Cornelius Willett Van Ranst (December 7, 1892 – October 11, 1972) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

who competed in the

1921 Indianapolis 500 The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921. Ralph DePalma dominated another early running of the 500, but again failed to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at the ...

Biography

He was born on December 7, 1892 in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. An engineer by trade, Van Ranst developed the

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

cylinder heads for the Ford-

Frontenac Frontenac may refer to: People *Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France Places Canada Quebec *Château Frontenac, hotel in Quebec City *Frontenac, Quebec *Frontenac County, Quebec *Frontenac (Montreal Metro), Montreal Metro station *F ...

engine fielded by

Louis Chevrolet Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (; December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-American race car driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. Early life Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 25, 18 ...

in 1921. In 1927 he and

Tommy Milton Thomas Milton (November 14, 1893 – July 10, 1962) was an American race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He was notable for having only one functional eye, a disability that would have disqualified him ...

built a

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longi ...

race car for the Indy 500 dubbed the Detroit Special. He also worked as an engineer for

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight- ...

and

Cord Automobile Cord was the brand name of an American luxury automobile company from Connersville, Indiana, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 to 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937. The Cord Corporation was founded and run by E. L. C ...

and was instrumental in the development of the

Cord L-29 Cord was the brand name of an American luxury automobile company from Connersville, Indiana, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 to 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937. The Cord Corporation was founded and run by E. L. Co ...

, one of the first front wheel drive road cars.C.W. van Ranst
, Historic Racing In 1930 he, once again with Milton's collaboration, designed an all-new V12 engine for Packard. The initial engine was of 6,157 cc capacity with the unusual vee angle of 67° and was intended for use in a front-wheel drive chassis. The onset of the Depression meant that it was never offered for sale and in 1931 Packard paid Milton and Van Ranst $10,000 for the rights to it. It was finally exhibited in January 1932, although as a rear-wheel drive chassis. This engine and chassis appeared slow, under-powered and lacking in

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of t ...

. Packard engineer Charlie Vincent enlarged both bore and stroke to a new capacity of 7,300 cc, also relocating the spark plugs nearer the center of its unusual "inverted hemi-head" combustion chamber, amidst a host of detail changes. Production of this new "

Packard Twin Six The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the ma ...

" continued successfully until the outbreak of World War Two. He died on October 11, 1972 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Indy 500 results

References

1892 births 1972 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from New York City Racing drivers from New York (state) Racing drivers from New York City {{US-autoracing-bio-stub