In search of El Tiburon

By: Dave Wirth

Pinellas Park—El Tiburon is one unique automobile. Henry Covington designed, built, and marketed the car out of his garage in St. Petersburg, back in 1962. But after 11 cars were built, Henry died. And so did his dream.

Geoffrey Hacker of Tampa, is a car historian. And he's on a painstaking, worldwide search, for the 9 remaining "Sharks"...or "El Tiburon" as Henry Covington liked to call them. "El Tiburon" is "the shark" in Spanish.

Geoff found his first shark as a teenager.

Geoffrey Hacker:

“We moved down in 1979, and when I was driving one day to work, I found one...a convertible...that was abandoned behind a small business in downtown Clearwater. I didn't know it was the Tiburon. In fact, it was before "Back To The Future" came out. I thought it was a futuristic-looking car that had come back and been abandoned somehow."

That convertible cost him $350.

"El Tiburon" remains the only car totally designed, built, and marketed, in St. Petersburg. It's currently on display at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park.

If you know of the whereabouts of a Henry Covington Shark, El Tiburon, Geoffrey Hacker would like to hear from you. Contact him at: geoffrey@grhacker.com