Home Automotive Reference History Classic Racing Engines

Table of Contents
Classic Racing Engines

CONTENTS
  • Introduction
  • Foreword by Eiji Taguchi
  • Peugeot L3 3-litre four - 1913
    The principles of racing-engine design are established by a team of renegade drivers and a Swiss engineer
  • Mercedes 18/100 4.5-litre four - 1914
    Aviation engine-design concepts contribute to the winning power unit in the greatest Grand Prix yet held
  • Duesenberg 3-litre eight - 1921
    American style and simplicity defeat Europe's complex engines and begin the straight-eight era
  • Bugatti Type 35 2.litre eight - 1925
    A consummate sense of style was married with exquisite execution to create a great racing car
  • Delage 15.S-8 1.5-litre eight - 1927
    Cost-no-object engineering made its engine one of the finest to power any automobile
  • Alfa Romeo Tipo B 2.7-litre eight - 1932
    Vittorio Jano's straight-eight engine bravely carried the Grand Prix banner for Italy
  • Auto Union C-type 6-litre V16 - 1936
    Sublime engineering created an exceptional engine for a radical rear-engined car
  • Austin Seven 744cc four - 1937
    A mini-masterpiece serves as a memorial to the brief career of a brilliant British engineer
  • Mercedes-Benz M125 5.7-litre eight - 1937
    Apotheosis of the big supercharged straight-eight, it competed in only one Grand Prix season
  • Auto Union D-type 3-litre V12 - 1938
    Engineered with confident elegance, it powered the best-yet mid-engined racing car
  • Mercedes-Benz M154/M163 3-litre V12 - 1939
    It marked the apogee of the achievements of the pre-war Mercedes-Benz engineering and racing department
  • Cisitalia 1.5.litre flat-12 - 1949
    A magnificent design by the Porsche office, it is one of GP racing's most awesome might-have-beens
  • Maserati 4CLT/48 1.5-litre four - 1950
    Tough descendant of a pre-war design, this four-cylinder engine won many races
  • Alfa Romeo 159 1.5.litre eight - 1951
    Progenitor of a modern legend of invincibility, it powered the first two GP World Champions
  • BRM Type 15 1.5-litre V16 - 1951
    British industry backed an ambitious winner which only matured after its racing Formula expired
  • Küchen 2-litre V8 - 1952
    From the workshop of a brilliant German engineer came an engine able to challenge the best
  • Ferrari 500 2-litre four - 1953
    Four Lampredi-designed cylinders were all Alberto Ascari needed to win two World Championships
  • Jaguar XK 3.4-litre six - 1954
    A series-built straight-six provided the lusty heart of a great sports-racing car
  • Ferrari 553 2.5-litre four - 1954
    Against sixes and eights Ferrari's four was surprisingly competitive in the GP racing of 1954 and '55
  • Lancia D50 2.5-litre V8 - 1955
    We gained a glimpse of the future from the compact V8 that powered Vittorio Jano's Grand Prix Lancia
  • Mercedes-Benz M196 2.5-litre eight - 1955
    So exotic that it intimidated other teams simply by existing, the straight-eight Mercedes was a race winner as well
  • Porsche 547 1.5-litre flat-4 - 1955
    Inheriting its layout from the Volkswagen, the four-cam Porsche racing engine bristled with ingenuity
  • Ferrari 750 Monza 3-litre four - 1955
    Expanding a successful four-cylinder concept to sports-car size produced a versatile short-race winner
  • Novi 3-litre V8 - 1956
    The most potent track-racing car of its era was powered by a centrifugally-supercharged vee-eight
  • Maserati 250F 2.5-litre six - 1957
    Its powerful straight-six offered welcome proof that many cooks can brew a tasty broth
  • Vanwall V254 2.5-litre four - 1957
    While others talked about making a GP engine based on motorcycle power, Tony Vandervell did it - and successfully
  • Borgward RS 1.5-litre four - 1958
    Four valves per cylinder and direct fuel injection? Germany's Borgward had it in the I950s
