The Lost Cause
/When Kentucky congressman Charles Farnsley wasn’t making deals in Washington, he was entertaining his enthusiasm for Chevrolet’s small rear-engined Corvair. In addition to being a legislator, Farnsley was an entrepreneur, one who sensed an untapped market for an ultra-luxury compact car. For reasons known only to the congressman, Farnsley named his creation the Lost Cause. The respected coachbuilder, Derham - who must have been having a slow year - was commissioned to build it. They used a stretched Chevrolet Corvair frame, and heavily modified the rear suspension. It is not known if the consumer advocate Ralph Nader - who would soon gain fame exposing the Corvair’s handling flaws - was consulted on those suspension modifications. Maybe the name was his suggestion.
Adorned with genuine wire wheels, aircraft gauges, leather and walnut trim, and painted British Racing Green, the 1964 Lost Cause made its debut at NY Int’l Auto Show. But the cause was truly lost when the price tag was revealed to be $23,300 - more than ten times the cost of a new Corvair! The gentleman from Kentucky received just a single vote in New York.
That single Lost Cause ever made was later discovered in a barn in the late 1990s. The new owner then embarked on a full restoration in 2002. Was that, too, a lost cause? Take it to any gathering of Corvair aficionados and find out.
