The Man with a Golden Car

Harry Arminius Miller’s game changing masterpiece, The Golden Submarine, in 1916.

"Harry Arminius Miller single-handedly established the course and credibility of American automobile racing."
Harry Miller made cars, boats and airplanes go faster. He created the first ever "built to race" engines - all with parts built from new light alloy metals that he developed. In 1917, his engines powered one of the most famous race car/driver combinations ever witnessed...The Miller Golden Submarine, driven by proto racing legend, Barney Oldfield. Harry was born and raised in Menominee, Wisconsin. At age 19, he struck out for Los Angeles and immediately made his mark on the automobile industry with a seemingly endless supply of fresh and innovative ideas. He modernized the auto engine with new lightweight parts and was soon manufacturing engines under his own name.
From 1920 to 1940 the world of auto racing was dominated by Miller race cars and the engines of Miller and his employees Leo Goosen and Fred Offenhauser. These cars had a modern look and feel that influenced generations of industrial designers around the world to push the envelope in their respective fields. Miller, in effect, made time go faster. By 1929, most professional race cars were Miller cars and his name was synonymous with any kind of forward motion.
The good times and financial highs of the 20's ended with the arrival of the great depression. In 1931, Harry hit the wall and lost everything. In spite of this, he continued to create a dizzying array of innovations that would change the world of auto racing far into the future. In the cash starved world of the 30's, he worked with the Ford Motor Company and briefly teamed with fellow eccentric genius Preston Tucker to create one of the most beautiful race cars ever to hit the track at the Indianapolis 500. For Miller, the process of creation continued right up to his death in 1943. Harry Arminius Miller, a man who was once described by an employee as being "in a perpetual state of thought", died from a heart attack.
Miller's cars won the Indianapolis 500 a total of 10 times and machines powered by Miller or Miller-based Offenhauser engines won the big race another 29, including 43 national championships. At one time or another, almost every major speed and distance record was held by a Miller product. It is a record unequaled by any other manufacturer before or since. Harry Miller made it all happen.
Pictured above is Miller's quantum leap in design and thought, The Golden Submarine - the car that changed the world. Thanks to my cousin Steve Anderson from Menominee.

Posted 13th June 2008 by Frank L Anderson