Shown publicly for the first time in 1938 the Phantom Corsair was a marvel of futuristic design.
Rust Heinz – heir to the Heinz Ketchup company – and Maurice Schwartz of Bohman and Schwartz coach building company were the designers behind this concept car. The design was amazing but proved to be too futuristic for the time, the car was only ever a prototype.
Weighing close to 2070 kilograms the body panels were made of hand-beaten aluminum and fitted over a tubular frame. It featured extremely small windows, unique headlights, a louvered nose, fully skirted wheels and lack of running boards.
Doors opened at the touch of a button and small panels above the side windows popped up to make the process easier.
Heinz chose the most advanced chassis available in the US at the time, the Cord 810, making the car large enough to fit six individuals. Equipped with front wheel drive, a v8 engine and electronically operated four speed gearbox this car could reach 185 km/h.
The Phantom Corsair was intended to be a limited-edition car and sell at a price of US $12,500, however Heinz’ death ended this dream.
The one-off Phantom Corsair now calls the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada home.
