Customer Reviews

Offenhauser: The Legendary Racing Engine and the Men Who Built It

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Offenhauser tells the story of the engine that dominated American Championship, sprint and midget and even sports car racing for nearly a half-century. It is surprising that such a book was not written long ago, but the author has done an amazing job of research into racing's past. He tells both the human story of the men who built the Offy - Miller, Goossen, Sobraske, Meyer, Drake and Fred Offenhauser himself, and the technical and political story of the old four-banger's rise to victory at Indianapolis, its long domination there, its fall in 1965, rebirth with turbocharging and final demise in the 1980s. The collection of photographs is amazing - many I never saw before as well as those of well-known drivers such as Foyt who drove Offenhauser-powered cars. Anyone remotely interested in auto racing should definitely have this book.

The Offenhauser is arguably the most successful racing engine ever designed, and this book traces its earliest incarnation (when it was the "Miller") to the last turbo-charged days...Inbetween it powered an staggering number of conseutive Indy 500 winners, plus AAA/USCA sprint and midget champions, not to mention IMCA and amazingly even some road racing wins (not to mention possibly the least succesful grand prix car of all time, the Scarab) The "techie" will find loads of specs, cross-sections, and line drawings, the vintage race fans plenty of photos of the cars of the era. (Note to the author: a larger color section in the next edition please.)A really great addition to those of us interested in the history of auto racing....

I have just finished Gordon White's book on Offenhauser Racing Products, and fascinating is a word that comes to mind to describe the effort. Idid not attend the Indy 500 until 1994 and missed all those wonderful years when the Miller/Goosen/Offenhauser engines dominated the race. I was lucky enough to attend several years of Championship Car races at the old Sacramento Fairgrounds and witnessed the Offy in action. Gordon has done a fine job bringing back some of those memories, and making a strong case in my view that these individuals were American heroes! If you are at all interested in things mechanical, this is a must read!

just when I thought I knew a little bit about the Offy, along comes this book to kick me down a notch! This was a truly amazing effort on the part of the writers/editors, as there is SO MUCH info here, tons and tons of forgotten photos and blueprints and drawings that had to be gathered up. It was amazing to follow the story of the Offy from start to finish, accompanied by all the great pictures. What I liked most is that the story wasn't dry and boring like you'd expect an entire book about an engine to be. It was truly a wonderful history!

Gordon Eliot White's excellent book on the superb Offenhauser racing engine is a must-have for anyone with even the slightest interest in the remarkable "Offy". Technical excellence and superb design allowed the Offenhauser almost absolute domination at the highest levels of auto racing, for a phenomenal span of more than 50 years.

The Offy was far, far ahead of its time, in the days when double-overhead cams and 16 valves in an inline four-cylinder engine was an exotic design. The "little four with the big punch" was practically invincible in fair head-to-head competition. It took hidden deals and special targeted rules changes to finally "rulebook" the Offy off racetracks. The big auto names with the deep pockets, investing tens of millions of dollars in high-tech quad-cam 32-valve V8's, did not like having them blown off the track by a 4-cylinder engine design more than 50 years old!

In 1975, Porsche engineers analyzed an Offenhauser. The engineers were understandably impressed by the 1000 HP Offenhauser. But they were astounded most by the Offy's ability to maintain high power over a long RPM range. The long power band was clearly a clue to the Offy's legendary ability to launch cars out of turns, and almost certainly the reason the Offy was practically invincible on the racetrack. After analyzing the Offy, Porsche decided against fielding an Indianapolis race team. The famous Porsche 6-cylinder "Boxer" engine, simply could not compete with the long, powerful torque range of the Offenhauser, unless it was allowed far more displacement than the Offy.

Over its long racing history of more than half a century, the Offenhauser 4-cylinder raced head-to-head against a fantastic array of engines, including big NASCAR V8's, jet turbines, Cummins turbo-diesels, formula-one engines, and many other exotic power plants. When all competitors were governed by the same rules, the normally-aspirated 255 cid Offy's dominated race after race, reigning supreme against all challengers.

From 1965 to 1971, as the turbocharged era arrived at Indianapolis, and the front-engined Indy roadster was made obsolete by the new rear-engined cars, the normally-aspirated Offy's long Indy domination ended. The Meyer-Drake shop building the engine began perfecting the Offy-turbo, and adapted it to rear-engined use. The rear-mounted Offy-turbo roared back with consecutive Indy wins in 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76, signaling that the short interruption of Offenhauser domination at the brickyard had ended.

It was not to be. From 1977 on, it appears that "back-room" deals resulting in rules changes specifically targeted at the Offenhauser, effectively rulebooked the engine out of competition. A small engine shop like Meyer-Drake, lacked the deep pockets required to have the "persuasive" clout of the big manufacturers.

Effectively blocked from fair competition, Meyer-Drake's operations slowly ceased. The Offenhauser 4-cylinder then passed into history.

More than a quarter of a century has now passed. The primeval, deep guttural roar, that signalled Offenhauser domination, is only a memory.

It appears, however, that the Offy still rules in absence.

In the years following the Offy's forced retirement, 4-cylinder DOHC 16 valve engines have not been permitted in Indy-league racing, although several manufacturers, notably Toyota, have submitted proposals. That fact speaks volumes about the incredible 50 year domination of the Offenhauser 4-cylinder engine that proved time and time again that it could not be beaten when the same rules applied to all.

What Harry A. Miller invented, Mr. Offenhauser and Mr. Goosen tweaked to a truly magnificent piece of technology. As I commented about Mr. Miller's expertise, the same goes for Mr. Offenhauser and Mr. Goosen: "Thanks" regards dave

This book is a must for any racing historian. Meticulously researched with great photos. Excellent work.