Voigt Crosley LRC Returns to Ohio

 

Four small-bore racers are expected to be stand-outs at this year’s Put-in-Bay Sports Car Races. They are H-Modifieds, meeting the SCCA specifications for this class (500-750cc engines, two seats, room for a spare wheel, and a door). H-Mods were a popular racing class in the 50s and 60s, often drawing 12-15 cars to events. (Put-in-Bay hosted an all-HMOD race in 1956, and in later years the event typically drew 8-12 HMODs.) Many of the entries, like the car pictured above, were designed and built by individual enthusiasts who saw the H-Mod class as their way into racing.
 
The Voigt Crosley LRC was built in the late 50s/early 60s by Eugene Voigt of Defiance Ohio. While its design incorporates many of the elements of the Jabros described in earlier postings, it is a true "one-off" race car. The car's engine, drivetrain, and suspension are all Crosley – but the frame is built-up tubing, and the body is a combination of fiberglass and aluminum. Gene spent a couple of years working on the car – with a break when he briefly moved from Ohio to Florida, then back again. It's unclear whether the car was ever raced, but the photo below (taken by Rick Yocum) shows Jim Ehlinger piloting the car in a gymkhana (we call them autocrosses now) in the mid 60s. It was probably an event sponsored by the Fort Defiance Sports Car Club. 

The car was sold in the early 1970s and dropped out of sight. Somewhere along the way it was acquired by Ray Heppenstall, an accomplished race car driver and designer. It changed hands a few more times, until it was restored for vintage racing and made its track debut in 2012. The Voigt Crosley LRC has since raced at Lime Rock Park, the Hershey Hillclimb, and Thompson Speedway. Put-in-Bay will be the car's first opportunity to race in its home state of Ohio...a long time since Gene Voigt first sat in the car in his backyard in Defiance.

Oh...as for the LRC. That stands for "Little Red Car."