Camaro Chevrolet of 1969 mounted an innovative anti-central system born from Apollo technology, but it was an ephemeral and expensive success
1969 was the year of the moon. The culmination of the “Space Race”, the race for space between the two US and USSR superpowers who reached its peak with the landing of Apollo 11 on July 20 of that year. The influence of the epochal company of NASA influenced the whole world, from literature to cinema to art. The car sector was also not excluded from the fever of technology for the conquest of space.
Spray snow chains: spatial technology applied to tires
A concrete example took place in General Motors, in particular with the Chevrolet brand for the US market: spray snow chains. The American manufacturer made them together with the chemistry giant Dow Chemicals, based on a co-policy that had been used on the apollo modules as a sealant.
The Sirene-Butiadene (or SBR-Styrene Butiadene Rubber), diluted with methanol, could be nebulized as a common spray. Applied to a tire, it formed a solid patina that greatly increased the grip on ice and snow.
General Motors thought about the application as an option on one of the flagship models, the chevrolet Camaro sports car. The technicians studied an integrated system to the car that provided for two spray cans housed in a compartment in the trunk in correspondence with each of the rear wheel drive wheels. A command placed on the dashboard activated the cans that covered the wheels with the polymer from space, marketed with the name of LTC-400 (Liquid Tire Chain) and marketed with the brand of the original General Motors spare parts, AC Delco.
The automatic system of the spray chains, available later also for the Impala and Chevelle models, was available only until 1972 and was mounted only in a few thousand specimens due to the high costs of the material (a full of cylinders cost the fee of $ 200 today).
The limited duration of the polymer and the lower effectiveness over time compared to traditional chains from a few tens of dollars made General Motors’ enthusiasm for that system came from the moon. But today the race is among fans collectors in insureing one of those few models equipped with a spray system for snow chains.
