Tag Archives: Kaus

’56 Italian Hillclimb Champion – Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé #2148

Last in the current series of Maserati A6G/54 posts is one of twenty Zagato Coupé bodied models chassis #2148.

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The 21 Zagato bodied A6G/54’s are lighter than most of the other 39 A6G/54’s because their bodies are crafted from aluminium. This made #2148 and it’s Zagato siblings eminently suitable for use in competition.

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

It is believed this car once belonged to Italian racing driver Adolfo Tedeschi who is thought to have used #2148 to secure the 1956 Italian under 2 litre hillclimb championship.

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Thereafter #2148 spent some time in the USA before passing into the hands of Peter Kaus and his Bianco Collection which included several vehicles that have featured in GALPOT blogs including several other Maseratis.

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Looking at this side vent trim I was struck by it’s similarity to the DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc) stripes on the Dale Earnhardt Jr Limited Edition Chevrolet Impala, I wonder if Dale Earnhardt was a fan of the Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé ?

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After a spell in France #2148 has passed through the hands of at least one other German before finding it’s way into the hands of current owner Klaus Busch.

Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupé, Cartier Style Et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The most recent record of an A6G/54 Zagato sale by auction I could find was in 2010 for a slightly less aggressively styled Berlinetta variant which fetched over US$ 1.5 million.

Thanks for joining me on this “’56 Italian Hillclimb Champion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for a look at a Bugatti tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Fatal Exhaust – Maserati 8C 3000 #3002

After Alfieri Maserati’s death in March 1932 the remaining Maserati brothers continued to develop his new 3 litre / 183 cui supercharged straight eight motor. Before the end of 1932 Maserati had fitted a 220hp version of the new motor to an 8C chassis #3001 for Luigi Fagioli to drive in the Czechoslovak Grand Prix at Brno where he finished second to Louis Chiron in his Bugatti T51.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

With the financial collapse of Bentley in 1931 the Bentley Boys were struggling to find British built vehicles in which to race. A second Maserati 8C chassis #3002, seen here at Goodwood, was bought by former Bentley Boy and 1928 Le Mans winner Bernard Rubin for fellow Bentley Boy and 1929 Le Mans winner Sir Henry Ralph Stanley ‘Tim’ Birkin to drive in the 1933 season.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Unfortunately ‘Tim’ only got to drive #3002 once in the infamous 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix, a race which is best remembered for a story surrounding a legal syndicate which comprised three lottery ticket holders and three drivers who agreed to divide up various prize monies on offer equally in the event that one or more of the syndicate drivers won, came second, third or any conceivable combination thereof.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Of course being described by W.O. Bentley to be “the greatest Briton of his time” ‘Tim’ would have nothing to do with the syndicate and intended to do his best to ensure they did not get their result and led the opening four laps of the race. On lap 16 ‘Tim’ pitted which, due to his inexperienced pit team, is said to have cost him more time than his rivals and in particular syndicate members Archi Varzi, who did not need to stop and Tazio Nuvolari who did.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Some sources say it was during this pit stop that ‘Tim’ accidentally burnt his arm on the exhaust of his car, others say it was during practice earlier in the event, but either way ‘Tim’ continued to finish third, 1 and half minuets, behind Archi and Tazio in that order, the same order to which both are alleged to have agreed on the flip of a coin on the morning of the race.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Tragically the burn ‘Tim’ had suffered from the exhaust turned septic and that in combination with his malarial condition put him in hospital six days after the race and five weeks later Britain lost one of it’s most popular and able drivers.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

#3002 was driven in 1934 by Hon. Brian Lewis for Noel Rees at Brooklands where it came second in the International trophy to another Maserati driven by Whitney Straight with both cars sharing the lap record.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By 1937, following a string of ever less competitive performances with a variety of drivers #3002 was retired only for it have a post ’39-’45 war career, starting in 1946 when first Dudley Froy drove the car in the Easter ’46 VSCC Elstree speed trials.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Next future legendary Aston Martin, Ford GT40 and Gulf Racing manager John Wyer prepared #3002 for T.A.S.O. Mathieson drive in some of the earliest post war French races at Bois du Boulogne, St Cloud, where finished a best 5th and GP du Rousillon, where TASO recorded a 6th place finish.

TASO then started converting the 220hp car for road use and registered her for use on the kings highway, but sold her on in 1947 to Mike Oliver before the job was complete.

