1954 Chevrolet Corvette Corvair Concept
Written by Bill Bowman
The 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Corvair concept was a 2-door fastback, 2-passenger coupe. When it made its debut at the 1954 GM Motorama in New York City. It was a ruby red color but was repainted light sea foam green for the Los Angeles show in March.
The Corvair used the Corvette front end, though it sported ribbed air intakes on the hood that routed fresh air to the interior and fender vents that allowed heat to escape the engine compartment. The Corvair had a wrap-around windshield and the roof was aircraft-inspired sweeping back into the chrome-trimmed licensed plate housing, which resembled a jet-fighter exhaust port.
Inside the body appeared to have the roof grafted right on to a production Corvette, as there was no storage area behind the seats. The stock trunk area was used with a deck lid contoured to the new roofline. The seats had the production fiberglass divider between them, just like a stock Corvette roadster. The remainder of the interior was largely stock, with custom white seats and chromed interior C-pillar trim pieces.
The chassis and power train of the Corvair was strictly Corvette. Sluggish sales of the 1954 Corvette deterred GM management from moving forward with the fastback coupe. The time for a Corvette fastback eventually did come, though nearly a decade later and on a new-generation Corvette. The Corvair nameplate would be recycled later for the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair rear-engine compact car.
The Corvette Corvair was rumored to have survived the crusher, but no trace of it has shown up. Also rumored that there was actually more than one car built, but no paperwork has surfaced that can verify this.
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