Novi (engine)

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The Novi was an engine that was used in US monoposto racing in the 1950s and 1960s .

The Novi engine was a supercharged OHC V8 engine. The first Novi engine was used in 1941, still under the name Winfield . The V8 made 450 hp, but was difficult to drive. After the Second World War , the engine was revised and then made 510 hp. It was an incredible achievement for the time. Kurtis Kraft chassis were fitted with the Novi engine by various teams, but the drivers were not very pleased with the enormous power. Ralph Hepburn in 1949 and Chet Miller in 1953 both had accidents during training for the Indianapolis 500 mile race because they could not control the power of the engine.

The engine was adapted several times and in 1956 Paul Russo qualified the new Kurtis Kraft Roadster with Novi engine in Indianapolis in eighth place. In the race he was 21 laps ahead before a puncture ended his race prematurely. In 1957 Russo finished fifth in the race. It was to remain the best result for a racing car with a Novi engine at Indianapolis. The V8 engine was continuously revised until 1966.

literature

  • Rick Popely: Indianapolis 500 Chronicle . Publications Ltd., New York 1998, ISBN 0-7853-2798-3 .