Following the first-ever appearance by a rear-engine car at Indianapolis during practice in 1937, the legendary Harry Miller was commissioned by the Gulf Oil Company to build three such cars. Extremely futuristic for the time they featured four-wheel drive and a six cylinder supercharged Miller engine, titled over at an angle. Only one arrived in 1938, too late to qualify. Of three in 1939, only George Bailey was able to qualify, although he did so in sixth place, the first rear-engine car ever in the Indy 500 race-day lineup. Of the handful of starts by these cars between 1939 and 1947, none traveled further than Bailey’s 47 laps in 1939. Originally intended to run on pump gasoline, they featured side mounted pontoon tanks, which proved to be very dangerous. After a pair of serious fires, the cars appeared in 1941 minus the pontoon tanks.
Taken at the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.
You may purchase a print in our dElegance 2011 online gallery.