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In 1931 Harry Miller decided to challenge both Cadillac and Marmon by building a sixteen cylinder engine. But unlike the these luxury-brand manufacturers, Miller's engine was used to power a 1931 Indianapolis racecar. Miller prepared three cars for race, but only William S. White's car had the unique V16 engine. Furthermore it also had the very high-standards of craftsmanship and design expected from Miller.

Prepared possibly as a supercar engine, Miller used his expertise pioneering front-wheel drive cars liuke the L29 for Cord. Taking the theme one step further, he decided to construct a new V16 engine that would again attach to the front wheels. The design uses two V8s end-to-end with four-piston cylinder blocks. Each of these has an integral cylinder head with dual-overhead camshafts. Eight Miller-Adamson carburetors feed the engine through siamesed intake ports.

This impressive setup achieved around 300 bhp for William S. White's car which was simply known as the 'Harry Miller Speedster.' It used the complex de Dion Tube suspension to send power the front wheels. The rear was suspended in the same manner and both used pairs of quarter-elliptic leaf springs like the Bugattis of the period.

At Indianapolis Shorty Cantlon piloted this car with riding mechanic Duke Smale. They qualified 26th overall with a speed of 110.372 mph. During the first 40 laps Cantlon weaved his way through the field, reaching fourth place until carbureter trouble meant replacing all 16 spark plugs in the pit. Cantlon finished almost where he started in 27th place, but this wasn't the last time the speedster would race.

Again the V16 Miller was prepared for the 1932 Indinapolis 500. Brian Saulpaugh known as 'The Midwest Cyclone' qualified 114.369 mph which was fast enough for the front row. The car was competitive, but dropped from the race after an oil line broke. Later, Harry Hartz and removed the complex V16 engine, replacing it with a four-cylinder unit for 1933 Indy. In this guise it raced until the war.

After the war, the car was basically ready for scrap. Someone had fitted a flat-head Ford, but Ed Shreve replaced it with a Maserati unit and fitted a new single-seat body. It was found this way, without it's original engine or body for Chuck Davis and his restorer Dave Hentschel to complete. Fortunately, he was able to find the engine an engine block in two pieces and a proper crankshaft from a separate source. The rest of the castings were produced from original blueprints including the crankcase, camshaft boxes and valve covers. By the early 1990s Hentschel finished the car just in time for the 1993 Monterey Historic Races which were honoring the cars of Harry Miller.

V16 Timeline

1931-prepared for William S. White
1931-finsih 27th overall at 1931 Indy 500
1932-dnf at 1932 Indy 500
1932-sold to Harry Hartz after Indy
1932-fitted with 220in³ Miller 4-cylinder engine
1932-crashed during 150-mile event at Oakland
1933-repaired, fitted with 255 Miller 4-cyliner
1933-deadly crash at Indy 500
1934-sold to Earl Haskell
1934-10th place finish at Mines Field CA
1935-Floyd Roberts finished 4th at Indy 500
1936-Finished 6th @ Indy 500 owned by Clarence Felker
1937-Finished 13 @ Indy 500 owned by Joel Thorne
1947-Fitted with Flat-Head Ford
1947-Prepared for Indy 500, didn't arrive
1950-Turned in 'George Hoster Special' with Maserati engine & new body
1950-Could not qualify at Indy 500
1973-Discovered by Bob McConnell
1980-Verified by Jim Brucker as the V16 car
1980s-Sold to Chuck Davis
1980s-Dave Hentschel restortion
1993-Restoration debut at Monterey Historics
1995-Miller Meet
2009-RM Auction Sale.