By Pete Vack
In the days before the wicked rear engined revolution, when tiny companies completed for world glory if not worldly riches, Maserati was a name to be reckoned with, particularly by Enzo Ferrari, who never once said a kind word about his neighbor in nearby Modena. ( how he hated it when the Orsis moved the factory from Bologna to Modena!) For the Orsis were making cars faster, bigger, better handling, and had a longer tradition (so important to Italian race car constructors) than the mogul of Maranello. Maserati even stole the 1957 Formula One world championship right out from under Ferrari’s Lancias, which failed to win a single championship Grand Prix that year. And they were about to do the same in sports car racing. Fangio wrapped up the Formula One World Championship after his magnificent drive at the Nurburgring, and Maserati was eager to go the whole nine yards and win the World Sports Car Championship which would surely give final notice to the Commendatore. The 450S Maserati had already won at Sebring and Sweden. The WSCC would be decided at the last race on November 3rd 1957 on the streets of Caracas, Venezuela and would depend almost entirely upon the success of the 450S. the reddest, fastest, meanest Maserati sports car ever built.
Moss drove 450S 4507 in practice, and started with 4503 in Caracas. In this photo he is
driving 4507, in which he set the fastest lap in practice.
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But Caracas was a lesson in How Not to Win a Championship, to wit:
*Enter four cars, one 300S and three of the ultimate 450S V8s.
*Have Masten Gregory do an "off " and destroy one 450S.
*Put a AC Bristol in quite suddenly front of Moss’s 450S traveling at 160 mph.
*Use the 300S to crash into the one remaining 450S, putting both of the remaining Maseratis out of the race in one fell swoop.
A disaster of great consequence. Needless to say Maserati did not win the title.
But, there was life after Caracas for the now famous Maserati V8s, (also called the Tipo 54) as Willem Oostheok and fellow Maserati enthusiast Michel Bollée completely document in their delightful new 208 page book devoted to the 450S. Whilst our sometimes myopic compatriots from across the Atlantic often disregard the US racing scene, Oosthoek and fellow traveler have seen fit to include in considerable depth the even more successful adventures of the 450S in America. Combining their considerable talents, Bollée and Oosthoek teamed up to present a comprehensive look at the racing history of the 450S, including all the European events that led to the disastrous climax in Caracas.
Behra at Le Mans 1957. He retired with a broken universal joint while leading the race.
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Bollée, who was born in Le Mans, is the author of "Maseratis au 24 Heures du Mans", as well as a book about "Lucky" Casners Camoradi racing team
Oosthoek has been researching Maserati history for years, and his first book, "From Birdcage to Supercage", appeared one year ago and was reviewed by VT at that time.
click here
Bollée and Oosthoek have created a unique way of assembling the material. To the casual observer, it may seem logical to simply create a chapter for each one of the 12 V8 engined cars created by the factory, starting with serial number 3501, the 300S based mule, and ending with 4203, the famous Indy type formula car built for the Race of Two Worlds. Between are the ten 450 serial numbers, and include the four (4501, 4503, 4505, and 4507) ‘works’ cars.
The authors, however, take a different tact, and after an introduction, assign Part 2 to detail the 1957 World Sports Car Championship season, which consisted of seven events. Part 3 delves into "The Tipo 54 in North America" and traces each year from 1957 to 1962 when 450S made its final competition appearance. The authors provide the background as well, not only reviewing each race but placing the 450S in perspective with the other competition cars of the era. Part 4, then, deals with the Monopostos, including front and rear engined single seaters built around the Maserati V8 engine. This makes for interesting reading in a relatively chronological fashion, but also makes it difficult to quickly determine the individual history of each car. The authors make us work a little harder, but this often results in finding more interesting facts about these great cars. There are also ample appendixes at the end of the book which aid in research.
The famous 450S coupe. Ventilation was a serious problem. Note the extra vents near the driver's side windshield which did not appear in the photo below taken during practice.
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As in Oosthoek’s "Birdie" book, the photographs contribute a great deal to this volume. For the most part, they are period photos and therefore black and white, but the list of photographers who have contributed their best is the best in itself, and includes the work of Bob d’Olivo, Bernard Cahier, Jim Sitz (who also helped proofread), and Bob Tronolone, just a few among long list of others. Then, popping out through the contrasty b&ws, are scattered some of the most interesting and effective vintage color photographs we have seen in quite a while.
Period color photography adds to the hundreds of black and white photos. Here is the Moss 450S coupe with the Costin-designed Zagato-built body.
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It is a remarkable effort, and the only book on the 450S to see the light of day. As such, one might wish for more. So often, when a one marque book is published, it is often the only one ever to be published on the subject. Therefore a more comprehensive look is warranted, or at least desired. But perhaps a case of wanting too much too soon. As the authors make perfectly clear in the subtitle, "A complete racing history from 1956 to 1962". And that it is. But we asked Oosthoek why a more complete book was not possible. We shall let him explain:
I am sure that Michel and I have not covered the full history of the Tipo 54 and I doubt it ever will. It always baffled me that nobody ever did a complete history of these cars, until I was forced to approach local libraries for race reports since none of the organizing bodies or magazines at the time bothered to publish them. In general, there was a lack of technical and competition information that was mind-boggling, considering that this was a car that was whipping Enzo's ass in 1957 and was competitive until 1960.
Frankly, there were few additional details to be told about the "creation, design and technical aspects". Unlike the rear-engined Birdcages, there were no stage photos of a construction available. Hans Tanner turned out to be one of the few contemporary sources for relevant technical information and even he was very limited in his details, mostly confined to engine size, brake size and fuel tank size (and all included in the text).
But that probably goes for every Maserati competition model of that era. Not many marques have their historical archives in order, Maserati certainly does not. When Mr. Cozza at the factory flatly denies there was such a thing as a 4.7 liter Tipo 54 at the end of 1957, however well documented at the time ("Dear Mr. Oosthoek, these engines were not built until the mid-sixties") you will realize that the Maserati factory is not a reliable source of information for this subject. So where to go 50 years after the facts?
Believe me, we have tried to put everything relevant we could find into this opus. Finding historical photos was one of the problems. Lloyd Ruby's memory as Edd Rose's mechanic and driver was another (although Chuck Daigh's memory was excellent).
As for presenting a comparison of the existing Tipo 54 cars in "new and full color" photography we would have absolutely none of it. Current color photos were kept small to illustrate their Post-Competition history and the entire emphasis of the book has been on original photo material. I know that "new and full color" is the breathless trend these days, but I prefer historical relevance.
A splendid book nonetheless, and worth every cent. Simply a must for any Maserati enthusiast.
