It didn’t take long for potential Corvair buyers to demand more horsepower and Chevy engineers were only too happy to oblige. In 1962, the Turbo-Air 6 became a self-fulfilling prophecy when the option for a turbocharger became available. The newly turbocharged Corvair called the Spyder cranked out 150 horsepower — almost double the 80 horsepower of the original 1960 model. It also found itself in rare company, being one of only two factory-turbocharged vehicles in the world, the other being an Oldsmobile F-85 (later renamed Cutlass).
Buyers that didn’t opt for the optional turbocharger received a consolation prize of larger displacement. By 1965, the naturally-aspirated engine was capable of 140 horsepower and the number of carburetors jumped from two to four to keep the thirsty engine fed. The turbocharged version was now rated at 180 horsepower, which engineers viewed as the upper limit to the engine’s design. Additional horsepower would not only require re-tooling the engine block, but would present a challenge to the cooling system, or lack thereof.
As it was, air-conditioning was no longer offered on certain Corvair powerplants with emissions controls because it was thought that the extra parasitic drag of the a/c compressor would lead to an overheating situation.
[Featured image by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC0]
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