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The fantastic Fitch Phoenix, the first of a projected series of 500 cars, remains the only one in the world today. Strangled aborning by the bureaucracy and red tape of Washington, D.C., the Phoenix was Fitch's concept of what a luxury grand touring machine ought to be. It was a dramatic departure from production cars of its day. The body styling resulted from a three-year collaboration between Fitch and illustrator Coby Whitmore, his good friend and neighbor. Together, they constructed a full-scale mockup, which they spent countless hours developing and refining. The final design was executed in steel by Frank Reisner's Intermechanicca Group in Turin, Italy, and wedded to a highly modified Corvair drive train and running gear. Building on a base of readily available mechanical parts was essential to ensure that spares would be available and to simplify servicing.
As assembled by Fitch, the Phoenix's Corvair underpinnings gave sensational performance and handling. The car weighed in at just 2,150 pounds dry, and the flat-six air-cooled engine, fueled by multiple Weber carbs and tweaked to 170bhp, got to 60mph in just 7.5 seconds and had a top end of 130. Brakes were Girling discs for and 9.5-inch drums aft. Tires were radials, but mounted on 6-inch rims in front and 7-inch rims in the rear, so two spares were required, one of each size. A classic touch was mounting the spares in front fender wells.
Fitch premiered his dream car in New York on July 7, 1966. Priced at $8,700, it created a sensation. Unfortunately, 1966 was also the year Congress passed the Highway Safety Act, legislating the establishment of a Highway Safety Bureau to set safety standards for automobiles. However, until the bureau was set up, a director appointed, a staff hired, and standards established, Fitch could not go into production with any assurance that his car would meet the as-yet-unspecified standards. Interim standards were established but challenged in the courts by Ford and Chrysler, and it wasn't until January 1, 1968, that things were finally firmed up. But by then, Nader's criticism of the Corvair had killed it, and Fitch had his source of mechanical components knocked out from under him.
Despite its shelving, the Phoenix would become synonymous with Fitch, regularly used and displayed by him. It is certainly no stranger to the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, were it was driven to and shown by him a number of times.
Source: Bonhams, Hemmings, & Intermeccanica
