By J.A. Ackley
Sep 12, 2024
|
Maserati,
Monterey Car Week,
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
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Features
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Photography by Kristina Cilia
Indy 500 record holder. Grand Prix winner. Cars driven by Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Carroll Shelby. That’s just some of the highlights of the following five race cars from Maserati. The 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance held a special class dedicated to motorsport side of Maserati, and here are 5 significant examples.
Presented by Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Indianapolis, Ind.
Wilbur Shaw won the Indy 500 twice with this car. The feat of the same car and driver winning the 500 for two years has never been repeated. Shaw’s journey to winning at the Brickyard started with his friend Al Capone putting up the money for a Maserati open-wheel car to enter the 1938 Indy 500. It came with the wrong drivetrain, so a second car was commissioned for 1939. In transit, both cylinder blocks froze, but the team received new ones just in time to win the 500. Shaw followed up with another victory in 1940. The 8CTF is also the only entirely Italian-made car to win the Indy 500.
Presented by Madylon & Dean Meiling, Henderson, Nev.
Steered by Luigi Mosso, this particular A6GCS won its class at the 1954 RAC Tourist Trophy. It also podiumed at the Targa Florio (second), Gran Premio dell´Autodromo di Imola (third) and Mille Miglia (third). A 2.0-liter inline-six producing 170 horsepower powered the vehicle, which you can listen to in this video from RM Sotheby’s below.
Presented by Lawrence Auriana, Greenwich, Conn.
While Stirling Moss earned his first F1 win in a Mercedes in 1955, the next season he drove a Maserati. In this very one, he scored his second F1 victory at Monza, beating Juan Manuel Fangio by a whopping 6 seconds. Housing developer and race team owner Tony Parravano then bought it. He mysteriously disappeared in 1960 three days before standing trial for tax evasion in the U.S. Prolific British car collector Sir Anthony Bamford acquired it before passing through several prestigious collections in the U.S.
Presented by Fastwelve, Redmond, Wash.
In 1957, the Maserati 450S Spyder was the fastest race car in the world. The largest racing engine ever produced by Maserati, a 4.5-liter V8, powered it. The acceleration was so impressive that Juan Manuel Fangio nicknamed it “The Bazooka.” With Fangio and Jean Behra behind the wheel, this car won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Later on, Behra and Stirling Moss won with it at the Swedish Grand Prix.
Presented by Thomas Mittler, Santa Fe, N.M.
Why do they call this the Birdcage? It’s because of its unique frame, which consists of 200 small-diameter tubes making up a lattice-like framework that’s lightweight, yet rigid. A few famed racers competed with this one. Jim Jeffords, a Corvette Hall of Fame inductee, and Jim Hall, creator of the Chapparal, won with it at the SCCA Road America 500. Carroll Shelby used it to reach victory lane at Riverside in the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix.
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