If you were going to build an 850-cc sports racer in the 1960s, which engine would you choose? Larry Kropp answered that question with a Deutsch Bonnet air-cooled two-cylinder, and to this day he remains steadfast that his decision was spot on.
In the ’60s Kropp was a toolmaker living in York, Pennsylvania. He’d been running a homebuilt Formula 3 car with the SCCA and said, “That machine was rather crude and not all that competitive.” Kropp was friendly with Howard Hanna who had won an SCCA National Championship racing a Deutsch Bonnet. Kropp said, “Hanna’s car ran so well and was pretty heavy at 1,500 pounds; I figured if I built a car that weighed half as much it would be really quick.”
