I was watching a science fiction show on the television this morning… some story about a guy that travels back in time, and how he has to deal with the difficulty of things he once took for granted, being impossible to even manufacture in the past.
The Fortis Pistol Project has been a lot like the premise of that show; it has been an opportunity for us to recreate the past, using today’s technology, and to really learn to appreciate the differences… let me give you an example.
The heart of an auto pistol is the barrel and slide, the fit between the two has to be precise and repeatable; without effecting reliability and function. It has always been the accepted practice to hand fit these parts, or to live with a loose fit – but that was then, this is now.
We continue to design, test and refine the Fortis… and we continue to explore how to best exploit the materials and manufacturing techniques available to us today. Take a look at our newest slides and barrels: by using modern alloys and sophisticated machining and heat treating processes, we are able to produce slide and barrel combinations that are of perfect fit, function and finish – something that quite simply could not have been done, even as recently as twenty-five years ago.
Oh, and of course you get some pictures of the newest slides and barrels…
So, in order to catch everyone up with the Fortis project, let’s take this opportunity to go over some of the more common questions, here goes:
Is the Fortis done? Well, no… but there is a Fortis, and we are down to making small changes – mostly to manufacturing techniques and fewer and fewer to the actual design. We still have some work to do, but more and more, we see the word “when” being replaced by “now that”.
So, when will it be done? We are still shooting for SHOT 09 as the debut of the production Fortis.
Are you taking pre-orders? Not yet… but this will be the first place that we will announce when we are.
How much will it cost? We are comfortable with saying that the standard Fortis will have a retail price of less than a thousand dollars.
How many models will there be? The first release will be of the standard model, this pistol is externally identical to the original Bren Ten, but with several internal improvements – it will be available in several combinations of 10MM or .45ACP; standard or short slide; and light or dark finishes.
What about the magazines? This is the one we get all the time… more than a few of you have figured it out though: we have designed the Fortis to use commercially available magazines from the EAA Witness line of pistols – we will of course offer our own Fortis magazine, but you will be able to use over the counter Witness magazines. Oh, and we have thousands of magazines on the way.
These are really works of art... these are post machining Fortis slides, the detail and precision of these parts is amazing.
Some of pre-prodcution barrels... any rumor that we are using a hexagonal bore is just that, a rumor.
The look of the original Bren Ten has not been betrayed.
The Fortis will have its own magazine... the original design of the floor plate is as much part of the Bren Ten look, as the "castle" barrel bushing. Regular, over the counter EAA Witness magazines will work in the Fortis, but we have thousands of Fortis magazines!
Thanks for your support; we are getting closer and closer.
The Vltor Fortis Team
