1955 Kurtis 500KK
Don Blenderman is koo-koo for Kurtis cars. And why not? Frank Kurtis is arguably the greatest American racecar builder of all time. His career spanned four decades, and his cars regularly dominated the competition. The Kurtis midget was the car to have in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and the lovely jewel-box racers were winners coast to coast. When Kurtis turned his attention to Champ cars, he immediately took over the sport. His thundering open-wheelers sat on the pole at Indianapolis an astounding eight times, winning the 500 in 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955. In 1953, an amazing 15 of the top 20 finishers were built by Kurtis!
While Kurtis will always be remembered for his Offy midgets and Indy roadsters, between 1949 and 1962, he built dozens of fantastic sports cars as well, many of which were successful road racers in their own right. Approximately 30 cycle-fendered 500S cars left the factory between 1953 and 1955, the best-known being Bill Stroppe’s Mercury-powered beast. Perhaps six full-envelope 500X sports cars were built in the mid-’50s, all designed around a unique Kurtis spaceframe. Bill Murphy scored 18 class wins and 9 overall victories in 31 starts with his Buick-powered 500X.
