The Diedt-Offy Blue Crown Special

There are only a handful of winning Indy cars that I would call truly ‘iconic’, and of those, the one that also has deep hot rod roots is the 1947 Blue Crown Spark Plug Special. First, lets just talk about the looks- That striking torpedo-shaped and louver-intensive bodywork by Emil Diedt, the last of the wire wheel cars to win at Indy before cast magnesium and alloy wheels became the standard, and that striking electric blue and flame red paint. When a hot rodder says he’s building a ‘track nose’, this one should come to mind. Diedt was already known for his amazing craftsmanship on the Miller Fords and the Novi cars, which ‘inspired’ this body design for the Blue Crown cars. The FWD Offenhauser 270 c.i. motor was a landmark drivetrain as well, much like the aforementioned Novi-powered Kurtis racers of the time, but far less fragile. This race car was no schlub either, as it won the 1949 Indianapolis 500 with Bill Holland at the wheel, and amazingly it also took second place at the 1947, 1948 and 1950 Indy race. That, my friends is what you call a consistent winner, and now it’s going to be up for sale at Mecum’s Indy sale this Summer.