Kompressed
Fitch Phoenix Targa Coupe, 1966
Racing legend John Fitch drives his Fitch Phoenix alongside a Glas cabrio.
A car with an absolutely fascinating history, built by racing legend John Fitch, whom I first met a couple years ago. Born in 1917, Fitch flew P-51 Mustangs in WWII, shooting down an Me-262. After the war, Fitch raced for Mercedes-Benz (in a 300SL at Mille Miglia) and Cunningham overseas, achieving several victories. Fitch later started a Corvair tuning shop in CT, and got the idea of creating a GT car using a Corvair chassis. He worked with artist Coby Whitmore and GM designer Robert Cumberford (now at Automobile Magazine) on the design of the car, doing testing at the nearby Lime Rock race track. Intermeccanica was originally supposed to assemble the bodies and ship them to CT. Fitch planned on building 500 cars a year, and even though the prototype was warmly received at car shows, new legislation and the demise of the Corvair severely hurt production plans.
The Phoenix weighs 2150lbs, and a has a 170hp intercooled flat six engine, with a 7.5 second sprint to 60mph, and a 130mph top speed.
Wiki article on John Fitch en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(driver)
Fitch Phoenix Targa Coupe, 1966
Racing legend John Fitch drives his Fitch Phoenix alongside a Glas cabrio.
A car with an absolutely fascinating history, built by racing legend John Fitch, whom I first met a couple years ago. Born in 1917, Fitch flew P-51 Mustangs in WWII, shooting down an Me-262. After the war, Fitch raced for Mercedes-Benz (in a 300SL at Mille Miglia) and Cunningham overseas, achieving several victories. Fitch later started a Corvair tuning shop in CT, and got the idea of creating a GT car using a Corvair chassis. He worked with artist Coby Whitmore and GM designer Robert Cumberford (now at Automobile Magazine) on the design of the car, doing testing at the nearby Lime Rock race track. Intermeccanica was originally supposed to assemble the bodies and ship them to CT. Fitch planned on building 500 cars a year, and even though the prototype was warmly received at car shows, new legislation and the demise of the Corvair severely hurt production plans.
The Phoenix weighs 2150lbs, and a has a 170hp intercooled flat six engine, with a 7.5 second sprint to 60mph, and a 130mph top speed.
Wiki article on John Fitch en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(driver)