Maserati Tipo 26

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Maserati Tipo 26

The Maserati Tipo 26 was the first racing car that Officine Alfieri Maserati , founded in 1914, produced under its own name. The vehicle appeared in 1926 and was produced in several versions in one to two dozen copies by 1932. A further developed version with a larger engine was called Tipo 26B , a roadster version with a modified body Tipo 26MM .

History of origin

The Officine Maserati, founded by Alfieri Maserati, designed a racing car for Isotta Fraschini after the end of the First World War . From 1922 Maserati worked for the Turin car manufacturer Diatto . First Alfieri Maserati developed a racing car with a displacement of 3.0 liters, with which he competed in a race in Italy in 1922. The following year the Diatto Tipo 20 was created , a road vehicle that was equipped with a 40 hp, 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine as standard. In 1924, Maserati derived a racing version called the 20S, which supposedly had 70 hp. In 1925 a pure racing car was created, which was only used sporadically because Diatto had now got into economic difficulties. In the early autumn of 1925, Diatto completely gave up his motorsport involvement. Alfieri Maserati took over the design free of charge in September 1925 and continued the motorsport program under his own name from 1926. He further developed his last Diatto construction in a few details and presented the otherwise unchanged car in 1926 as the Maserati Tipo 26. The designation referred to the year it was introduced.

On the technical basis of the Tipo 26 or 26B, Maserati developed a racing car with 16 cylinders in 1929, which was named Maserati V4 .

description

Technically, the Maserati Tipo 26 largely corresponded to the last Diatto racing car from 1925. Some sources assume that the first example of the Tipo 26 presented in spring 1926 was physically identical to the Diatto.

Tipo 26

The Tipo 26 had a ladder frame and rigid axles at the front and rear . The rear axle was suspended from semi- elliptical steel leaf springs. In its original version, the car was powered by a 1.5-liter in-line eight-cylinder engine that had two overhead camshafts and developed 115 hp. A roots compressor was installed at the factory. According to one source, the Maserati's cylinder head was made of cast iron, while Diatto had used an aluminum cylinder head.

The Tipo 26 was an open racing car. It had two seats because it was - still - common at the time to take a mechanic with you to the races. The structure was made of aluminum. It was made by the Carrozzeria Fantuzzi in Modena .

Tipo 26B

The Tipo 26B appeared in 1927. Technically and externally it corresponded to the previous Tipo 26, but had a displacement increased to 2.0 liters; the power of the engine was now 130 hp. In one case, the engine of the 26B was subsequently enlarged to 2.1 liters displacement. Some Tipo 26 models were also retrofitted with the engine of the 26B. The top speed of the Tipo 26B was around 160 km / h.

Tipo 26MM

For the 1928 Mille Miglia , Maserati designed two vehicles with their own body, which were given the additional designation MM (for Mille Miglia ). They had curved fenders, side running boards and a removable fabric top. Technically, they were identical to the conventional 26B.

production

The Maserati Tipo 26 and 26B was a freely available racing car that was manufactured in small series. The exact scope of production is unclear. The sources usually assume about 20 copies, with the Tipo 26 accounting for about nine and the Tipo 26B for about eleven vehicles. The exact distribution can no longer be clarified because some Tipo-26 models were retrofitted with the engine of the 26B, which was partly, but not always, associated with changes to the chassis number. According to another source, Maserati made around 20 cars a year.

Races

Luigi Fagioli in a Maserati 26 at the 1928 Targa Florio

Alfieri Maserati drove numerous factory races with the Tipo 26 from 1926 onwards. In addition, the cars were often used by private drivers.

The Maserati Tipo 26 made its debut on May 2, 1926 at the Targa Florio . The driver was Alfieri Maserati, the mechanic and co-driver was Guerino Bertocchi. Maserati finished ninth overall (out of twelve vehicles) in the Bugatti- dominated race and won the 1.5-liter class. At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza , two Tipo 26s appeared for Alfieri Maserati and Emilio Materassi ; both failed prematurely as a result of compressor damage. During the year, Maserati drivers won several sprint and hill climbs .

In 1927 Alfieri Maserati's brother Ernesto was third overall and class winner at the Gran Premio di Tripoli with the new Tipo 26 . A little later Alfieri Maserati crossed the finish line in third place at the Targa Florio with the new 26B. Diego de Sterlich won several hill climbs with a private Tipo 26 during the year.

In 1928 the further developed Maserati 8C appeared . From now on, Maserati mainly used this vehicle at the factory, but Tipo 26 and 26B were also at the start for a few years. The cars achieved their best results at the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara in 1927 and at the Tripoli Grand Prix in 1929 , where they both finished second.

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 Tipo 26  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jill C. Wheeler: Maserati . ABDO Publishing Company, 2010, ISBN 9781617861673 , p. 8.
  2. ^ Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945–1965 , Motor Racing Publications 1998, ISBN 1899870393 , p. 201.
  3. ^ A b Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing, Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 14.
  4. ↑ a b c d David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001, 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , S-149.
  5. ^ A b c Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012. ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 , p. 9.
  6. ↑ a b c Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing, Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 15.
  7. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing, Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 16.
  8. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing, Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9 , p. 17.