The Ballot 3/8 LC was a cutting-edge French racing car, capable of 124mph at a time when many normal road cars struggled to hit half that. The engine’s double overhead camshafts, four valves-per-cylinder and hemi-spherical combustion chambers was the work of the genius mind belonging one of the “Charlatans”, Ernest Henry. The Charlatans were a secretive operation consisting of Robert Peugeot, two drivers Jules Goux and Georges Boillot, the designer Paolo Zuccarelli and, of course engineer Ernest Henry, who were pioneering the 4 valve Hemi Twin Cam design. These innovations led to its victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The two French Ballots competing took first and second spots, while a Fiat 802 – the Italian crowd’s favourite – took third. But the Ballots won for their strategy, conserving fuel and tyres against the much faster Fiat, and not once stopping. A three car team was sent to Indianapolis where the biggest rival looked to be the Duesenberg, which also featured a s...
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