quote:
Originally posted by accobra:
...SHERMAN TANK engine which was 50 years ahead of its time ...
Playing devil's advocate here,
Dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder were available in the US as far back as 1928, in the Duesenberg.
From the WikiPedia:
Lobban Cord, the owner of Cord Automobile, Auburn Automobile and other transportation companies, bought the company in 1926 for the Duesenberg Brothers' engineering skills and the brand name in order to produce luxury cars. Hiring Fred Duesenberg to design the chassis and an engine that would be the best in the world, the newly revived Duesenberg company set about to produce the Model J. The Model J Duesenberg was first shown at the New York Car Show of 1928. In unsupercharged form it boasted a whopping 265 bhp, straight-8 engine with dual overhead camshafts, and was capable of a top speed of 119 mph. The supercharged version of the Model J, the SJ, was reputed to have a top speed 135-140 mph. 0-60 times of around eight seconds and 0-100 times of 17 seconds were reported for the SJ in spite of the unsynchronized transmissions, and all at a time when even the best cars of the era were not inclined to exceed 100 mph. Duesenbergs generally weighed around two and a half tons. Up to three tons was not unusual, considering the wide array of custom coachwork available.
Only the chassis and engine were displayed at the 1928 New York Car Show, since the interior and body of the car would be custom-made by an experienced coachbuilder to the owner's specifications. The bodywork made for Duesenbergs came from coachbuilders in both North America and Europe, and the finished cars comprised some of the largest, grandest, most beautiful and elegant cars ever created. The chassis cost $8,500 ($9500 after 1932), the completed base model cost $13,500, and you could have top of the line model for $25,000 (an extreme amount of money for the time, when the average US physician was reported to earn less than $3000 per annum).
Introduced in 1932 was the supercharged Model J with 320 BHP (often referred to as 'SJ'), which had a top speed of 135-140 mph. Special bodied models, such as the later-named "Mormon Meteor" chassis achieved an average speed of over 135 mph and a one hour sprint of over 152 mph at Bonneville. The SJ's supercharger was located beside the engine; however, to make room for it, the exhaust pipes were creased so they could be bent easily and extended through the side panel of the hood. These supercharged cars can be recognized by these shiny creased tubes, which E. L. Cord registered as a trademark and used in his other supercharged cars from Cord and Auburn.
Quickly the Duesenberg became one of the most popular in America, owned by the rich and famous, among them Clark Gable, Gary Cooper (Each owning one of the two very rare SSJ 125" short-wheelbase convertibles) and the Duke of Windsor. Duesenberg advertising claimed that it was the best car in the world, and their world-beating performance and extreme opulence tend to back that up. There was a gradual evolution up to the 1937 model, that preserved the "stately lines" while moving into a more integrated mode of styling. The final evolution of the Duesenberg engine were ram-air intakes added to some of the last supercharged models to produce 400 horsepower and are referred to as 'SSJ' (also a name never used by the factory). Of the 481 Model Js and SJs produced between 1928 and 1937, 384 are still extant, 4 of them now owned by Jay Leno. Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed.
Pictured below is the 1936 Duesenberg SSJ equipped with an in-line 8 cylinder motor, dual over head cams, 4 valves per cylinder, supercharged, made 400 bhp.
