as any of the other modern versions of 60's cars being produced.

If the price isn't outrageous they should sell quite a few.

It doesn't look bad at all for a modern interpretation to add to the list of the cars already available, including Challenger, Camaro, and Mustang.

 

Only way to make it stand out from the others is to offer it in a true pillarless hardtop, like the originals they were based on.  After all, one could NOT get a pillared Corvair sedan at any price after 1964.

 

Craig

[Frank DuVal]

9 hours ago, John348 said:

And have no heat?

Corvairs have plenty of heat. The issue was with leaking push rod tube O-rings the heat was full of smoke, so people turned it off. Unless it was an early or FC with the optional gas heater, then smokeless heat. Yes, 1960 was gas heater only. The "fresh air" heater came out on 1961 models. Only when people did not replace those Buna-N seals regularly it was not fresh air....🙁 Vitons have made the air fresh again!👍

[rocketraider]

Call it what it is. A Cor-maro. CorVAIR implies it still has a rear mounted air cooled engine.

 

This sends me about as much as the Lingenfelter TransAMs based on 2010-later Camaros did, which is to say not much.

 

They might want to beware of truth-in-advertising lawyers. If they'll go after Texas Pete hot sauce and Barilla pasta, a faux Corvair would be irresistible low-hanging fruit.

[Marty Roth]

10 hours ago, John348 said:

Does it leak oil for the full effect? And have no heat?

@John348,

 

Please come by and help me repair my (absolutely never recalcitrant?) Corvair,

 

I must have a serious problem with my 1965 Monza Convertible:

 

1.  It hasn't figured out how to leak oil

2. The 4-speed shifts way too smoothly

3.  The heater worked especially well when we drove it down from the Wisconsin/Illinois border

4.  With proper tire pressure it handles better than the last Porsche I drove - ignoring the pundits !

5.  It is too modest to brag about setting the benchmark for the styling which was adapted to the Camaro

6.  The convertible top doesn't even leak

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Marty Roth
Add pictures (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

😍🥰🤩

 

The Corvair's biggest failing was that, by the time GM had figured out how to build it as the car it was intended to be, its parent had cut its market right out from under it with the Camaro.

 

Hm. Didn't they do EXACTLY the same thing 20 years later with the Fiero? By the time Fiero found its market, it was too late.

[zepher]

Ralph Nader didn't help the Corvair, either.

Just goes to show how effective a campaign of pure propaganda against a product can be.

[plymouthcranbrook]

My wife and I owned three over the years when we we young. My first real car(that I could go out of town with and be fairly sure of getting back) was a 1963 two door sedan with a four speed. Then a 1964 turbo two door. And her first car was a 1965 convertible with the powerglide.  I sometimes wonder if instead of Plymouths I should have gotten a late 60’s Corvair.  That is why my first look at the Sema “Corvair” was so interesting.  And sadly disappointing.

[Jim Skelly]

The Corvair's market potential was drastically cut way before the Camaro came along.  The '61-'63 GM compacts each had a sporty version, albeit conventional in design (except for the Pontiac rear suspension).  The Chevy II's introduction for 1962 also took away many sales from the Corvair.

[8E45E]

2 hours ago, Jim Skelly said:

The Corvair's market potential was drastically cut way before the Camaro came along.  The '61-'63 GM compacts each had a sporty version, albeit conventional in design (except for the Pontiac rear suspension).  The Chevy II's introduction for 1962 also took away many sales from the Corvair.

Not that GM didn't do their homework prior to its design and engine/chassis layout.   The far and away best-selling import car in North America was the VW Beetle, followed by the rear-engined Renault Dauphine.  Therefore, GM reasoned a rear-engine design was the way to go.   Besides Pontiac, the Olds F85 Jetfire engine was also unconventional for the time in that it was turbocharged.  When GM saw how high Ford Falcon sales were the first couple of years, it convinced them a compact version of a conventional full-size car was the way to go, albeit a unit body design.

 

Craig

Edited November 4, 2022 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

3 hours ago, zepher said:

Ralph Nader didn't help the Corvair, either.

Just goes to show how effective a campaign of pure propaganda against a product can be.

Not that it matters now, but did Nader have a drivers license? 

[zepher]

13 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

Not that it matters now, but did Nader have a drivers license? 

 

Interesting question.

I have no idea but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he had never even driven a Corvair.

And why didn't he go after Volkswagens? Every Beetle that didn't have IRS had the same setup.

[Jim Skelly]

Ralph made it a point not to have a car for decades, if at all.  He was interviewed about this on multiple occasions.  I believe he still might live in the Washington, D.C. area, which has a good mass transit system.  

[1912Staver]

Never owned a Corvair, but I do sort of like them. I always thought both the Porsche 911 and the Corvair were a flawed design due to the rear engine. Both should have been mid engine { like the V8 Corvair conversions }.  But the story goes that even though Porsche engineering wanted  mid engine , marketing  demanded a rear seat. All the Porsche, clean sheet design ,racing cars had mid engines. Also 914 , Boxter , Cayman.

 Suprised someone thinks a  " new " Corvair would have much of a market.

[rocketraider]

2 hours ago, Jim Skelly said:

Ralph made it a point not to have a car for decades, if at all.  He was interviewed about this on multiple occasions.  I believe he still might live in the Washington, D.C. area, which has a good mass transit system.  

And there's the rub. People who are anti-automobile invariably live where there's effective mass transit and never consider that most of the country doesn't have that luxury.

 

Maybe Nader's incessant badgering improved the Corvair and forced GM to reengineer the car the way it should have been done in the first place. But, as noted, he ignored the Beetle with the same swing arm suspension and squirrelly handling when pushed. Guess the Germans didn't insult him.

[John348]

2 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

And there's the rub. People who are anti-automobile invariably live where there's effective mass transit and never consider that most of the country doesn't have that luxury.

 

Maybe Nader's incessant badgering improved the Corvair and forced GM to reengineer the car the way it should have been done in the first place. But, as noted, he ignored the Beetle with the same swing arm suspension and squirrelly handling when pushed. Guess the Germans didn't insult him.

 

Glenn,

The Corvair is only the first 30 or so pages of his book unsafe at any speed. I read it in the 70's but he went after a lot of safety issues with many different vehicles.

 

11 hours ago, Marty Roth said:

@John348,

 

Please come by and help me repair my (absolutely never recalcitrant?) Corvair,

 

I must have a serious problem with my 1965 Monza Convertible:

 

1.  It hasn't figured out how to leak oil

2. The 4-speed shifts way too smoothly

3.  The heater worked especially well when we drove it down from the Wisconsin/Illinois border

4.  With proper tire pressure it handles better than the last Porsche I drove - ignoring the pundits !

5.  It is too modest to brag about setting the benchmark for the styling which was adapted to the Camaro

6.  The convertible top doesn't even leak

 

 

Marty, I was just joking around, 

[Marty Roth]

22 hours ago, John348 said:

 

Glenn,

The Corvair is only the first 30 or so pages of his book unsafe at any speed. I read it in the 70's but he went after a lot of safety issues with many different vehicles.

 

 

Marty, I was just joking around, 

John, Of course, and we all know and appreciate it,

and nobody here should be "thin skinned",

but you gave my little 'Vair shot at letting it shine -

 

 

Thanx

Edited November 6, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Yes, the book (Unsafe at Any Speed) covers the entire automobile industry as of 1964 (when it was written for a 1965 publishing date). Just the unlucky Corvair got chapter one "The Sporty Corvair". So everyone referenced it as a Corvair tell all book.