Fidanza's heritage traces back more than 30 years to a little-known race team from Eastlake, Ohio. In 1980, Gran Turismo Jaguar -- directed by mechanical mastermind Lou Fidanza -- overcame incredible odds to win the coveted Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) C-Production National Championship.
With their purpose-built E-type Jaguar -- known as Ole #19 -- Fidanza and driver Freddy Baker dethroned the seemingly invincible Nissan (Datsun) team at Road Atlanta -- severing Datsun's 10-year grip on the C-Production title.
Fidanza went on to help fellow Jaguar enthusiasts pursue their own checkered flag ambitions with specially engineered performance parts -- including lightweight aluminum flywheels. By 1997, demand for Fidanza's flywheels continued to grow, and the Fidanza Engineering Corporation emerged to carry on Gran Turismo Jaguar's proud heritage.
Today, Fidanza's sophisticated flywheels, clutches, cam gears, flex plates, short throw shifters and CV shafts allow a wide variety of vehicles to achieve excellence at the track and on the street. The Fidanza brand is also well-recognized among aspiring performance enthusiasts. The company's logo is visible on many of the industry's trendsetting custom cars and is found on Electronic Arts, Inc.'s popular "Need for Speed" video game.
However, Fidanza's greatest accomplishment had nothing to do with motorsports or product sales. In the summer of 2006, flood waters overwhelmed the company's Perry, Ohio, headquarters -- it was accessible only by canoe. Every desk and computer had to be replaced. Paper files were washed away. Tools and equipment were utterly destroyed.
"The entire Fidanza crew came together and our customers supported us through the whole ordeal," Scheid recalled. "It's the most proud I've been in all our years. We were up and running in a few weeks. Now we're a stronger team than ever."
"We've also experienced double-digit growth nearly every year," noted Scheid. "With new twin-disc clutches for the Corvette and Mustang, we're poised for another great run."