  • Ferrari Dino 246 2.4-litre V6 - 1958
    Ferrari's knack for making a very good big engine from a good little one was shown by his first vee-six
  • Aston Martin RB6 2.9-litre six - 1959
    Backed by the resources of David Brown, a small British sports-car maker equalled the world's best on the track
  • Coventry Climax FPF 2.5-litre four - 1960
    One of the simplest engines ever to win a World Championship, the FPF was nevertheless subtly sophisticated
  • Maserati 61 2.9-litre four - 1960
    Improvisation and ingenuity created a great sports-racing engine and car for a troubled company
  • Ferrari Dino 156 1.5-litre V6 - 1961
    A lighter, smaller, lower and more powerful V6 achieved a World Championship against Ferrari's wishes
  • BRM P56 1.5-litre V8 - 1962
    Elements of the ill-fated BRMVI6 contributed to the success of a new V8 engine for the 1 ½-litre Formula 1
  • Porsche 753 1.5-litre flat-8 - 1962
    In spite of its confused and compromised origins this air-cooled eight was a race winner for Porsche
  • Coventry Climax FWMV 1.5-litre V8 - 1965
    'No-frills' engineering and rigorous development created the V8 that powered Jim Clark to two World Championships
  • Honda RA272E 1.5-litre V12 - 1965
    Formula 1's first Japanese competitor sought and found high power in high revolutions
  • Repco-Brabham 620 3-litre V8 - 1966
    A shrewdly simple V8 conceived as a stopgap solution by Jack Brabham propelled him to yet another World Championship
  • BRM P75 3-litre H16 - 1966
    BRM's second try at a I6-cylinder FI engine was more successful than its first: it won one championship GP
  • BMW M10 2-litre four - 1967
    With a radical cylinder-head concept Ludwig Apfelbeck enticed BMW into single-seater racing
  • Gurney-Weslake 58 3-litre V12 - 1967
    An Anglo-American V12 overcame design and manufacturing problems to make motor racing history
  • Ford DFV 3-litre V12 - 1967
    Ford of Britain reaped rich rewards from its sponsorship of a new V8 from the brain of Keith Duckworth
  • Porsche 912 4.5-litre flat-12 - 1969
    Porsche's rich patrimony of power-producing ideas combined to create a magnificent engine for its Type 917
  • Drake Offenhauser 2.6-litre four - 1970
    An engine that refused to die, the feisty Offy made a turbo-driven comeback in Indy-car racing
  • Ferrari 312B 3-litre flat-12 - 1970
    Ferrari had failed to capitalize on the opportunity offered by the 3-litre GP Formula 1, but the 312B put that right
  • Matra MS12 3-litre V12 - 1970
    Conceived for Formula 1 racing, the elegant Matra V12 came into its own in prototype sports cars
  • Alfa Romeo 115-12 3-litre flat-12 - 1975
    A successful sports-ear-racing flat-I 2 had the power but not the lightness needed for Formula 1
  • Renault EF4 1.5-litre V6 - 1984
    A V6 built for sports cars was turbo-powered to create a revolution in Formula 1 racing engines
  • TAG-P01 1.5-litre V6 - 1987
    An alliance between McLaren and Porsche financed by TAG produced a championship-winning vee-six
  • Honda RA122E/B 3.5-litre V12 - 1992
    New technologies enriched the capability of one of the last VI2 engines to be built for Formula 1
  • Mercedes-Benz 5001 3.4-litre V8 - 1994
    An opportunistic engine with pushrod-operated valves brought Mercedes-Benz a historic Indianapolis victory
  • Table of Specifications
  • Glossary
  • Index
Karl Ludvigsen
Karl Ludvigsen

In addition to his motor industry activities as an executive (with GM, Fiat and Ford) and head of a consulting company, Karl Ludvigsen has been active for over 50 years as an author and historian. As an author, co-author or editor he has some four dozen books to his credit. Needless to say, they are all about cars and the motor industry, Karl's life-long passion.

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