A collection of classic automotive ads with the emphasis on the heart and soul of any car - the engine. And back in the fifties and sixties, didn’t the Americans know it…lovingly dedicating whole ads to what was under the hood. Just so happened that the cars were pretty damn cool looking too.

In the 1950s, it was all about publicizing the first overhead valve V8s that were cutting edge and offered vast power increases over what drivers were used to. Flatheads and L-heads were out, baby. By the 1960s the V8 was no longer new, so adds emphasized power. High revving small blocks with race bred solid lifters and hot cams, or big blocks with stump pulling torque. Engine dress-up kits were all the rage - chrome, decals, crackle finish, fancy air cleaners, cold air induction and so on.

Of course it wasn’t only Detroit V8s that got the limelight. Chevy spent a lot of advertising dollars on their radical air cooled, rear mounted flat six of the Corvair. Porsche did the same with their equally impressive flat six, while Jaguar made the most of the race winning heritage of their mighty XK six and Aston Martin was more than happy for ads to show the all new alloy quad cam V8 replacement for their venerable straight six.

We also have to include the legendary Ford flat head V8 introduced with the Model 18 in 1932. No coincidence that the ‘32 Ford aka the Duece Coupe, became the favorite of hot rodders. Power to the people…

Check out the Tunnel Ram article on engine-themed print ads here