Walt Sherrill
New member
From the Sphinx Arms website:
I've owned several AT2000 Sphinx pistols and now own a Sphinx SDP. There is nothing about the CZ design or the Sphinx that has anything in common withe FN Hi-Power, although they both (as does the CZ and many other modern semi-autos) use the Browning locked-breech short-recoil system.
The Sphinx top-of-the-line guns are comparable to the SIG X-Five and X-Six series, and are highly regarded by IPSC shooters in Europe. A couple of years ago Sphinx company made some changes to their designs that make it easier to produce the guns in higher quantities without sacrificing their long-held focus on quality. Sphinx and its US importer KRESS are now, for the first time, seriously trying to get into the US market. The newer Sphinx Service Pistols sell in the same general price ranges as the metal-framed P-series SIG and most of the H&K guns; to my thinking they are every bit as good, if not better. (Sacrilege, I know!!)
In 1876 a Swiss tooling company set out to craft the highest quality precision products in Solothurn, Switzerland. Staying true to its Swiss heritage of quality precision, the company became known as SPHINX, in honor of the Swiss observatory on top of Mt. Jungfraujoch.
SPHINX was relocated to the city of Porrentruy in 1985, where it became SPHINX Engineering SA. Expanding the company’s capabilities for design in tooling as well as other fields. It was here where the first SPHINX semi-automatic pistol was drafted and manufactured. The demand for quality precision firearms led SPHINX Engineering SA to acquire Industrial Technology & Machines AG (ITM) and develop the AT 2000 in 1996, improving upon ITM’s popular CZ75 pattern.
The transition to SPHINX Systems SA came soon after in 1997, and the company relocated to its current home near Interlaken, Switzerland. There the SPHINX Model 3000 was designed and produced, gaining popularity among the competition circuit and the tactical community. In 2010, SPHINX Systems SA joined with KRISS Group, bringing together innovative technology and precision to create the SPHINX SDP series. The SDP series forges together innovation and Swiss precision in a package that delivers both confidence and quality.
SPHINX was relocated to the city of Porrentruy in 1985, where it became SPHINX Engineering SA. Expanding the company’s capabilities for design in tooling as well as other fields. It was here where the first SPHINX semi-automatic pistol was drafted and manufactured. The demand for quality precision firearms led SPHINX Engineering SA to acquire Industrial Technology & Machines AG (ITM) and develop the AT 2000 in 1996, improving upon ITM’s popular CZ75 pattern.
The transition to SPHINX Systems SA came soon after in 1997, and the company relocated to its current home near Interlaken, Switzerland. There the SPHINX Model 3000 was designed and produced, gaining popularity among the competition circuit and the tactical community. In 2010, SPHINX Systems SA joined with KRISS Group, bringing together innovative technology and precision to create the SPHINX SDP series. The SDP series forges together innovation and Swiss precision in a package that delivers both confidence and quality.
I've owned several AT2000 Sphinx pistols and now own a Sphinx SDP. There is nothing about the CZ design or the Sphinx that has anything in common withe FN Hi-Power, although they both (as does the CZ and many other modern semi-autos) use the Browning locked-breech short-recoil system.
The Sphinx top-of-the-line guns are comparable to the SIG X-Five and X-Six series, and are highly regarded by IPSC shooters in Europe. A couple of years ago Sphinx company made some changes to their designs that make it easier to produce the guns in higher quantities without sacrificing their long-held focus on quality. Sphinx and its US importer KRESS are now, for the first time, seriously trying to get into the US market. The newer Sphinx Service Pistols sell in the same general price ranges as the metal-framed P-series SIG and most of the H&K guns; to my thinking they are every bit as good, if not better. (Sacrilege, I know!!)