If size matters, then the cars competing in the 10-plus liter racing class at the Aug. 19 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, matter most of all. The class for cars with massive engines displacing more than 610 cu. in. (10 liters) is just the latest one-year-only class developed by the Concours to tell the story of otherwise forgotten pieces of automotive history; in this case, early efforts to increase speed with very large engines...
"These giant racers are survivors of a brief era in motor sport when race car builders first sought to increase horsepower by increasing engine size," said Sandra Kasky Button, chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. "Eventually, the engine size had to be limited because some of the engines were just too powerful for the times."
Engines were first limited indirectly with maximum weight rules for the cars, then with fuel usage restrictions and finally by directly limiting engine size.
Two of the heavyweight cars are headed to the Concours from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Hall of Fame Museum: A 1904 Premier (pictured above) designed for the builder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a 1907 Itala with one of the largest racing engines ever created. The Premier was created in Indianapolis so Carl Fisher, the Speedway's founder, could run at the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race on Long Island.
Engines were first limited indirectly with maximum weight rules for the cars, then with fuel usage restrictions and finally by directly limiting engine size.
Two of the heavyweight cars are headed to the Concours from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Hall of Fame Museum: A 1904 Premier (pictured above) designed for the builder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a 1907 Itala with one of the largest racing engines ever created. The Premier was created in Indianapolis so Carl Fisher, the Speedway's founder, could run at the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race on Long Island.
ateixeira says:
12:49 PM, 08/ 9/07
A Big Block suddenly doesn't seem so big. :D