"Car of tomorrow" Phantom Corsair: a wonderful combination of aesthetics and practical
This incredible car was created just one copy at the whim of Rust Heinz, the heir to the biggest American company for the production of food. The guy himself came up with the concept and design of this car and was involved in all stages of its creation. Fantastic and luxurious the Phantom Corsair was presented to the public in 1938 and it seemed the audience a revelation of the distant future.
The story of the emergence of the Phantom Corsair is amazing. Car maker, Rust Heinz was not too disciplined person and wanted to do only what he likes. At 22, he left the prestigious Yale University and returned to the parental home.
But, contrary to expectations of the family, young Heinz has not shown interest in the production of ketchup and mayonnaise, and decided to start designing. In 1936 Rast bought a brand new car Cord 810/812 and decided to remake it into something new and unusual.
Not been informed of the committment of the son from a wealthy family suddenly became fascinated with the process and got down the book and drawings. Soon he was a project car that has never seen a spoiled non-standard solutions American auto industry.
For the realization of their dreams Rast appealed to coach Bohman & Schwartz is located in the Californian city of Pasadena. After a few trial and error all-aluminum car body type fastback was ready. To achieve optimum speed performance of the vehicle, the vehicle body was tested in a wind tunnel.
Results of the tests were made the latter important changes — front wheels it was decided to hide to improve the flow. The body was made by hand and also complement nicely tailored custom headlights. Special was attached to the body and the chrome bumpers — they are installed on an innovative telescopic mounts.
In the cabin of the prototype could accommodate 6 people who were seated by the formula 4 to 2. Door fantastic limousine equipped with electric locks that can be opened by pressing a button, and Stella has produced a slightly greenish tint.
Instrument panel Phantom Corsair could strike fear into the most experienced driver. The designers gave it the maximum similarity to the control panel of the aircraft, placing there a lot of knobs, switches and indicators. Great attention was paid to the safety of the driver and passengers in a car crash the body is deformed, taking the brunt of the force of the blow.
For its time the car had a solid weight — 2086 kg, but with the engine V8, 4.7 liter it did not play a big role. As unit was used a "native" base unit Cord 810/812, which the mechanics managed to pump from 127 horsepower to 193. The car was front-wheel drive and 4-speed transmission. The car could develop a serious for the 30-ies of XX century the speed of 185 km/h.
Despite the many recent decisions, the car had a lot of shortcomings. In the first place is worth mentioning too tiny grille, which was sacrificed in favor of eye-catching design. Because of this high-power engine is very quickly overheated. It should be noted that the view through the front and rear glazing Phantom Corsair was quite unimportant, forcing the driver to constantly turn my head and proceed at your own risk.
Futuristic car cost its Creator in huge for those times money — 24 thousand dollars. Much more difficult in this respect had the craftsman from China that took only 5 thousand and a burning desire to create.
The car was a dream of a young Heinz and he was eager to establish its serial production and offer customers 15 thousand dollars. The car has generated interest and even appeared in Esquire magazine and in the movie "Young at heart" (1938) directed by David O. Selznick. Managed to assess and visitors to the world fair in 1939, where the concept was presented as the "Car of tomorrow".
Unfortunately, the dream of Rasta Heinz was not destined to be realized. A young man was killed in a car accident, and his offspring were not wanted. The only ready instance the Phantom Corsair in the mid 50's he bought from the family of Heinz comedian herb Shriner.
In collaboration with Albrecht Hertz, author of the design project, the BMW 507, the actor has somewhat modified the car, making it more practical. It was decided to abandon the dual glass in favor of improved visibility, but other than that the unit was finally equipped with suitable air intake.
After the upgrade, the supercar was sold to casino owner William Harry, who began to exploit in full its eye-catching design. Machine Heinz has appeared at exhibitions, presentations and shows, invariably causing delight of the audience. Today the car is no longer on tour and took pride of place in the exhibition of the National Museum of Reno in Nevada, USA.