Imagine a car that seats six, uses electronic buttons to open its doors, has indicators for open doors, a compass, and an altimeter. Now imagine that car was built in 1937.
Those features, and more, were all part of the Phantom Corsair. Designed by Rust Heinz (of the ketchup family) and Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilding, the Phantom Corsair was a marvel of technology.
The car was built on top of the Cord 810’s chassis, which Heinz considered the most advanced chassis being made in America. This made the Phantom Corsair a front-wheel drive vehicle with fully independent suspension and adjustable shock absorbers. All features of the Cord 810. As was the Corsair’s engine, the Lycoming 80-degree V8 and electrically-operated four-speed pre-selector gearbox. These were gearboxes which allowed the driver to select the next gear but not engage it until a clutch-style pedal was pressed. All high innovations in the 1930s.
The Phantom Corsair was a massive car. Even for that early period of automotive. It measured 237 inches long and 76.5 inches wide and weighed a thicc 4,600 pounds. Yet it could achieve 115 miles per hour thanks to a few engine tuning modifications and its aerodynamic design.
Seating in the Phantom Corsair was four across the front and two jump seats behind. The rear included liquor cabinets instead of more seating. Because in the 1930s, there were no rules. Door handles were replaced with electric push buttons on both the doors and at the driver’s console.
Seating in the Phantom was cast rubber with no need for seat springs. A cork and sponge-rubber “crash board” covered in leather adorned the dash. Cork and latex were liberally used in the bodywork and flooring to minimize highway and engine noises going into the cabin. High-powered headlights and amber fog lamps gave 180 degrees of illumination out front. The Phantom Corsair also included air conditioning and heating from thermostatically controlled temperature dials.
Fully skirted wheels and flush fenders and the absence of running boards helped the beetle-like shape of the concept car to glide through the air.
Heinz planned to take the Phantom Corsair to production, after showing it to the press in 1937 and at various venues in 1938. The prototype cost about $24,000 to make (about $400,000 in 2025) and was planned for limited production with a price of $12,500. Heinz died in a car accident in 1939 and production plans were shelved.
The Phantom Corsair is now in the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada where it is displayed amongst a couple of examples of the Cord 810 it shares so much with. I took the accompanying photos while visiting the museum.
