Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built

midget cars 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 ...

, quarter-midgets, sports cars,

sprint cars Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 * Chevrolet Sprint ...

Indy cars INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis 5 ...

, and

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

cars. He was the founder of

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 midg ...

Career

Kurtis was born in Crested Butte, Colorado. He began working with fabrication when he was hired by

Willet Brown Betty Jane Rhodes (April 21, 1921 – December 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer, most active in film during the late 1930s and the World War II era. She was also known as Jane Rhodes. Early years Rhodes was born in Rockford, Illin ...

and Tom Lee to rework Don Lee Racing Team's midget car bodies. Kurtis started Kurtis Kraft when he built his own

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 ...

chassis in the late 1930s. In 1941, Kurtis designed a car named The Californian for

Joel Thorne Joel W. Thorne (16 October 1914 New York City – 17 October 1955 North Hollywood, California) was an American racecar driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting", into ...

. Glenn Gordon "Gary" Davis (d. 1973) saw this car, and used the design for his Davis D-2 Divan, a 3-wheeled design of which only 13 were produced. He built some very low glass-fibre bodied two-seaters sports cars under his own name in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

between 1949 and 1955.

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

(US) running gear was used. About 17

Kurtis Sport Car The Kurtis Sport Car (KSC) is a two-seat, aluminum-body sports car designed by Frank Kurtis and manufactured by Kurtis Kraft in 1949 and 1950. Built with numerous components (including the chassis and V8 engine) from a 1949 Ford, the KSC was bui ...

s had been made when the licence was sold to

Madman Muntz Earl William "Madman" Muntz (January 3, 1914 – June 21, 1987) was an American businessman and engineer who sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987. He was a pioneer in telev ...

who built the

Muntz Jet The Muntz Jet is a two-door hardtop convertible built by the Muntz Car Company in the United States between approximately 1949 and 1954. It is sometimes credited as the first personal luxury car. Developed from the Kurtis Sport Car (KSC) th ...

. In 1954 and 1955, road versions of his Indianapolis racers were offered. Kurtis Kraft created over 550 ready-to-run

, and 600 kits.Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wi ...

The Kurtis Kraft chassis midget car featured a smaller version of the Offenhauser motor. The

describes the combination as "virtually unbeatable for over twenty years." Kurtis Kraft created 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, including five winners. Kurtis sold his midget car business to

Johnny Pawl Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

in the late 1950s, and his quarter midget business to

Ralph Potter Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

in 1962. Kurtis died in February 1987.

Origins

His father Frank (Franjo) Andrew Kuretić was born in Razdrto,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Franjo worked as a blacksmith in the nearby Brod Moravice. He followed his brother Mijo (Mihovil) to the United States in 1902, where he married Appolonia Mary (Marija Apolonija), originally from Siverić in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

on April 22, 1907 in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. NEPOZNATI ŽIVOT GENIJALCA IZ RAZDRTOG Kako je siromašni Hrvat iz Gorskog kotara u Americi ušao u Kuću slavnih i postao legenda
at Jutarnji List

Awards

*He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994. *He was inducted in the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

Frank Kurtis
at the

in 1999. *He was the first non-driver to be inducted in the

at his 1986 induction.

References

External links

Frank Kurtis at the Motorsports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtis, Frank American automobile designers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees 1908 births 1987 deaths People from Gunnison County, Colorado American people of Croatian descent

Career

Origins

Awards

See also

References

External links