What aircraft engine powered Jim Lytle's pioneering Funny Car Big Al II?

Jim Lytle’s pioneering Funny Car Big Al II was powered by an Allison V-1710 aircraft engine.

Big Al II was built in 1963 around a chopped 1934 Ford Tudor body. Lytle’s project cost about $2,000, and its hand-made body helped introduce the flip-top fiberglass “flopper” style that later became central to Funny Car design.

The Allison V-1710 was a liquid-cooled V12 originally developed for aircraft. It became a major American World War II engine, powering aircraft including the P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk, and early P-51 Mustangs. After the war, surplus examples became available for racing and other high-performance uses.

Big Al II was not a conventional modern Funny Car with a supercharged racing V8. Its unusual aircraft-engine installation was part of what made the car so memorable and influential. Lytle ran it three times in 1964 at Lions Dragway, where it set a record for full-bodied drag racers before retirement.

Later factory-backed flip-top cars, including Mercury Comet Cyclones, developed the concept further, but Big Al II established the visual template.