Maserati 8C

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Maserati 8C

The Maserati 8C was after the Tipo 26 and the V4 , the third racing car model, the Italian car manufacturer Officine Maserati developed and built. Maserati offered the model in four different versions with engines between 1.1 and 2.8 liters displacement. The model family achieved a total circulation of “about a dozen copies.” The 2.5 and 2.8 liter versions are considered to be the most powerful single-engine racing cars of their time. With them, Maserati temporarily established itself as the most successful Italian racing car manufacturer.

History of origin

The Officine Maserati, founded by Alfieri Maserati , initially constructed racing cars for Isotta Fraschini and Diatto after the end of the First World War . When Diatto gave up his motorsport involvement in early autumn 1925 due to economic difficulties, Alfieri Maserati took over the Diatto racing cars he had developed free of charge in September 1925 and continued the motorsport program under his own name from 1926. The first Maserati, the Tipo 26, was a further development of this Diatto model. Maserati drove the Tipo 26 itself in some races; several copies were also sold to private customers. The Tipo 26 was powered by an eight-cylinder in-line engine with a capacity of 1.5 liters or 2.0 liters (26B), with an output of between 115 and 130 hp.

As a further development of the Tipo 26, the 8C was created in 1929, which, in contrast to the complicated 16-cylinder model V4 that was constructed at the same time, quickly established itself and achieved some racing successes. The 8C was the last Maserati to be designed by the company's founder, Alfieri Maserati. After Alfieri's death, his brother Ernesto further developed the 8C into the more powerful 8CM with a 3.0 liter engine.

description

The Maserati 8C was a further development of the Tipo 26. The chassis largely corresponded to the previous model; it was "only marginally revised". Like the Tipo 26, the 8C had a ladder frame made from tubes with U-profiles. It was lowered in the middle part and had three suspension points for the engine. There were rigid axles in front and behind . The rear axle was suspended from semi- elliptical steel leaf springs.

In-line eight-cylinder engines of different sizes were provided for the drive, all of which were based on the construction of the Tipo 26 engine. The gearbox and the brake system of all versions were manufactured by Isotta Fraschini on behalf of Maserati.

Model variants

Maserati 8C-1500

The first model in the 8C range was the Maserati 8C-1500. It was created in 1928. Maserati combined the slightly redesigned chassis of the 8C with the well-known 1.5-liter eight-cylinder engine of the Tipo 26. About four copies were made of it.

Maserati 8C-1100

In 1929, the 8C-1100 was a weaker motorized variant. The engine had a displacement of only 1,077 cm³. It was basically the engine block that had already been used in the Tipo 26 and the 8C-1500. The displacement was reduced by a stroke reduced to 51 mm. The engine output was around 100 hp (74 kW). The small Maserati model was primarily intended to compete with the compact contemporary French racing cars from Salmson , but could not prevail against them because it was significantly heavier. The 8C-1100 only appeared in individual races.

Maserati 8C-2500

The most popular model was the Maserati 8C-2500 presented in 1930, which is also known as the Tipo 26M. It had a 2495 cc version of the eight-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts. The combustion chambers were designed hemispherical. Different versions with compression ratios between 7: 1 and 8: 1 were built. The mixture was prepared using a simple Weber carburetor . As with the earlier models, the engine was charged with a Roots compressor . The engine output was 175 to 195 hp (129 to 143 kW) depending on the source. The body was very similar to that of the V4. It also had a sloping grille. Most sources assume that Maserati made a total of eight copies of the 8C-2500; there were also some older Tipo 26 models that were retrofitted with the new eight-cylinder engine.

A copy of the 8C-2500 was delivered as a sedan. The construction came from Castagna . Other road versions of the 8C-2500 were planned, including a convertible from Castagna and several open and closed versions from Zagato ; but none of them was actually realized.

Maserati 8C-2800

The 8C-2800 was the last development stage in the 8C family. It appeared in the autumn of 1931. It had an engine that had been bored out to 2795 cm³, the output of which was specified as 198 HP (146 kW) in the factory. Observers consider this value to be exaggerated and assume outputs between 175 and 190 hp (129 and 140 kW). The top speed was determined to be 233 km / h.

Races

Won a few races in the factory 8C: Luigi Fagioli

The little 8C-1100 was able to achieve individual class victories - including the Mille Miglia 1931  - but did not achieve an overall victory. Only the heavily motorized versions 8C-2500 and 8C-2800 were regularly successful in races.

In 1930 the 8C-2500 was the preferred model for the Maserati factory team . A few older Tipo 26 models and the V4 were used, but they were unsuccessful. The 8C-2500 appeared for the first time at the Targa Florio on May 6, 1930. Here, four specimens started with Luigi Arcangeli , Baconin Borzacchini , Luigi Fagioli and Ernesto Maserati . Arcangeli and Fagioli were eliminated early, Maserati crossed the finish line in eighth and Borzacchini in eleventh. The first victory achieved 8C in the 1930 edition of the Rome Grand Prix at the Circuito Tre Fontane , won the Arcangeli. This was followed by double victories at the Coppa Acerbo (Arcangeli and Ernesto Maserati), the Monza Grand Prix (Varzi and Arcangeli) and in October 1930 the Spanish Grand Prix (Varzi and Aymo Maggi ).

In 1931 Maserati could no longer match the previous year's performance with the 8C-2500. Bugatti vehicles dominated the Grand Prix in the first half of the year . Apart from winning the Monza Grand Prix (Fagioli), the Maserati factory team achieved only a few second places with the 8C-2500 , including in Tunisia and Monaco (both Fagioli) and on the Marne ( René Dreyfus ). Otherwise there were a number of technical failures. In the years that followed, numerous private drivers used different versions of the 8C-2500.

The more powerful 8C-2800 made its debut at the Monza Grand Prix in September 1931.

literature

  • Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012, ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 .
  • Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
  • David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 . 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
  • David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 . Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 .
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965 . Motor Racing Publications 1998, ISBN 1899870393
  • Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 .
  • David Sparrow, Iain Ayre: Maserati Heritage. Osprey Classic Marques. Auckland 1995, ISBN 1-85532-441-5 .
  • Jill C. Wheeler: Maserati . ABDO Publishing Company, 2010, ISBN 9781617861673 .

Web links

Commons : Maserati 8C  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ This is to be distinguished from the Tipo 26MM , which was produced in 1928 in two copies for use in the Mille Miglia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , p. 149.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 24.
  3. ^ Jill C. Wheeler: Maserati . ABDO Publishing Company, 2010, ISBN 9781617861673 , p. 8.
  4. ↑ Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965 , Motor Racing Publications 1998, ISBN 1899870393 , p. 201.
  5. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 14.
  6. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 18.
  7. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 22.
  8. ^ A b Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The racing history . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 29.