1961 was the second model year for Chevrolet's daring new entry into the compact car market, the Corvair. The lack of bright chrome side body molding on this Ermine White sedan marks it as a Corvair 500, the entry-level budget model of the line. Base price was under two grand, at $1,974, or roughly twenty grand when adjusted for inflation.
Under the hood was...well, a luggage compartment. In the trunk was the 80 horsepower 145 cubic inch air-cooled Turbo-Air flat six. Optionally the Corvair buyer could spring for the 98 horsepower Super Turbo-Air. Both engines could be paired with a 3- or 4-speed manual or 2-speed Powerglide automatic transaxle in what Chevy called a "Unipack", behind the rear swing-axle independent suspension in the Corvair's "Monostrut" unibody chassis.
Motor Life magazine tested a high-zoot Monza sedan with the optional 98hp Super Turbo-Air and four-speed gearbox and noted a zero-to-sixty time of 18.8 seconds and an elapsed time in the quarter mile of 21.3 seconds with a trap speed of 63mph. Top speed was 91 miles per hour.
This one was photographed with a Samsung Galaxy SII in November of 2013.
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