Offenhauser Engine

UNKNOWN — 1950s: The Offenhauser engine, simply known as the "Offy,” was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer, Harry Miller. After maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which had won the Indianapolis 500 and, impressed by the double overhead cam, four-valve-per-cylinder design, they designed an engine on similar principles. Originally, it was sold as a marine engine. In 1930, a four-cylinder 151 cubic inch Miller engine installed in a racecar set a new international land speed record of 144.895 mph. When Miller went bankrupt in 1933, Offenhauser bought the shop and the rights to the engine. He and another Miller employee, Leo Goossen, further developed the Miller into the Offenhauser engine. This engine would be used in Midget and Sprint Car racing well into the 1960s. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)