Why Porsche's Engineers Could Not Explain How GM's Corvair Ran With No Water

The Chevrolet Corvair's air-cooled flat-six, 145 cubic inches, no radiator, and why Porsche's own engineers could not copy the part that cooled it.

Most men who owned one remember the fan belt that came off above four thousand rpm, and the book that ended the car. The story everyone repeats is that Chevrolet did air cooling roughly and Porsche did it properly.

This documentary starts in 1957 at Warren, Michigan, where Chevrolet put its first flat-six into a borrowed Porsche 356, and follows the car through Stuttgart, where Ferry Porsche drove one of the first Corvairs built and Porsche tested its own flat-six under Corvair wagons. On the way: Ed Cole's Continental tank engine, the Holden paperwork, Al Kolbe's 1958 patent, the Massena foundry, Tonawanda, Willow Run, and the last car off the line on May 14, 1969.

CHAPTERS
0:00 What Did Chevrolet Do With A Porsche?
2:58 Why Couldn't Porsche Make The Number?
9:18 How Did Porsche Cool Its Six?
12:25 What Sits On Top Of A Corvair?
15:24 Where Did The Flat Fan Come From?
18:31 What Did The Fan Really Cost?
21:41 How Did Cole Get It Approved?
27:52 Why Did The Belt Come Off?
30:58 What Did Stuttgart See?
39:50 What Could Porsche Not Copy?

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