1946 Kurtis Novi Indy Racer

From 1941 to 1965, the unusual supercharged V8s were the terror of the Indianapolis oval. But speed alone does not a win guarantee.

As chief mechanic for Lew Welch's team, Bud Winfield sketched a radical engine on scrap paper. Offenhauer's brilliant draftsman Leo Goossen created the engineering drawings, refining it within Winfield's parameters. The resulting Winfield V8 made a remarkable 450 horsepower. Three Winfield racing carburetors fed the supercharger. It weighed 575 pounds.

The beast was mounted in Welch's old 1935 Miller-Ford chassis, designed for a lighter, less powerful engine. The mismatch made the car hard to handle. Yet Speedway veteran Ralph Hepburn wrestled it to 4th place - even with a throttle problem.

During World War II, racing and manufacturing ceased. So the first post-war Indy 500 was loaded with old, pre-war cars - most not expected to finish. But auto parts supplier Lew Welch of Novi, Michigan, had an idea.

He'd use the same type of supercharged Winfield V8 engine that showed so much promise in 1941, but this time Leo Goossen and master builder Frank Kurtis would design a front-drive chassis capable of transmitting the engine's massive torque and power to the pavement. This is the radically low car they designed for that radically powerful engine. The V-8 183 cubic inch engine with three Winfield carburetors produced 510 horsepower at 7,500 rpm. It weighed 1,919 pounds and had an 85-gallon steel fuel tank. There was an extensive racing career, but unfortunately, it did not finish any races. It unofficially broke the 140 mph barrier in 1953. The Novis were the fastest cars that never won the Indianapolis 500.

Driver Ralph Hepburn broke lap records in qualifying and in the race, but the engine failed on lap 121. Even so, this first true Novi was the hot setup at Indy in 1946.

The 121 laps Ralph Hepburn completed in 1946 was its best race performance by far through 1953. One issue was this car's larger-than-normal 85-gallon fuel tank. As it emptied and lost weight, the front-wheel-drive car could lose traction and become unstable.

Cliff Bergere, who led the 1947 race 50 miles before retiring, was supposed to drive it in 1948. But he quit after practice, declaring the car unsafe. Ralph Hepburn took over and was killed in the warmup prior to qualifying.

In 1953, experienced Novi driver Chet Miller set an unofficial 140 mph record in practice before he too was killed in a wreck similar to Hepburn's. Despite these tragedies, the siren call of the howling Novi engine continued to lure drivers.