Once Mike had finished the conversion to road spec he drove #3002 to a seventh place finish in the ’48 Luton Hoo sprint.
Later in 1948 new owner Squadron Leader John Crampton DFC continued competing with the car at the Prescott and Shelsey hillclimbs along with the Brighton Speed trials and at Goodwood up until 1949.

The car was subsequently rebuilt, still in road going trim, by Alan Southon of the Phoenix Green Garage at Hartley Wintney before spending time in the United States.

Cameron Miller then undertook a restoration of #3002 for Peter Kaus of the Bianco Collection which included replacing the body, the remains of the old one subsequently found their way on to another Maserati which I shall be revisiting next Monday.

The Louwman Museum in the Netherlands now owns #3002 which is seen at Goodwood with Hulsoff Berend at the wheel.

My thanks to FailedJourno at The Nostalgia Forum for pointing out that I confused today’s featured #3002 with the car I shall be revisiting next week.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fatal Exhaust” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Racing Van – Maserati 151/3 Recreation

Parts of today’s featured car started life as the Maserati France entered Maserati 151 chassis #151.002 which raced at Le Mans in 1962 alongside Briggs Cunningham’s chassis #151.004 and #151.006, the latter which I looked at last Monday.

Maserati 151/4, Goodwood Festival of Speed

#151.002 was driven by Maurice Trintignant and Lucien Bianchi in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying 7th, slowest of the three Maserati 151 models and retiring after completing 152 laps with suspension issues.

Maserati 151/4, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In April 1963 #151.002 reappeared at the Le Mans Test with a 5 litre / 302 cui V8 motor replacing the original 4 litre / 244 cui unit. André Simon and Lloyd Casner drove the car to the 4th fastest time and returned in June to qualify 5th for the 24 Hour race but retired after 40 laps with gearbox issues.

Maserati 151/4, Baxter / Mass, Goodwood Revival

#151.002, also known at the time as 151/2, appeared in three more events in 1963 scoring a best 8th place finish in the Trophée d’Auvergne at Clermond Ferrant (F) with Lucien Bianchi at the wheel.

Maserati 151/4, Baxter / Mass, Goodwood Revival

For 1964 #151.002 was further upgraded with a dry sump motor mounted lower in the chassis which was also altered to accommodate wire tires and wheels. Finally the car also had a new Piero Drogo penned unpainted aluminium body fitted just in time for the 1964 Le Mans test, the new body quickly earned the “Racing Van” sorbriquet.

Maserati 151/4, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Maurice Trintignant and France’s Maserati importer André Simon set 4th fastest time in the reworked Maserati and found it capable of 196 mph on the Mulsane straight. For the ’64 Le Mans race the Maurice and André qualified #151.002 15th, but retired after 99 laps with electrical issues. The same drivers were entered to drive #151.002 in two more events but retired with ignition issues from the Reims 12 Hours and after an accident from the Paris 1000 kms at Circuit de Linas-Montlhéry.

For 1965 the final incarnation of #151.002 also known as 151/4 included fitting a slightly larger 5055cc / 308 cui V8 which produced 450 hp. The car was again taken to the Le Mans Test weekend where Lloyd “Lucky” Casner of Camoradi Racing Team fame met his untimely demise in #151.002 at the kink on the Mulsanne Straight being fatally thrown from the car which was effectively destroyed in the accident.

During the 1980’s Herr Kaus of the Bianco Museum owned one of the 151/3 spec motors from the crashed #151.002, as he did the uncrashed #151.006 car, and was supplied by Maserati with drawings to build a new 151/3 spec chassis and the original 151/3 body buck so that Sig Allegretti, who built the original body, could build another !

Herr Kaus never got the project finished, but more recently Barrie Baxter, seen sharing the car with Jochen Mass at Goodwood Revival, has.

My thanks to Doug Nye and driverider at The Nostalgia Forum for their comments.

Thanks for joining me on this “Racing Van” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Birdcage Streamliner – Maserati Tipo 60 #2451

Despite winning the 1957 World Championship Drivers Title, there was no constructors title until 1958, with Juan Manuel Fangio, Maserati was in dire financial trouble at the end of the year and after four sports car were written off in South America the Italian Government had to step in as receiver to save the company.

Immediately all motor racing programmes run by the factory were cancelled, but just one year later the case was made for Maserati to resume building racing cars so long as they were paid for and raced by customers.

Engineer Gulio Alfieri was given a brief was to build a low cost, competitive, two seater racer, using existing parts stock where possible.

