The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
design that dominated American
open wheel racing
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...
for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage
sprint and
midget car
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on m ...
racers.
History
![TomsheOffy24](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/TomsheOffy24.jpg)
The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was an
overhead cam
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
monoblock
Monoblock can refer to:
*A type of air conditioner
*A monoblock LNB
* Monoblock PC, a computer workstation
*A mono (one channel) audio power amplifier
*In photography, another name for a monolight, a type of electronic flash with the electronics ...
4-stroke internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
developed by
Fred Offenhauser
Fred H. Offenhauser, Jr. (November 11, 1888 – August 17, 1973), was a machinist and self taught automotive engineer who developed the Offenhauser racing engine, nicknamed the "Offy", which dominated competition in the Indianapolis 500 race for d ...
and
Harry Arminius Miller
Harold Arminius Miller (December 9, 1875 – May 3, 1943), commonly called Harry, was an American race car designer and builder who was most active in the 1920s and 1930s. Griffith Borgeson called him "the greatest creative figure in the hist ...
.
Originally, it was sold as a
marine engine
An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor where an engine is mounted outside the hull of the craft, an ''inboard motor'' is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a pr ...
. In 1930 a four-cylinder Miller engine installed in a race car set a new international
land speed record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
of . Miller developed this engine into a twin overhead cam, four-cylinder, four-valve-per-cylinder racing engine. Variations of this design were used in
midget
Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...
s and
sprints into the 1960s, with a choice of
carburetion or
Hilborn fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
. When both Miller and the company to whom he had sold much of the equipment and rights went bankrupt in 1933, Offenhauser opened a shop a block away and bought rights to engines, special tooling and drawings at the bankruptcy auction, and he and other former Miller employees took over production. They and former Miller employee, draftsman
Leo Goossen
Leo William Goossen (7 June 1892 – 4 December 1974) was a draftsman, mechanical engineer and automobile designer. He is known for his work with Harry Miller and his long involvement in the design and ongoing development of the four-cylinder Of ...
, further developed the Miller engines into the Offenhauser engines.
In 1946, the name Offenhauser and engine designs were sold to
Louis Meyer
Louis Meyer (July 21, 1904 – October 7, 1995) was an American Hall of Fame race car driver who was the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Born in lower Manhattan, New York on July 21, 1904, he was the son of French imm ...
and Dale Drake. It was under Meyer and Drake that the engine dominated the Indianapolis 500 and midget racing in the United States.
[''Offenhauser'' by Gordon Eliot White, ] In 1965, Meyer was bought out by Drake, his wife Eve and their son John. From then until Drake's son John sold the shop to Stewart Van Dyne, the Drake family designed and refined the engine until its final race days.
One of the keys to the Offenhauser engine's success and popularity was its power. A 251.92 cubic inch (4,128.29 cm³)
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
naturally-aspirated four-cylinder racing Offy with a 15:1
compression ratio
The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values.
A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...
and a
bore and
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
could produce at 6,600 rpm (1.77 hp per cubic inch, 81 kW/L) making it remarkably power-dense. Other variants of the engine produced even higher outputs of 3 hp per cubic inch (137 kW/L), unparalleled for their size and capacity in power-to cubic-inch/cylinder-count ratio. Another reason for the engine's success was its reliability. Its
monobloc construction made it immune to
head gasket
In an internal combustion engine, a head gasket provides the seal between the engine block and cylinder head(s).
Its purpose is to seal the combustion gases within the cylinders and to avoid coolant or engine oil leaking into the cylinders. Leak ...
or cylinder stud problems, and allowed for higher
cylinder pressures.
From 1934 through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American
open-wheel racing
Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-s ...
, winning the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
27 times. From 1950 through 1960, Offenhauser-powered cars won the Indianapolis 500 and achieved all three podium positions, winning the
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
in 10 of the 11 years.
The Offenhauser shop began to do machine work for
Lockheed in 1940, as the arms build-up for anticipated war began. The last prewar engine was shipped on July 17, 1941, and the plant began producing hydraulic systems after the
Pearl Harbor attack
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...
. Leo Goossen finally became a full-time Offenhauser employee in 1944, and Fred Offenhauser sold the company in 1946.
In 1959
Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously op ...
held a famous
Formula Libre
Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...
race, where
Rodger Ward
Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...
shocked the expensive and exotic
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
contingent by beating them on the
road course
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
in an Offenhauser powered
midget car
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on m ...
, which was normally considered competitive on
oval track
Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traff ...
s only. On the strength of this performance, the car was entered in the Formula 1 1959 US Grand Prix at Sebring, where it was totally uncompetitive, setting a qualifying time of 3:43.8 compared to the pole time of 3 minutes dead and being the slowest Formula 1 starter at 3:33.4.
When Ford came onto the scene in 1963, the Offy began to lose its domination over Indy car racing, although it remained a competitive winner on the circuit including at the 500 through the mid-1970s even with the advent of
turbocharging
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
. A more powerful
turbocharged version of the engine was used by Offenhauser in
1968, and gave
Bobby Unser
Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...
the win that year. The engine made @ 9,500 rpm, from a
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
* Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of only . Outputs over could be attained, using around of boost pressure. The final 2.65-litre four-cylinder Offy, restricted to boost, produced at 9,000 rpm. The Offy's final victory came at Trenton in 1978, in
Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock (born August 5, 1936) is an American former racing driver. He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, and was the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion.
