This original GM promotional film introduces the engine that changed the auto industry forever: the all-new ’55 Chevrolet V8.

When the people at Chevrolet Motor Division launched the Chevy small-block V8 for 1955, they had no way to know their new engine would soon reshape that American auto industry, or that it would revolutionize the motorsports world. They included men like Ed Cole, who headed the program, John Dolza, who developed the innovative upside-down, thinwall casting technique, and Clayton Leach, creator of the lightweight ball-stud rocker arms. As far as they knew, they had simply developed a powerplant with some clever innovations that resulted in a lightweight, modern, overhead-valve V8 for the low-priced field. The engine was not yet known world-wide as the “small block,”  and as impressive as it was, the true scale of the accomplishment would not become clear for a few more years.

In this 1955 film, called Power Beyond Compare, the entire Chevrolet powertrain lineup for the year is modestly presented, including two versions of  the venerable OHV Stovebolt inline 6, but naturally, the spotlight is on the 265 CID V8. Note that In this period, the sixes were marketed under the Blue Flame label, while the V8s were known as Turbo-Fire. There’s great footage of the Milford Proving Ground, and some wonderfully quaint performance stats are quoted: how about 20 to 60 mph in only 19.2 seconds? Video follows.