Maserati Tipo 60, Goodwood, Revival

In the absence of sufficient contacts to help him build a monocoque chassis Alfiei devised a space frame Tipo 60 chassis built up from thin tubes with a 2 litre / 122cui 4 cylinder motor that became known as the ‘Birdcage’.

Today’s featured chassis #2451 started life as the prototype Tipo 60 and on the 12th of July 1959 it was driven to a win in the Rouen Grand Prix by Stirling Moss.

Stirling Moss is said to have been impressed with the ‘rightness’ of the design, the light but precise steering, the totally neutral handling characteristics with the superb brakes also being singled out for praise.

Maserati Tipo 60, Willi Balz, Goodwood, Revival

Italian hillclimb specialist Odoardo Govoni then drove #2451 to a win on the ‘Pontedecimo-Giovi’ hillclimb on the 20th September 1959, soundly beating the favourite Giorgio Scarlatti’s Ferrari Dino 196S.

Maserati chairman Omer Orsi authorised the production of six Tipo 60 chassis and it was not long before requests from the US came in for cars fitted with 3 litre / 183 cui motors.

Subsequently Alferi was asked to work on a 3 litre motor and he managed to squeeze one into a Tipo 60 which which then became the Tipo 61 to distinguish the larger engine size.

Maserati Tipo 60, Goodwood, Revival

In September 1959 Lloyd Perry ‘Lucky’ Crasner tested a Tipo 60 and immediately ordered two 3 litre cars for his CA-sner MO-tor RA-cinq DI-vision, better known as the Camoradi Racing Team.

A shortfall in manufacturing capacity left Maserati no alternative but to fit a 4 cylinder 3 litre / 193 cui motor to the prototype chassis #2451 which was then shipped out to Nassau in December 1959 for Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby and Jo Bonnier to test in preparation for the Nassau Speedweek.

Dan claimed a class victory in the Preliminary Governor’s Trophy while Carrol retired from the Nassau Trophy Race after a puncture and then an accident.

Maserati Tipo 60, Goodwood, Revival

Dan and Marsten Gregory qualified #2451 2nd for the 1960 1000kms at Buenos Aires but retired with a broken shock absorber mounting bolt after leading comfortably.

Carroll Shelby teamed up with Masten to drive #2451 in the Sebring 12 hours but retired with an engine issue.

At the Targa Florio #2451 was entered for Umberto Maglioli and Nino Vaccarella who led the race at 3/4 distance only to crash after a rock punctured the fuel tank.

During the subsequent repairs #2451 had a new streamline tail added along with the extreme screen which was designed to meet the Le Mans minimum height screen regulations and minimise the frontal area of the car. The other 2 Camoradi T61’s had the modified tail fitted for Le Mans, but not the low frontal area screen.

Maserati Tipo 60, Goodwood, Revival

#2451 was the fastest car at Le Mans in 1960, after a starting problem saw Marsten cross the start line in 24th place he had recovered the lead by the Mulsanne Corner on the opening lap overtaking 18 vehicles on the Mulsanne Straight.

After a couple of hours Marsten handed #2451 over to Chuck Daigh but the car lost an hour with another starter problem. Between the forth and eighth hours Marsten and Chuck had recovered two of their lost laps, but at midnight the car was retired either with a blown motor or an electrical issue depending on which sources one reads.

The Le Mans race was the last race of the 1960 World Sportscar Championship season and #2451 was chosen by Camoradi backer Frank Harrison as the car he was promised and wanted to run in the USA.

06 Maserati Tipo 60_1663sc

Harrison entered the car for Jim Jeffords who won with it at Road America on July 31st, 1960. In April 1961 Fred Gamble drove #2451 to a class victory at Marlboro .

Sources are not conclusive on #2451 being the car that William Kimberly drove to victory for Frank Harrison at Courtland in July 1961.

Frank sold #2451 to Don Skogmo, a regular winner aboard a Maserati Tipo 61, who is thought never to have raced #2451.

In 1971 #2451 found a new lease of life in the British ‘JCB’ historic championship where it was driven to a championship victory by Brian Joscelyne.

By 1980 #2451 was to be found in the Rosso Bianco collection belonging to Peter Kaus. Today the car, which was first registered for UK road use in 2010, is owned by Windpower magnate and Maserati Collector Willi Balz who is seen at the wheel at Goodwood a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Birdcage Streamliner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a versatile Talbot that raced at Le Mans in 1939. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share