Frank Kurtis

Frank Kurtis ( * January 25, 1908, † 17 February 1987) was an American racing car designer. He became known primarily through his company, founded in 1938 Kurtis Kraft, Inc., which has seen many victories in the Indy 500.

Life

Frank Kurtis was the son of a blacksmith in Pueblo (Colorado) the, usual at that time, in addition to coaches and cars repaired. The family later moved to Los Angeles ( California), where Frank got a job with Don Lee Cadillac, after he had cheated a bit about his age. Frank Kurtis began 1930 with the construction of its first automobiles. These were so-called Midget Cars. In all, he created more than 550 such vehicles and 600 more to the self by the customer. For the son of his employer, Tommy Lee, he built an extravagant 1937 Roadster. His first race car for the 500 miles of Indianapolis, he built in 1941, added a further approximately 120 Indy 500 cars, five of which emerged as a winner. In 1947, he built for himself the Kurtis - force special with which he participated in 1948 at the Indy 500 and finished ninth.

Kurtis sold the first half of his company in 1950 to Johnny Pawl, the second in 1962, Ralph Potter.

Awards

Swell

• Frank Kurtis - An American Icon
• Conceptcarz.com; Kurtis at a glance ( English ) ( accessed on 13 February 2012)

• Vehicle designer
• Americans
• Born in 1908
• Died in 1987
• Man