Emil Albert Diedt (born Emil Albert Didt, March 17, 1897 – December 8, 1980) was an American race car builder. He specialized in body-building and metalwork, and his chassis won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

with

Mauri Rose Maurice Rose (May 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was an American racing driver. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1941, 1947, and 1948, becoming the race's third three-time winner. He also won the AAA National Championship in 1936. Racing career ...

, and in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

with

Bill Holland Willard Saulsbury Holland (December 18, 1907 – May 20, 1984) was an American racing driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1949 and finished second in 1947, 1948, and 1950. He was runner-up in the 1947 American A ...

. Diedt's cars ran with

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarl ...

engines, and the three victories were the only major American open-wheel racing (

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

) wins for him. Indy500winningcar1949

The 1947 and 1948 winning car, called "Blue Crown Special", had the particularity of being front-wheel driven. Diedt's cars competed in the

FIA World Championship This is a list of international motorsport championships, trophies and cups administered and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the international governing body of motorsport. The FIA awards the winners titles and/ ...

from 1950 to 1952, as the Indianapolis 500 was part of the championship during those years. The last participation in the Indianapolis 500 for a Diedt chassis was in 1952, and their last qualifying attempt was in 1953.

Personal life

Born Emil Albert Didt, Diedt emigrated to the U.S. as a 16-year old, accompanying his 19-year old brother. Both had been working as sailors. Diedt obtained U.S. citizenship after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Select Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diedt, Emil 1897 births 1980 deaths American Championship racing cars American racecar constructors Auto racing people Formula One constructors (Indianapolis only) People from Los Angeles