HL Bergandi

Bobby Marshman / Epperly-Offenhauser

After working in the aeronautic industry and playing second fiddle for Frank Kurtis, Quin Epperly had his moments of glory in 1957 and 1958, when the all-conquering Belond Spl. conceived and prepared by George Salih won consecutive Indy 500s.

Designed and built by Epperly, that lowbelly laydown was followed in '58 by two more of the same breed in 2nd and 4th, instilling in the man the wish to perfect his creation, an effort that resulted in the car you see here in its 1963 livery, plus a twin unit with minimal aesthetic differences.

Both had very low torsion bars and the head of the horizontal engine thrown outboard. Man, were they pretty. Shame that neither one ever won.

This one in particular was entered for the 1960 "500" to be driven by Bill Cheesbourgh, but never was ready to make the field. The team lacked the resources to make it go, and brave man Dick Rathmann couldn't scare it up to speed at the next hundred-miler, but by August a brilliant rookie named Parnelli Jones finally had this babe screaming loud, nearly taking the Milwaukee 200.

That great run caught Tony Bettenhausen's attention, and the grizzled veteran had Lindsey Hopkins buying the car for a campaign together. If Parnelli once thought he had the perfect mount for the next year's "500", Tough Tony now believed that this was the car he needed to break the 150 mph barrier at the Brickyard, and certainly was "this close" to doing it until, testing a friend's car, he was fatally injured in practice. From then on it was ups and downs for the gorgeous charge of Jack Beckley.

Jack never failed to fill the wheelhouse of a Hopkins car with big talent, but Lloyd Ruby, Wayne Weiler, Jim Hurtubise and Don Branson, all of them gave it a try without success. Heck, not even Super Tex A. J. Foyt was able to break the incredible jinx.

Finally it was young Bobby Marshman who forced the car to march into contention, only to confirm that it couldn't finish a damned race, yet was able to run thousands of miles at record speeds without a problem while testing rubber for Firestone.

When progress took over and Marshman got a Lotus from Hopkins, the old cursed beauty had been deformed beyond recognition and languished in wait, entered for the 1964 "500" for Duane Carter, a coupling that, mercifully, never took place.

As for Quin Epperly, he stayed involved with other cutting-edge projects but never built an Indy car again.

Original painting commissioned by Mr. James Carroll.

Giclee. Richly textured matte finish on acid-free paper.