Cornelius Willett Van Ranst (December 7, 1892 – October 11, 1972) was an American racing driver who competed in the 1921 Indianapolis 500.
[1] In 1927 he and Tommy Milton built a front-wheel drive race car for the Indy 500 dubbed the Detroit Special.
[1] The initial engine was of 6,157 cc capacity with the unusual vee angle of 67° and was intended for use in a front-wheel drive chassis.
The onset of the Depression meant that it was never offered for sale and in 1931 Packard paid Milton and Van Ranst $10,000 for the rights to it.
Packard engineer Charlie Vincent enlarged both bore and stroke to a new capacity of 7,300 cc, also relocating the spark plugs nearer the center of its unusual "inverted hemi-head" combustion chamber, amidst a host of detail changes.