Istorie
The Bel Air really was a fantastic car. The the second generation Bel Air includes the model years from ’55 to ’57, but styling and options were tweaked each year, and the ’57 is now considered to be the quintessential Bel Air. The car was just the right mix of style, performance and had an appealing price tag. It was a hit in showrooms, and was even a much bigger technical achievement than it usually gets credit for.
Full description
The 1957 Bel Air is among the most recognizable American car of all time; well-maintained examples, especially Sport Coupes and Convertibles are highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts.
This was a period in GM history where several marques really only offered one main model in a variety of body styles and trims. As such, Bel Air isn’t really a model name, but rather the top trim level for Chevrolet’s primary model, which included the upscale Bel Air, the mid-range Two-Ten (210), and the base One-Fifty (150). As such, its bodywork is broadly similar to most other Chevrolets at the time, and it was offered in no less than seven different body styles.
The most classic versions of the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air are generally considered to be the 2-door Sport Coupe (shown here) and the Convertible. The tailfins are at their biggest on the ’57, but they are still far from the biggest examples to have come out of the ’50s.
From a numbers standpoint, the '57 Chevrolet wasn't as popular as General Motors had hoped. Despite its popularity, rival Ford outsold Chevrolet for the 1957 model year for the first time since 1935. The main cause of the sales shift to Ford was that the '57 Chevrolet had tubeless tires, the first car to have them. This scared away sales to Ford as many people did not initially trust the new tubeless design. However, the 1957 Ford — with the exception of the rare retractable hardtop model — is not nearly as prized by collectors today as the 1957 Chevrolet.
The Bel Air really was a fantastic car. The the second generation Bel Air includes the model years from ’55 to ’57, but styling and options were tweaked each year, and the ’57 is now considered to be the quintessential Bel Air. The car was just the right mix of style, performance and had an appealing price tag. It was a hit in showrooms, and was even a much bigger technical achievement than it usually gets credit for.
Prior to the debut of the second generation of the Bel Air in 1955, Chevrolet hadn’t used a V8 in any of its cars, including the Corvette, since the 1918 Series D. The base engine was still an 6-cylinder, but the V8 was still hugely popular. And, since the Bel Air was the top trim, by ’57 it was available only with a V8. Initially, the new engine was offered with either a two-barrel carburetor and an output of 162 horsepower, or with a four-barrel and the resulting 180 horsepower.
A bigger 283 cubic inches V8 was brought out later, and with a four-barrel carburetor it made 220 horsepower. But the really important thing about the 283, which was also offered in the Corvette that year, was the optional (and very expensive) mechanical fuel injection. Fuel injected models made 283 horsepower, and the option was advertised as the first mass-produced engine to make one horsepower per cubic inch.
This car has 84.226 miles (approx. 135.500 km) on board.
