Chevrolet Corvair Monza
The American car industry was intrigued when Chevrolet presented the Corvair in 1959. It was a compact car at a time when that was rare in the United Stars and produced mainly by foreign brands. The car had the engine in the back rather than in the front, as all other domestic vehicles had. The engine was a six-cylinder boxer, not a straight six or V8. All in all, it was a pretty bold and unusual move by the usually more conservative Chevrolet (via Diver My).

Ultimately, the most exciting model was the Corvair Monza, a two-door coupe or convertible, This car featured one of the most unusual power plants Detroit has ever produced, a turbocharged boxer engine. Think of it as Chevrolet’s four-seat Porsche 911 Turbo some 15 years before Porsche even thought of the idea. The heart of the car was the 2.4-liter, flat-six engine with the turbocharger mounted on top. The result was 150 HP and despite the fact it isn’t a significant number, the small weight of the Corvair Monza helped produce some lively performance. At least, for the standards of the compact car class.