1929 MILLER FWD INDY CAR

All front wheel drive cars built today can trace their roots to this car. Henry Miller has been called "America's most important designer and builder of racing cars". This is one of two front wheel drive Miller 91s that competed in the 1929 Indy 500. Sponsored by Packard Cable, they were driven by Leon Duray  and Ralph Hepburn. Although neither car won the race, Duray set a lap record that stood for ten years, he had also used the car to set a track record of 147 mph at the new Packard proving grounds in Utica, Michigan; that record held for 26 years. Engineered by Leo Goossen, the car's supercharged straight eight engine was only 91 cubic inches in size but developed 285 hp at 8100 rpm. When the two racers were brought to Europe, Ettore Bugatti was so impressed that he bought both and copied their engine design for use in his own cars. Miller went bankrupt in 1929 and all his assets were sold. His shop foreman, Fred Offenhauser was able to purchase drawings and patent rights that allowed him to carry on. Between the years 1922 to 1965 Miller / Offenhauser engines were in all but six Indy winning cars. Recovered from a corner of the old Bugatti plant in 1959, the car has been restored and is now housed in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.