Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Kurtis Offy


The 1947 Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser
Maybe this glorious midget racer will help you decide what those lotto winnings could go towards. You can pick up a beautiful example such as this 1947 model at auction for around 50g's.
A number of Midget car constructors emerged, though none dominated this field like the legendary Frank Kurtis. From the late 1930s, Kurtis-Kraft produced an estimated 550 complete Midget cars, with over 550 more examples produced in kit form. Kurtis' approach to design has been aptly described as '...intuitively elegant and efficient', and was the standard by which the work of other manufacturers was judged. 
Midget racing, the oldest continuous form of motor racing in the United States, originated in the early 1930s in California, and spread rapidly throughout the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Scaled-down versions of the 'big cars' of Indianapolis, Midgets competed on smaller dirt or paved tracks. While small in size, their high power-to-weight ratio, speed and thrilling wheel-to-wheel action continue to draw enthusiastic crowds even today.

And remember, all the images in this blog are clickable to show their full size versions.

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