Ever since the Corvette was introduced all those years ago it has been one of the coolest and most-desired cars on the market. And that was just the regular Corvette. Like many other automakers, Chevy built a lot of concept cars, including the Corvette, and one of the Corvette’s coolest concepts no longer exists. Here’s a look at the 1954 Chevy Corvette Corvair concept and how it’s one of the coolest cars that doesn’t exist anymore.

A look at the cool 1954 Chevy Corvette Corvair concept coupe

According to MotorTrend, in 1954, at the Motorama Show in New York, General Motors showed off some concept Corvettes to the world. These Corvette concepts had different body styles, including a station wagon, a convertible, and a fastback. The fastback version of the Corvette concept was called the Corvair, which comes from the combination of the words “Corvette” and “Bel-Air.” 

The concept version of the Corvair was different from the one that entered production a few years later. According to MotorTrend, this concept Corvair had four seats, a rear-mounted engine, and a futuristic design. It had a stylish and unique look, but it also had some power. It was equipped with a 3.8-liter I6 with 155 hp and 233 lb-ft of torque. Unfortunately, like most concept cars, the 1954 Corvair concept died a quick death.

Concept cars are usually scrapped and crushed after showing off, with few exceptions. That’s what happened with the 1954 Corvair, but fortunately, it’s not all bad news. According to MotorTrend, Blue Flame Restorations hand-built a replica of the 1954 Corvair concept, and it looks as stunning as ever. It’s modernized in some ways, but overall it’s a close cousin to the original that’s now lost forever.

A brief history

Chevy eventually made a production version of the Corvair, but it was greatly different from the 1954 concept shown at Motorama. For example, the 1954 Corvair was notably curvier than the production one. Chevy started producing the Corvair in 1959, and while it sold well, it was ultimately killed off in 1969. 

While the Corvair died an abrupt death, the Corvette lived on. By that point, Chevy was already on the third generation of the Corvette, the C3. The C3 was one of the most popular and longest lasting versions of the Corvette from1968 to 1982.

Since then, Chevy’s updated the Corvette more frequently. Currently, Chevy is on the eighth generation of the Corvette, the C8. But just like the old and dead Corvair, the C8 is a stylish and fast car that many people want to buy. 

Here’s a look at what Corvette is doing now

Chevy made a lot of changes to the C8. The C7 had a front engine, while the C8 had a mid-engine. This highly effects how the car handles. The Corvette’s new engine is also more powerful than the one in the C7. The standard C8 has a 6.2-liter V8 engine with 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. That’s about 40 hp more than the standard engine on the C7. 

The more powerful engine also saw minor upgrades in power. The C8’s Z06 trim gets a 5.5-liter V8 that gets 670 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. In comparison, the C7’s Z06 trim had a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that got 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque.