UC_Portolio_Book

45 1961 Tiburon Porsche Coupe Most Streamlined Car In The World—Road & Track Magazine, 1966 In the late 1950’ s, industrial designer Henry Covington of St. Petersburg, Florida set forth to build a car based on the scientific principles of Dr. August Raspet – a close friend and noted aerodynamicist. Covington collaborated with fiberglass expert Glen Gums of Glenn Industries to build his prototype. Covington ’ s concept – the Tiburon coupe – was quickly recognized as a significant achievement and was featured in numerous magazines including Road & Track, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Rod & Custom, Popular Mechanics and a cover feature on Mechanix Illustrated. The car is based on aerodynamic principles which minimize ground effects as speed increases. Part of this is achieved by the design of the body and part by the nearly full belly pan that stretches from the front and sides of the car all the way back to the engine. Six Tiburon (Spanish for “ Shark ”) coupes were produced by Caccicraft of Tampa, Florida in 1961 and early 1962. Sadly, Henry Covington passed away in May, 1962 and production of the coupes ceased. Since acquiring the Tiburon in 2006, the car has been featured on TV shows such as Jay Leno ’ s Garage, Autoweek TV and regional tv sports showcasing the car. Feature articles have appeared on the car in magazines such as Porsche Excellence, Porsche 356 Registry, and Porsche Scene—a German based Porsche magazine. Museum and exhibition appearances have been plentiful with its first showing at the Petersen Automotive Museum ’ s Exhibition called “ Fantasies in Fiberglass. ” The Tiburon has also been showcased in museums including the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Sarasota, Florida and the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park, Florida. The Tiburon has made two appearances at the Amelia Island Concours d ’ Elegance and well as a showing at the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d ’ Elegance.