1913 Peugeot 3 Litre Speedster

Until 1912, winning races was simply a matter of building bigger and bigger engine. A brilliant engineer, Ernest Henry changed that. Henry's theory that a well-engineered twin-cam engine of smaller capacity could produce more power from less engine was proven correct when, in 1912, a 7.6-liter Peugeot defeated a 15-liter Fiat in the French Grand Prix. The modern race car engine was born, to be fully realized the following year when this actual 3-liter Peugeot, driven by Arthur Duray, placed second in the 1913 Indianapolis 500. The car, belonging to Jacques Menier of the French chocolate family, astounded the press when it broke the Indy lap record at 99.85 mph. What astonished American race car builders was that the Peugeot engine was only six cubic-inches larger than a Model T Ford's. In the race itself, Duray led for a while, but was content to hold a 'safe second' rather than press for victory. Within a couple of years, every successful Indy 500 race car had an engine copied from the Peugeot's.