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      06-03-2013, 08:21 PM   #17
Rick F.
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Drives: 2013 BMW 335i cabriolet
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Catonsville, MD

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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2mnycars View Post
Appreciate the comment about John Fitch. Wasn't there a special model car named after him? Corvair, IIRC?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2mnycars View Post
Dave,

John Fitch was indeed a great man--and very modest and self-effacing at the same time. I'm honored to have known him. I'm in the midst of rereading his autobiography, and it's astonishing how successful he was.

For example: On his first trip to the famous Nurburgring racetrack, he entered a special race for factory-stock Porsche 356's. He was up against 40 other drivers, almost all of them Germans with substantial experience at the 'Ring. John Fitch finished fourth in the race!! That sort of result is unheard of and speaks volumes about his racing talent.

When my wife and I visited with John and Elizabeth at their home in Connecticut, I asked John what ever happened to the Fitch Phoenix that he designed and built. (Full-scale production was planned, but the introduction of safety and emission regulations put an abrupt end to this endeavor, and only the one prototype was ever built.) John said it was in his shed and promptly led me down his back yard and pulled the cover off to show it to me.

What a great guy.

Rick
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