Zora Arkus-Duntov
Long synonymous, with drag racing, the “Hemi” cylinder head is among the contributions of Zora Arkus-Duntov. A Belgium-born engineer who helped Dr. Ferdinand Porsche develop the Auto Union Grand Prix machines of the 1930s, Zora and his brother,Yura, design the Ardun head in 1925 as a conversion for underpowered, flathead-Ford trucks. When Ford began equipping its trucks with larger Lincoln engines, Ardun Mechanical Corporation switched its focus to auto racing. Their overhead-valve design enabled and dry lakes or oval racer to squeeze 300+ horsepower from a Ford V-8. Even after Chrysler’s cast iron version appeared, early nitro racers continued to favor the Ardun, which offered cooling advantages of aluminum construction and a larger water jacket area around the spark plugs. Joining Chevrolet in 1953, Zora helped develop Corvette and a variety of performance parts during a 22-year General Motors career. Even in retirement, Zora Arkus-Duntov continues to provide performance consultation to Chevrolet in the specialty-equipment industry.