Maserati 450S

Maserati 450S

Maserati 450S Coupe Zagato

4.5 liter V8 engine of the Maserati 450S

The Maserati 450S , also Maserati 450 Sport , was a sports car prototype that was developed by Maserati in 1956 .

Development history and technology

The 450S was the successor to the Maserati 300S and 350S . Maserati developed this vehicle above all in order not to fall behind in the eternal competition against Scuderia Ferrari . The heart of the car was the 4.5 liter V8 engine . The extensive work on the complex engine had already begun in 1954. The first test runs on the test bench were not very promising. The engine generated considerable vibrations and repeatedly destroyed the exhaust manifold. An improved engine was installed in chassis 3501 in 1956. This chassis, which was actually planned for the 450S, was needed in 1956 for the 350S in order to be able to accommodate the 3.5-liter 6-cylinder in-line engine . This car was seriously damaged in an accident at the 1956 Mille Miglia, with Stirling Moss at the wheel . The chassis was rebuilt, now got the 4.5-liter engine and became the first 450S as chassis 4501.

For test purposes, chassis 4501 was brought to Sweden for the 1000 km race in Kristianstad at the end of 1956 in order to be able to test further changes to the engine such as a new crankshaft. The vehicle was only moved during training and was driven by Moss, Harry Schell and Piero Taruffi .

In many publications, the number of 450S units is given as eleven units; this is controversial, however, as, for example, the 4501 chassis of the original 350S later became the Zagato Coupé. If you remove these two cars, nine newly built chassis remain. Except for the Zagato car, all right-hand drive Spider bodies came from Fantuzzi . Outwardly, the vehicles were similar to the design of the 300S. The bulges on the bonnet were smaller and the exhaust consisted of two four pipes that shared a common end piece. In 1957 the ignition was improved and new shock absorbers were used. The transmission ratio was extended by an overdrive.

Similar to the Ferrari models 315S and 335S , the 450S was considered to be a hard-to-drive, almost brutal vehicle that was difficult to control when it was fully powered. The 400 hp engine enabled a top speed of around 300 km / h. The Maserati team management therefore only allowed the most experienced factory drivers to take the wheel and was very hesitant when handing the cars over to private teams.

A special feature was the coupé, which was bodied on the 4501 chassis by Zagato in 1957 . Frank Costin played a key role in creating the elegant vehicle . The disadvantage for the drivers was the extreme heat in the cockpit, which was reduced by better ventilation in 1958. However, following a change in the rules, this vehicle was no longer eligible to compete in the World Sports Car Championship and was only driven in the USA .

Racing history

The 450S made its racing debut at the 1000 km race in Buenos Aires in 1957 , which was part of the 1957 World Sports Car Championship ; at the wheel Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. After driving 57 laps, chassis 4501 had to be parked with differential damage. The second use brought the first victory. At the 12-hour race in Sebring , Fangio and Jean Behra won by two laps over their team-mates Moss and Schell, who contested the race on a 300S.

The Mille Miglia was overshadowed by the fatal accident of Alfonso de Portagos . Besides de Portago, his co-driver and nine spectators were killed. Moss only got twelve kilometers in the 450S, then the brake pedal broke and he had to give up. There were double retirements in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Schell and Moss drove the Zagato Coupé and retired on Saturday afternoon with damage to the steering knuckle. Shortly before that, Behra and André Simon's Spider had retired after an accident. The victory of Behra and Moss in the 1000 km race in Kristianstad had made the world championship exciting again before the race in Caracas , which was peculiar to the Maserati drivers . Before the race, Maserati race director Nello Ugolini astonished his drivers with a strange message: The factory management in Modena had already sold the factory cars, which is why they should not be damaged in any way. All Maserati, which were significantly faster than the Ferrari in training, were promptly partially completely destroyed by accidents. Stirling Moss in the 450S crashed into a wall while trying to avoid a slow vehicle and severely damaged the car. The second 450S, which was driven by Harry Schell, broke a tire while overtaking teammate Joakim Bonnier , who was driving a 300S; the cars collided, causing the Schell car to catch fire and burn out completely. After Masten Gregory in the privately registered 450S failed in the first lap after an accident in the underpass, Maserati had no chance of winning the world championship. Ferrari celebrated an undisputed quadruple victory and won the title.

For Maserati, the outing in Caracas was one of the last outings as a works team at an international motorsport event. The loss of the three company cars, which could not be sold despite existing contracts, increased the annual loss to 455 million lire and plunged the Italian brand into a major crisis.

Two chassis were rebuilt in 1958 and still sold in the USA. There and in South America the 450S ran with some success until 1964. For example, Carroll Shelby won the Palm Springs sports car race in 1958 . In total, this Maserati model has been victorious 28 times; the last success was also the last use. The Brazilian Ciro Cayres won a sports car race in his home country with chassis 4503 in March 1964.

literature

• Maurizio Tabucchi: Maserati, All Grand Prix, Sports and GT vehicles from 1926 until today . Heel, Königswinter 2004, ISBN 3-89880-211-6
• Anthony Pritchard: Maserati - the racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2008, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9

Web links

Commons : Maserati 450S  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The 450S at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ^ 1000 km race of Buenos Aires 1957
2. ^ 1957 Kristianstad 1000 km race
3. ^ Karl Ludvigsen: Ferrari vs. Maserati. Relentless motorsport rivals. Heel, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-86852-051-4 , p. 218.
4. ^ Sports car race Palm Springs 1958