Early career
Johncock began racing at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. J ...
's Wildcat. The last time an Offy-powered car raced was at
Pocono in 1982 for the
Domino's Pizza Pocono 500
The ABC Supply 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains. The first Indy car race at Pocono was held in 1971. It was the first major event held at the track, shortly after its ...
, in an
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
chassis driven by
Jim McElreath
Jim McElreath (February 18, 1928 – May 18, 2017) was an American racing driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series.
Racing career
Jim began his racing career in 1945 at the age of 17. He raced stock cars in Dallas, Texas. Jim wou ...
, although two Vollstedt chassis with Offenhauser engines failed to qualify for the 1983 Indianapolis 500.
Common Offenhauser engines
![Offy 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Offy_2.JPG)
Offenhauser produced engine blocks in several sizes. These blocks could be bored out or sleeved to vary the cylinder bore, and could be used with crankshafts of various strokes, resulting in a wide variety of engine displacements. Offenhauser (and Meyer-Drake, in later years) frequently made blocks, pistons, rods, and crankshafts to specific customer requests. However, certain engine sizes were common, and could be considered the "standard" Offenhauser engines:
* - to meet the displacement rule in many midget series
* - displacement rule in
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
(later USAC) sprint cars
* - displacement rule for the Indianapolis 500 under AAA rules
* - for Indianapolis (during the 1930s fuel consumption rules)
* - displacement rule for Indianapolis under USAC rules
* - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis (to 1968)
* - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis (1969 and later)
World Championship Indianapolis 500 summary
From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was a round of the
World Drivers' Championship.
See
Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results
Race results from the automobile and motorcycle races contested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, Speedway, Indiana. Races have been held on seven different track configurations:
* Oval (1909–present): 2.500 miles; 4 turn ...
for a more complete list.
In the 11 World Championship years, the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine partnered for at least one race with the following 35
constructors:
*
Adams
*
Bromme
Bromme was a racing car constructor who competed in the FIA World Championship ( Indy 500 only) from 1951 to 1954.
World Championship Indy 500 results
Formula One constructors (Indianapolis only)
American racecar constructors
{{F1-stub ...
*
Christensen
*
Deidt
Deidt was a racing car constructor. Deidt cars competed in the FIA World Championship ( Indy 500 only) from 1950 to 1952.
World Championship Indy 500 results
Formula One constructors (Indianapolis only)
American racecar constructors
{{F1 ...
*
Del Roy
Del Roy was a racing car constructor. Del Roy cars competed in one round of the FIA World Championship - the 1953 Indianapolis 500
The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. ...
*
Dunn
*
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
*
Elder
*
Epperly
*
Ewing
*
Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
*
Kurtis Kraft
Kurtis Kraft was an American designer and builder of race cars. The company built midget cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Bonneville cars, and USAC Championship cars. It was founded by Frank Kurtis when he built his own midge ...
*
Kuzma Kuzma may refer to:
Locations
*Kuzma, Kuzma, a settlement in the Municipality of Kuzma, Slovenia
*Municipality of Kuzma, a municipality in Slovenia
People
*Kuzma, a Slavic given name derived from Cosmas
**Kuzma Minin, Russian merchant and hero of ...
*
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
*
Lesovsky
Lesovsky was a racing car constructor. Lesovsky roadsters competed in the Indy 500 from 1950 to 1960.
World Championship Indy 500 results
{, class="wikitable"
! Season
! Driver
! Grid
! Classification
! Points
! Note
! Race Report
, -
, rowspan ...
*
Marchese
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
*
Maserati
Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
*
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
*
Meskowski
Meskowski was a racing car constructor. Meskowski cars competed in one FIA World Championship race - the 1960 Indianapolis 500.
World Championship Indy 500 results
References
Formula One constructors (Indianapolis only)
American Champio ...
*
Moore
*
Nichels
Nichels Engineering was an American racing car builder and team owner. It was run by crew chief / mechanic Ray Nichels.
History
It competed in many genres of racing starting in Midget car racing. From there, the team progressed to Indy cars inclu ...
*
Olson
*
Pankratz
*
Pawl
*
Phillips
*
Rae
*
Schroeder __NOTOC__
Schroeder is a North German language, German (from Schröder) occupational name for a cloth cutter or tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German , "to cut". The same term was occasionally used to denote a gristmiller as well as ...
*
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
*
Snowberger
Russell Snowberger (October 8, 1901 – September 28, 1968) was an American racecar driver and owner active from the 1920s through the 1950s. After his lengthy Indianapolis career, Snowberger continued his affiliation with the "500" by sponsori ...
*
Stevens
*
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
*
Trevis Trevis may refer to:
People Surname
* Bos Trevis (1911–1984), English footballer
* Derek Trevis (1942–2000), English footballer
* Di Trevis (born 1947), English theatre director and actress
*Floyd Trevis, American racing car constructor of the ...
*
Turner
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
*
Watson
*
Wetteroth
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(excluding the 1950-1960 Indianapolis 500) (
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
References
{{reflist, 30em
Formula One engine manufacturers
Indianapolis 500
Engine manufacturers of the United States