1937 ALFA ROMEO 8C 2900 B

Between the years 1927 to 1957 the world’s greatest road race was the Italian Mille Miglia. This 1937 Alfa-Romeo 8C 2900 B was typical of the  cars that competed in the event.

1935 MILLER FORD

It was in 1934 that Preston Tucker had the idea of building a sophisticated Indy racer with a stock-block Ford V-8 for the 1935 500 classic. First he sold Harry Miller on the idea and then convinced Edsel Ford.
 
The ten cars built featured front-wheel-drive, four wheel independent suspension with fairings between the body and wheels. They were streamline, low-slung and beautiful but the project was put together too quickly with some of the cars being finished and arriving at the speedway only days before the race. Little could be done when it was discovered that the steering boxes were located too close to the exhaust system which resulted in their eventual failure.

BUGATTI TYPE 35

Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy in 1881. His father Carlo was an artist and designer of furniture. Ettore worked in automotive mechanical design for several European manufactures before he began to produce his own cars from a factory in Molsheim, Alsace Germany in 1909.  After World War I, Alsace was returned to its historic position as part of France.

In 1924, Bugatti introduced the car that would make his name legendary, the Type 35. It was the most important and dominate racing car in Europe between the years 1927 to 1931.

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.

MICKEY THOMPSON 1962 INDY CAR

In 1961, Jack Brabham brought an underpowered rear engine Cooper-Climax to Indy and finished ninth. The next year Mickey Thompson would bring three cars with rear mounted stock block Buick V-8s. The principal car, number 35, failed to make the race but car number 34 driven by Dan Gurney, did. After qualifying, the car's colors were changed from white with a dark blue nose to "The Mickey Thompson Harvey Aluminum Special"  blue with white front style of the 35 car.

MASERATI 4CLT/48

With the development of a tubular chassis the Maserati 4CL became the 4CLT. The first of the 4CLTs variations added the 48 when Alberto Ascari drove the car to victory in its maiden race at the 1948 Sanremo Grand Prix. The car was powered by a twin-supercharged 91 cu. in. in-line 4 cylinder engine that produced 260 bhp.

1911 MARMON WASP

Carl Fisher had the vision to build a two and one half mile speedway six miles northwest of Indianapolis in 1909. The track's first surface of crushed rock and tar proved unsuitable for racing so it was resurfaced with 3,200,000 bricks, each of which weighed nine pounds, eight ounces. On May 30, 1911, the first Indianapolis 500 mile racing contest was held. This Marmon Wasp, driven by Ray Harroun, won that first "500" in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds at an average speed of 74.602 mph.

At the time it was customary for racing cars to carry a riding mechanic who would watch the cars in back and tell the driver of an impending pass. Harroun designed his Marmon with no provision for a riding mechanic; instead he bolted a 3" x 8" mirror between some rods and made the first rear-view mirror ever used on an automobile.

The Marmon Motor Car Company failed in 1933, Harroun died in 1968, but the Wasp, named for its yellow and black paint job, survives at the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum located at the track.

JIM CLARK'S 1965 INDY WINNING LOTUS FORD

When Scotsman Jim Clark finished second in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 he was driving one of two small rear engine cars entered that used a Lotus chassis and an American Ford V-8 engine. When he won the race two years later 27 of the 33 cars entered had their engine in the rear. The era of the roadster that began with Ray Harroun's Marmon Wasp in 1911 was over.

JIM CLARK'S TYPE 29 FORD POWERED INDY CAR

In 1961, Jack Brabham brought an underpowered rear engine Cooper-Climax to Indy and finished ninth. The next year Mickey Thompson made an attempt with another rear engine car, this one powered by a Buick V-8. But it would be 1963 and car number 92, a type 29 Lotus with a Ford engine that would revolutionize Indy car design. Conceived by Colin Chapman, powered by a stock block Ford V-8 and driven by one of the greatest drivers of all time, Jim Clark, the car finished second but left little doubt that the days of the roadster were soon to end.

GULF TEAM #1075 FORD GT-40

 

The GT-40 got its name from the fact that it measured 40 inches in height. When Ford left endurance racing after the 1967 season they asked John Wyer to continue building and racing the GT40s. What would become the most famous of all the GT40s, Gulf team car number 1075, was a favorite of Jacky Ickx and mechanic Ermanno Cuoghi. Its first win during the 1968 season was at Brands Hatch. At Le Mans it finished seven laps ahead of the second place car. The aging racer was again campaigned in the 1969 season and despite a win at Sebring, was considered to have little hope for a repeat victory when entered at Le Mans. The veteran car however proved otherwise by narrowly beating a Porsche 908 in one of the most exciting Le Mans finishes ever.

MASERATI TIPO 61 "BIRDCAGE"

 

The Maserati Tipo 60 and 61 got the nickname of "Birdcage" from their space-frame muti-tubular chassis which was composed of 200 small aluminum sections. The Tipo 60 was powered by a 2.0 Liter 4-cylinder 200 S engine. The Tipo 61 used a 2.9 Litre 250 S unit. In 1960 and 1961 Gus Audrey and Roger Penske drove Birdcages to SCCA Class Championships. The single most remembered win however came to Camoradi Team Chassis #2461 driven by Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney to victory in the 1960 Nurburgring 1000Km.