<VV> Fitch Phoenix Press Release

[Vairtec Corporation]

Below appears a press release I wrote a few weeks back for promoting the 
appearance of the Fitch Phoenix at this weekend's show in New Jersey. I 
post it here for those who may not be entirely familiar with the man and 
the car. --Bob Marlow


An American Hero’s Prototype Sports Car
to be Featured at Franklin Lakes Car Show on May 30


Midland Park, N.J.– The Corvair powered, Italian-bodied 1966 Fitch 
Phoenix sports car – the only one ever built – will be among the 
attractions at the 35th Annual Franklin Lakes Car Show and Flea Market 
on May 30, as part of a special display highlighting the 50th 
anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvair.

The show is conducted by the Jersey Lakeland Region of the Vintage 
Chevrolet Club of America and sponsored by Paramus Auto Mall and 
Cadillac of Mahwah.

The Corvair, an air-cooled, rear-engine compact car from Chevrolet, was 
introduced as a 1960 model, and not long thereafter Connecticut-based 
World War II fighter pilot, sports car racer and highway safety advocate 
John Fitch began marketing Corvairs modified for enhanced performance 
and comfort. The cars were known as Fitch Sprints.

When the second-generation Corvair was introduced for 1965, Fitch not 
only continued to modify the cars into Sprints, he also designed a 
two-seat targa-topped roadster based on the Corvair mechanicals, which 
was to go into production as the Fitch Phoenix.

With a stunning body hand-crafted by Intermeccanica in Turin, a leather 
interior, and a modified six-cylinder Corvair engine, the Phoenix 
debuted in New York City to rave reviews and strong initial orders.

But just as production was to begin, the National Highway and Traffic 
Safety Act was implemented, requiring automakers to crash-test their 
cars. Crash testing was not in the budget for Fitch’s small operation, 
and the Phoenix project was canceled.

The prototype car was the only one built, and it is that car that will 
be on display in Franklin Lakes, one week before its appearance at the 
prestigious Greenwich Concours in Connecticut.

Fitch, now 92 years of age and not yet retired from advocacy on behalf 
of highway and racing safety, has retained ownership of the car through 
the years and still drives it regularly. Its appearance in Franklin 
Lakes is being facilitated by the members of the New Jersey Association 
of Corvair Enthusiasts.

More than two dozen additional Corvairs will be part of the anniversary 
display, along with prototype Corvair engines built by Chevrolet in the 
mid-sixties, early wind tunnel models, and more.

Corvairs were built in a wide range of body styles, including trucks and 
vans, all of which will be on view at the show along with stock and 
race-modified Corvair cars.

John Fitch studied civil engineering at Lehigh University, and in 1941 
volunteered for the US Army Air Corps. During the war he was credited 
with shooting down a German Messerschmitt jet while piloting the 
propeller-driven P-51 Mustang. Two months before the end of the war he 
was shot down himself while making a strafing pass on an Axis train and 
spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.

Following the war Fitch began racing sports cars and ultimately became 
the first American to drive for the Mercedes-Benz factory team. It was 
during this period that Fitch participated in the renowned 24 Hour of 
LeMans, where in 1955 a horrific crash involving his Mercedes teammate 
spurred Fitch’s enduring interest in matters of safety.

Among Fitch’s contributions to safety are the near-ubiquitous 
sand-filled barrels at highway barriers, a design he demonstrated to 
skeptics by personally driving into them at high speed.

In 2005, at the age of 88, Fitch was still racing, piloting a vintage 
Mercedes in pursuit of a land-speed record at Bonneville. That effort 
was chronicled in a riveting 2006 PBS documentary, A Gullwing At 
Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch.

[end]