The Y platform, or Y body, designation has been used twice by the General Motors Corporation to describe a series of vehicles all built on the same basic body and sharing many parts and characteristics. The first was for a group of entry-level compacts including the conventional front-engine compacts built by GM divisions Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac from 1961 to 1963. The second, and current, incarnation is used for a high-end rear-wheel drive sports-car platform (chiefly that of the Chevrolet Corvette) from the 1970s through the 2000s. First Y platform (1960–1963) The original Y bodies were: Buick Special (1961–1963) Buick Skylark (1962–1963) Oldsmobile F-85 (1961–1963) Oldsmobile Cutlass (1961–1963) Oldsmobile Jetfire (1962–1963) Pontiac Tempest (1961–1963) Pontiac Tempest LeMans (1961–1963) Pontiac LeMans (1963) Initially, each of the Y-body compacts from Buick, Olds and Pontiac were only offered as four-door sedans and station wagons when introduced in the fall of 1960 as 1961 models. In mid-1961, each of three divisions introduced pillared two-door models to the line with sportier versions of the Buick and Olds models added including the Special Skylark and F-85 Cutlass, both of which featured bucket seats, custom interior and exterior trim, and more powerful engines. For 1962, convertibles were added to the lineup by each of the divisions, with Pontiac also adding the sportier Tempest LeMans coupe and convertible to its compact lineup. This all-new platform replaced vehicles GM was importing from Europe, selling the Vauxhall Victor that was made in England. The rear-engined 1960-69 Chevrolet Corvair Z-body up to 1964 used a variation of the rear swing-axle suspension and a transaxle similar to that found on the 1961-63 Pontiac Tempest. The 1961-62 Corvair station wagons even utilized a roofline similar to that on the 1961-63 Y-body wagons. Chevrolet's front-engine compact, introduced as the Chevy II for 1962 had some dimensions similar to the Y-body cars, but had a two-inch shorter wheelbase, was smaller in length and width and utilized a distinct X-body platform which featured semi-unibody construction, single-leaf spring rear suspension and conventional in-line four-, six-cylinder and later small-block V-8 engines. First Y platform innovations The Y-body family of cars contained more innovative features than all other American products of that decade. Each model contained at least one notable advance: Buick Special and Oldsmobile F-85 for all three years shared an aluminum block 215 cubic-inch V8 engine featuring cast-iron liners to prevent overheating and block warpage problems common