There’s a mystifying Chevy Corvair abandoned deep in the jungle of the Darién Gap and this is why

The Chevy Corvair was one of the most iconic family cars of its time, but one now sits abandoned in the treacherous jungle of the Darién Gap.

You might be wondering how a car like the Chevy Corvair even found its way to the Darién Gap.

Well, it was there on official business because GM wanted to make a point.

It wanted to prove just how durable the vehicle was.

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How a 1961 Chevy Corvair reached the Darién Gap

The Darién Gap is a stretch of land that connects South America with North America.

The place i home to a deep jungle that spans 60 miles.

Chevrolet wanted to prove a point, so it sent three promotional ’61 Corvair examples, two Chevy Suburban Carryalls, and one fuel truck out to tackle the Darién Gap in 1961.

What happened next?

All cars sent to the jungle put up a good fight until the end.

But out of all the vehicles that were sent into the jungles of Darién Gap, only two made their way out.

Both were Corvairs.

Even the couple of AWD Suburban Carryalls got stuck.

To be fair, all vehicles faced a fair few problems during their journey and had to be rescued several times.

Two of them were in pretty bad shape.

But not one, but two ’61 Chevy Corvair models conquered Darién Gap.

Only one Corvair was left behind, and it’s still there to this day.

About the Corvair

The Corvair was a one-of-a-kind vehicle in America at the time.

While you would only spot one these days in barn finds like this one in Georgia, it was once an incredibly popular vehicle.

Although it was a family car, it sported an engine housed up at the rear of the car instead of the conventional front-engine bay.

That was likely inspired by some European models like this familar 1956 Volkswagen Beetle, but it was a first for the American market.