1962 Chevy Corvair Super Spyder

The GM Design Studio, under the direction of Bill Mitchell, would build four concept cars atop the Corvair platform, including this XP 785 Super Spyder. The Super Spyder was built on the 1962 Corvair convertible platform but with a wheelbase shortened by fifteen inches. It used the rear-mounted, horizontally-opposed turbocharged six-cylinder 150-horsepower engine and transaxle from the production Monza Spyder along with the four-wheel independent suspension system. It retains some of the production car's styling cues for the front, but the side profile was much different, revealing the racing-inspired windscreen, extended fiberglass tonneau cover, a driver's head rest that tapered into the engine cover, and three chrome exhaust pipes exiting behind both rear wheels. Three vertical louvers were positioned directly in front of the rear wheel opening, directing air flow to the vehicle's mechanical components. The Corvair Super Spyder Concept remained a styling exercise and did not enter production. Only the prototype was created as its fate was sealed when General Motors ceased production of the Corvair. This concept car received Automobile Quarterly's 1962 award for design excellence - recognition for its sporty styling motif and appealing lines.

Matrix 1/43 model Chevrolet Corvair Super Spider XP-785 Concept car 1962

In black.

In silver.