'57 new extra-efficient V8's that pour out top torque & high-compression power all the way up to 283 h.p. with injection or four-barrel carb, with a new semi-centrifugal unit was adopted.
The six cylinder "Blue Flame 140" returned with a more compact air cleaner & a flatter radiator top with side-mount water fill. More functional was a new fuel strainer on the carburetor inlet .
"Turboglide" the newest, smoothest thing in automatic drives arrived late in the model year as a $231 option.
It was expensive, the one horsepower per cubic inch. "Fuelie" Chevys were rare even in '57, and command top prices today.
"The biggest auto news of 1957" was the Ramjet fuel injection manufactured by GM's Rochester carburetor division.
Ramjet had several advantages: "increased power, instant accelerator response, faster cold starts, smoother engine warm-ups, elimination of carburetor icing.
The Fuelies promised to be the fastest regular Chevys, and the Ramjet engine was a very rare commodity. One reason was the price-$550. Only a few hundred Ramjet were built for '57.
The Powerglide -equipped 270-bhp Bel-Air Sport Sedan clocked 9.9 seconds for the the 0-60 mph sprint and 17.5 seconds at 77.5 mph in the standing quarter mile.
The Turboglide-transmission sent power to the driveshaft via turbine rotation through the converter pump's oil supply. Turboglide also incorporated a "Hill Retarder" (HR) that help slow the car on steep descents by inducing drag on the rear wheels .
