A rule change intended to draw more European entries to the third annual Indy 500 in 1913 opened the door for Peugeot to bring two cars powered by its 160 hp four-cylinder engine with dual overhead cams, four valves per cylinder and domed combustion chambers, one of which Goux drove to victory. Photo: IMS Photo
Jules Goux was born in Valentigney, France on April 6, 1885, and he died there in March 1965. In between those two dates, he enjoyed one hell of a racing career and had a hand in developing the Peugeot Straight-4 which, with its twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, introduced what is still the preferred layout of performance petrol engines today.
The young Jules was weaned on the French heroes who won the Gordon Bennett and city-to-city races, like Marcel Renault, Fernand Charron, Leonce Giradot and Leon Théry. He began racing himself when he was barely into his 20s, scoring his first big victory at age 23, driving a brutishly ugly Lion-Peugeot in the 1908 Catalan Cup road race around Sitges, near Barcelona, forerunner of the Spanish Grand Prix. Then he went back with the same car in 1909 and won the race all over again, later adding the ’09 Sicilian Cup race win to his tally.
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