GULLWING TO ATTEMPT BONNEVILLE SLR RUN

At the first Greenwich (CT.) Concours d'Elegance, about five years ago, I interviewed a local resident of the Greenwich area --- John Fitch. Fitch is unknown to most American racing enthusiasts under 40, and perhaps many over that age, but his is a story which should be passed down from one generation to the next. It was not John Fitch who was driving the Mercedes-Benz race car which went into the crowd at LeMans in 1955 and killed more than 90 people, mostly through decapitation. But it was his car. And his co-driver who was killed, too. That was neither the start nor the end of Fitch's lengthy tale of an auto racing life which spans two centuries. What might be the last chapter is coming up, and soon. Take note. And tell your kids about John Fitch. (Photo: John Fitch and the Gullwing at Bonneville, 2005).

Having had the opportunity to interview John Fitch and Briggs Cunningham in my years as an auto journalist would be enough for most anyone to call it a "career". I'd also spent hours talking with Cunningham's Costa Mesa, CA, museum curator, the late John Burgess, who one day gave me a ride in Cunningham's $13 million Bugatti Royale, then the world's most valuable car (it was rather uncomfortable in the back seat). Burgess was also a fantastic artist whose works of sprint car racing on the east coast in the '20s and '30s have graced the pages of many fine art books and magazines with a bent towards fine art appreciation, such as Road & Track (thanks to their famed Art Director, Bill Motta). (Photo: Artwork by Carlo Demand of 1953 "Le Mans 24 Hours --- The Briggs Cunningham & Spear Cunningham 4-R leads the John Fitch & Waters Cunningham and the Gignoux and Azema Panhard").

The real story, though, is about the connection between Cunngham (and Burgess) and Fitch, a connection which had begun 30 years before I had ever met any of the principals.

John Fitch, now 89, is preparing for an attempt at the land speed record for the F/GT class (2.01L to 3.0L grand touring sport) at Bonneville Salt Flats this October. He first tried to set the record during Speed Week last August, an effort that, though unsuccessful, was captured in a wonderful auto racing documentary called "A Gullwing at Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch". (Photo: John and the Gullwing, 2005).

Now, Fitch and the 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing (owned by Detroit businessman Robert Surna) will return to the salt in the hopes of besting the record of nearly 169 mph set by Bob Norwood' s Ferrari 308 in 1985. Fitch would like to set the new mark at around 175 mph.

Soem folks mistakenly think this Gullwing is Burgess' personal car. The only factory-backed Mercedes-Benz Gullwing race car in the USA during those years was owned by the late Don Ricardo, a fantastic auto racer, collector and restorer who lived with his wife in a baronial mansion in Pasadena, CA. In order to please his neighbors and keep his cars off the street and lawn, Ricardo, a genius machinist and engineer who had worked on the A-bomb developing "Manhattan Project" and had also been the conductor of the "NBC Radio Orchestra" on the west coast (and yes, Lucy's Ricky Ricardo borrowed that last name from Don), had constructed an underground garage capable of holding about 15 cars; 15 BIG cars, cars such as Rudolph Valentino's Hispano-Suiza, and one of Adolf Eichmanns' Mercedes-Benz SSK models. Also in the garage was his one-of-a-kind factory-supported Gullwing which Ricardo drove each week to the old car meet at the "Bob's Big Boy" in nearby Toluca Lake, and had raced at drag strips throughout the '50s and '60s, and had competed with at Bonneville. The car was outlandislhy un-street legal, but Pasadena and LAPD cops all knew Ricardo, and they all gave him a respectful pass.(Photo: Shots of Don Ricardo's 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing").

John Fitch and Don Ricardo were about the same age. Ricardo died at 92 a few years ago; his 90th birthday party, held at "Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills", was an automotive event for the ages ... and I was lucky enough to have been invited. They lived on opposite coasts, but they knew and respected each other, and both obviously had a special feeling for Mercedes-Benz, which was fairly amazing, as both had fought powerfully against the Nazis during WW II.

How special was John Fitch to Mercedes? Fitch was one of the first well-know, important Americans to buy, drive and race M-B cars after WW II, gaining the cars some of their first measures of respect in the USA following the War. In 1986, on the 100th anniversary of the first "car", the first Benz Patent Wagon, the company hand-made a small number of exact, running replicas of that first car. No one could simply "buy" one of these instantly-collectible cars; you were "invited" by the factory to care for one and to pass it along to the next generation (much like early Ferraris). John Fitch was one of the first and only Americans to be invited to own one of the Patent Wagon replicas. (Photo: Don Ricardo in his replica of the Benz 1896 Patent Wagon; his gullwing sits to the left).

As a P-51 Mustang pilot in World War II, Fitch was one of the first (and very few) Americans to shoot down Germany's then-brand-new Messerschmitt ME 262 jet fighter. Fitch himself was shot down and ended the war as a German POW.

He then embarked on a storied racing career that saw him join the awesome 1950s Mercedes-Benz factory team, scoring a GT Class win in the 1955 Mille Miglia. Fitch also enjoyed a longtime personal and professional relationship with Briggs Cunningham and a stint as the manager of Team Corvette in 1956 and ' 57.

Driven to act following the 1955 death of his co-driver, Pierre Levegh, and scores of spectators in an accident -- the worst in racing history -- at Le Mans in 1955, Fitch designed road and racing barriers that are now part of our daily driving landscape. He also continues to develop and promote innovative solutions like his Displaceable Guardrail, Compression Barrier, and Driver Capsule.(Photo: Japanese-made model of the 1955 M-B 300 SLR driven at LeMans by John Fitch and Pierre Levegh).

