For many, the idea of a flat-six engine, in general, is enough to inspire thoughts of Porsche. Throw it in a rear-engine, lightweight sports car, and you're definitely in the German automaker's wheelhouse. While there's no doubt that they absolutely dominate this segment, they weren't the first to the party with this configuration.

The automaker to really get the party started for rear-engine flat-six sports cars wasn't German at all. They weren't even European. General Motors aficionados already know where this is going, but there are still plenty of people who'll be surprised to find out that Chevrolet beat Porsche to the punch by just a few years.

The Chevy Corvair Monza Spider Was Chevy's Flopped 911

The Chevrolet Corvair arrived for the 1960 model year. It featured the Turbo-Air 6 flat six-cylinder engine in its rear-engine sports car chassis just three years before the Porsche 911 debuted. If it were a competition of nicknames, the German definitely wins with its engine being known as a Boxer, as opposed to Chevrolet's Pancake. Unless you're a major fan of breakfast, the Porsche sounds way cooler.

For that reason and more, the Porsche was far more successful. That's not to say the Corvair is unknown or without a notable legacy. With a ten-year production run under its belt, the Corvair amassed quite a following. Though it's definitely far more controversial.

Chevrolet introduced the Corvair to everyone's surprise in 1960. Designer Ed Cole set out to help Chevrolet differentiate itself by developing a car that wasn't another massive, front-engine sedan. The result was the Corvair, a radical departure from the mainstream, taking a lot of inspiration from European cars of the era.

There's more that separates the Corvair from every other American car of the time than just the engine placement. It rode on independent suspension, featured an all-aluminum engine to keep weight down, and a unibody chassis.

In many ways, it was a pioneer playing a key role in the development of sports cars as we know them, with the yet-to-come to Monza Spyder pushing the envelope even further.

Unfortunately, the Corvair arrived with a lot of bugs needing to be sorted out. Most notable was the tail-heavy configuration that made it easy for the car to spin out. While GM would continue to work on the platform, even introducing an improved second generation, it quickly amassed a lasting and deserved reputation for being very unsafe.

Chevrolet’s “Pancake Six” Flat-Six Engine

The Turbo-Air 6 isn't the most overwhelmingly powerful engine Chevrolet ever produced. Still, it's a really interesting footnote in its lineage, sharing a lot in common with Porsche's Boxer engine.

The term flat six refers to the cylinder configuration of the engine. Opposing cylinders sit 180 degrees from one another with the crankshaft between them. This means the pistons move horizontally, as opposed to laterally, like we're used to seeing. It's easy to think of it like a regular 90-degree V6 engine that's been pressed flat.

That's not to say everything from a 90-degree V6 carries over. One of the components that's massively different is the cylinder head, which features pushrod tubes running toward the bottom of the engine. This is because the camshaft is located below the crankshaft, just above the oil pan.

Like the Porsche Boxer, Chevrolet's Pancake was air-cooled. The Chevrolet was slightly bigger, though, coming in at 140 cubic inches. In contradiction to its name, the Turbo Air 6 was not initially a turbocharged engine, and power was underwhelming at best. As for your burning question, the first iteration of this engine pumped out just 80 horsepower, far less than the 1963 911 on debut, which produced around 130 horsepower. That's the 1960 model, though. By the time the Porsche arrived, a more powerful variant of the Corvair had already ruled the streets.

The Chevy Corvair Monza Pioneered Turbocharged Power

The 1962 model year is critical to the performance world in a historical context. This was the year that the first production cars featuring turbochargers would hit the market. The one most often credited as being the first turbocharged car is the 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire . It featured a 215-horsepower, 215-cubic-inch V8 under the hood. That same year, the Corvair debuted with its own turbocharged engine. The 1962 Corvair Monza Spider added a formidable turbocharger to the mix. This nearly doubled the original car's power output, turning out 150 horsepower. Later on, it would get an even bigger boost, reaching 180 horsepower for the 1965 model year.

Interestingly enough, a different version of the Corvair also debuted in 1962. The engineering team took common criticisms to heart, leading to the development of the Corvair Monza GT concept car. This version looked a lot more like a Corvette than the production version. It was also made better by moving the engine forward to a mid-engine position, making for a more capable ride.

Weirdly, the Corvair Monza GT didn't feature the turbocharged flat-six engine but a naturally aspirated version. This motor would have made just 102 horsepower, which wasn't enough to make it a true performer. Still, the concept car received a lot of praise and may have received turbo power had it gone to production, but that never happened, with little explanation as to why.

The Monza Spider Name Could Have Been Attached To The Coolest Rotary Car Ever

GM would go on to do some amazing things with turbochargers later on. The Buick Grand National and its world-stomping turbo V6 are prime examples of that. Unfortunately, the Corvair wouldn't last long enough to run alongside it as production ended in 1969.

The Monza Spyder name did make a comeback in the mid to late '70s, though, and it was almost attached to what could have been the coolest rotary car of the era.

The Chevrolet Monza had a production run from 1975 to 1980. It wasn't a sick, rear-engine revival, though. Instead, it was more of a continuation of the Vega, even looking like a more modern variant. The only thing it really had in common with the Corvair was the Monza and Spyder names. Well, that and the fact that it was tied to a lost concept.

The 1975 Monza was originally designed to work under the power of a rotary engine that GM had been working on. Unfortunately, this engine project was ultimately scrapped due to it not being able to meet emissions requirements and poor fuel economy. While shoehorning a small block in its place makes for a car with tons of potential, it's sad to think about what may have been.

Unsafe At Any Speed

Was the Corvair a Porsche-eating monster? No. Porsche obviously ran away with the claim of producing a superior rear-engine flat-six car. Otherwise, we may still have the option to buy new Corvairs from Chevrolet dealerships 60 years after their introduction. Unfortunately, design flaws would be the bane of their existence, and the Corvair would forever be known as the poster child of Ralph Nader's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," which criticized the car for its dangerous nature. GM ultimately decided to scrap the Corvair in 1969, moving onto more profitable projects.

That doesn't mean they aren't worth celebrating. In fact, there are plenty of collectors and clubs that carry on the love for Chevrolet's short-lived Corvair. No matter how poorly the car actually performed, it’s still a staple of American innovation and played a significant role in the evolution of performance cars. They've even got some decent collector's value to them, with top sellers bringing in nearly $50,000. Whether or not you should actually buy one is another conversation altogether.