Fitch designed a total of five cars. His best-known was the Phoenix, a small two-seater based on the Chevrolet Corvair, superficially resembling a smaller version of the Mako Shark based Corvette. With a total weight of 1,950 pounds, even with a steel body, and with the Corvair engine modified with Weber carburetors to deliver 175 hp, the car delivered spirited performance for $8,760. Unfortunately, the Traffic Safety Act of 1966 placed restrictions on the ability to produce automobiles on a small scale; this was followed by Chevrolet's decision to terminat production of the Corvair, which confirmed the end of Fitch's plan. He still retains the prototype however, and occasionally exhibits it at car shows. We saw the Phoenix at that Greenwich Concours and it looked rakish and still up-to-date. (Photos: John Fitch's 1966 Phoenix prototype).

Fitch retired from racing in 1966, but has continued to "improve the breed" through his relentless efforts to improve the safety of regular drivers and racers alike. Fitch will be at Bonneville again this October with the Gull Wing. We might go, too, just to see what happens.

Comments

[George Clarke]

I used to compete in Concours in the San Fernando Valley Autos Elegantes with a Mercedes coupe and a Ferrari GTE. At the last show in 1970 I borrowed some Semichrome and a rag from Don to touch up the Borrani wires on my Ferrari.
I took a picture of him with his new wife and it turned out that she had been my then wife's grammar school teacher. This started a friendship I really like to remember.
I remember that Don would drive his Gullwing into the show, Jack her up to position the Rudge knock off wheels perfectly, drop it in place. He would the have new white towels attached to strings from the front to the back on the polished aluminum belly pan and he would pull them out from the rear and the belly pan would be just like a polished mirror. I think he also had the Aluminum race car in that show.
Also he would always compete only for Best of Show. I remember he rejected a First in Class at that show. I won First in Class with my Ferrari as a 2+2 Sedan Class (I believe).
Who owns Don's 300Sls now? I remember he bought a beautiful Red 300Sl roadster for his new wife.

[TK Temple]

Just a note of correction: Anthony Temple is Don's son. Don's real name was Vernon Richard Temple. Don took Ricardo as a surname from his own middle name of Richard, and Don because it means "Mr.". He changed his name legally way back in the 50s, but had used it as a stage name long before for his early 1930s Don Ricardo and his Spanish Troubadors band.
On the run at Bonneville when the door opened up, some people reportedly thought the car had exploded, and supposedly he did go through on two wheels due to the lift of the "wing", which tweaked the door a bit.

The early Mercedes three wheeler replica he's sitting in in the photo was sold to Beverly Hills Mercedes the last I know.

This is a nice article, I really enjoyed reading it!

[Steve Parker]

Ron-

What a GREAT, GREAT story! Talk about “the cars we should have kept”, huh???

And what a great thing that you knew Don Ricardo, too. I met him a few years from his “final lap”, but attended his 90th birthday party at Beverly Hills M-B … What an event! Very unusual, to say the least, and very special!

Also did a live report for KTLA/TV5 in Los Angeles … From his garage, the huge one under his house, which none of his neighbors (or Pasadena city inspectors) ever knew existed!

Are you still in the LA area? Anything else you can tell us about other cars you may have had … and maybe hung on to?

Thanks again for writing!

Steve Parker

[Ron Heberlee]

I bought my first 300SL back in 1970 for $5,000; unfortunately I was very naive and it turned out the car had been rolled and really wrecked in the front, it even had 57 Chevy headlights. I joined the 300SL club and met Don Ricardo at his house. He offered me 3 perfect gullwings for $5,000 each; oh well. I remember his red gullwing, the one he trailered to a meet and then drove the last block. Every nut and bolt had been taken off the car and re-chromed to factory specs including the raised letters. At the time his car was valued at four times a normal 300SL.

[steve parker]

What a THRILL to hear from you! The few times I was with 'Don Ricardo' in that 'skunk works' were moments I will never forget! Please drop by anytime to check our postings ... and to keep us honest. Thanks again, and all the best to you and yours!

[Robert Dowling]

Hi.I used to help Mr. Ricardo ( his real name was Anthony Temple but he prefered to be called "Don")prepare his autos for shows. He like to call his home "a 20 car garage with a 3 bedroom house attached!" He even had a little basement he called the "Skunk Works" where he made custom steeing wheels like the one shown in the picture. I was intimatly familiar with the intricate brass parts of the motorwagen. The article is good except for a few mistakes. Mr Ricardo didn't own a Hispano, the the Valantino car was a 1926 K type aluminum bodied Mercedes-Benz roadster with a supercharger. (He liked to shut off the motor, let it windmill for a few seconds, then when it stopped, turn the key back on and let it backfire. It would shoot a flame two feet long out the tailpipe.) The 1935 500 was a four place car owned by Hienrich Himmler. (He only told me after I saw the metal Nazi flags in the trunk, he didn't want to offend anyone. He said some people thought the car should be destroyed because of who it belonged to.)All his cars had stories to go with them. His last real wish was to run the Bonneville car again and break his own record in the E/Gt class. He had a cylinder head he was working on to get better flow and more horse power. He would have gotten a faster time, but one of the doors opened up on him and he went through the traps on two wheels. I miss him very much. I hope Mr. Fitch is safely successful in his endevour. (I'm sure he knows about the door opening up problem.) Thank you.