Maserati race car with 5.7 liter engine

It was the mighty 450S.

Chassis #4506 (the ex-#4505) is equipped since more than 10 years with a 5.7-liter boat-V8-engine.
No 450S never came with a V12.

Old Enzo hated the car as Jean Behra was testing them on the street that is beside the Ferrari-factory in Maranello. He always shifted down and this drove Enzo nuts, who knew exactly that the 450S was almost unbeatable when good maintained!

Ciao!
Walter

 

That sounds like the exact opposite of when they made a race boat with two Biturbo engines

Walter, what kind of power did that boat engine produce?

 

Shelby drove #4508 with 5.7 engine #4511 a non-marine engine.

 

According to Crump/Rive Box it was 520hp at 7,000 rpm.

 

wow, even by todays standards that is a beast! think what it would have been like back then...!

 

The chassis and brakes are unremarkable and with that sort of power terrifying.

 

In the prewar- and 50s-years engine development was far ahead from chassis- and suspension development. Remember the fearsome 600hp-cars of Mercedes Benz in the 30s and their opponent, the technically advanced Auto Union V16, which was a real handfull to drive.

The 450S and the Ferrari 335 were the peak of that engine-development based on chassis` that were more or less prewar-standards.

The arrival of the Birdcage (in the sportscar section) and Cooper (in the F1-section) clearly changed that. First great handling GT-sportscar with strong engine power was the Ferrari 250 SWB.

The 450S is a fearsome beast - even in standard specification. Shattering fast but, after 3 or 4 laps, a nightmare in curves.
A car only for the brave ones!

 

One of my favorite shots is of Nick Soprano tossing #4508 around Pocono, with a bit of opposite lock.
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Yep, Nick is one of those who can handle the "Bazooka".

 

Talking of the Maserati V8 engines, let me add that from the Tipo 54 (450S) Maserati developed the Tipo 59 (5657cc) and finally the Tipo 62 (6458cc) for marine use. Both units and particularly the last one were highly successful, transforming the KD 800kg (and later KD 900kg) racing boats Formula almost in a single-marque championship, winning every World, European and Italian title from 1958/59 until 1968 or so.
With the Maserati engines, Liborio Guidotti, Ermanno Marchisio, Spagnoli, Crivelli and Nando Dell’Orto, shared the laurels in those years, mostly through the Count Agusta and the Guidotti teams. Even Dell’Orto, after having competed with his well-known Timossi-Ferrari racer motorized by a 375 supercharged engine, after having won the Gran Premio del Vittoriale, switched to Maserati, being unable to compete with the more powerful and reliable Tipo 62.
The castings and overall architecture of those engines is absolutely the same, making easily possible to use any Maserati V8 racing engine both on sports cars and on the racing boats.
Power was officially declared at 520bhp at 7000rpm for the Tipo 59 and 580bhp at 6200rpm for the Tipo 62 (6.4-litre). Italian horsepower were rather optimistic here. Steve Griswold reckoned that the 6.4-litre unit fitted to Peter Kaus 450S (4506?) in the early ’80 was probably good for 450/480bhp at the real wheel, with more to come, if necessary. More then enough in any case and more then the chassis/drive train/brakes can properly handle.
I can fully confirm the point as the engine fitted to my car, the 450S prototype, ex 350S (originally No. 3501 with Moss-Jenkinson at the 1956 Mille Miglia and then sent at the Swedish GP in August with the V8 engine), is a marine unit Tipo 62 (No. 4519) I bought in 1982 while restoring my car with the help of the factory from Count Agusta.
In order to avoid cavitations of the propellers the marine units are fitted with a smoother cam making the car easier to use: a bit like having a big-block Chevy. My car, with its modern clutch, could almost start in second, but obviously it is not made for being used like that: after all it does have a 1st gear good for 130km/h!
Nevertheless, having been fully sorted (not for competitive racing!) it is actually a relatively easy car to use on the road and in moderate track use: it does not overheat in traffic and it can be used for road rallies with great pleasure. A quick blast from time to time does remind you (and any other car in the neighborhood) that this was the ultimate weapon in its time.
Using its full performance is a different story: First of all, you should know how to drive it. Let’s not forget that the Tipo 54 was not conceived for being used by private drivers, but for the works champions: Fangio, Moss and Behra. Then you need to be brave, as it keeps pulling your shoulders against the seat like a jet at take-off in any gear and it does build up speed rather quickly.
Moreover, the car is totally useless on a short, twisty track. Only at Monza you start thinking it is on its own ground and, nevertheless, the horrible “variante” that has emasculated the main straight is there to remind you that while you should pull it in fifth you are approaching a sort of “wall” that might be handled at decent speed by modern ground effect cars but that compels you to downshift merciless trying to bring the car at a safe speed to negotiate it.
Even in today ultra fast 30 miles historic races, properly set up and properly driven, these powerful monsters can still show their qualities. Thomes Bscher has impressed the crowd and it fellow competitors quite a few times to prove the point.
In any case, as already mentioned in this trend, their performances were far superior to the chassis/drive train/brakes contemporary technology.
Finally, it might be worth remembering that in the 1957 racing season, they never stopped with engine failures but for minor stupid reasons or for drive train failures. When they lasted, they were usually giving 2sec per lap to their archrival: the equally fabulous Ferrari 315/335S.
Bringing the power to the ground was and is the real difficulty. With the enormous torque delivered by my marine unit, I had two major gearbox failures. I ended up having the original transaxle redesigned and rebuilt with modern state-of-the-art CAD technologies, modern materials and 2/100mm tolerances. We have made 4 new units (3 of them are now in the States) and I feel the car is now safe.
I wish I could tell you that I am fully exploiting the car potential, but I am probably using just a limited part of its potential. Nevertheless it is great fun to drive such a great piece of history.

 

Well if you like 450S', here are a few shots for you.

The largest gathering of "Real" 450S' in 45 years. A shot of 4508, 4510 and 4503 on the straight at Pocono

And the 1st/Last 450S. The Costin Coupe
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Franco,
yes, Thomas Bscher was always very cometitive with his 450S #4506/ex-#4505.
But the real "dancer" in such a car (#4502) was Bernd Hahne - he had 4 races in it and 4 wins (in 2 years!).
I never forget when he found himself on 8th position in Monza due to wrong timing in practice (in Italy a Ferrari has to be on pole.....!) and was leading the race within the first lap against very cometitive drivers! In the very hairy chicane after the long straight he was less than 1 meter away from the Armco with the rear of the car -in each lap! The crowds went nuts on the grandstand!

On circuits like Spa, Le Mans and Monza the 450S is almost unbeatable in its class -but the driver needs to be veeeery good! In the 50s it steamrolled everything when well sorted and maintained. But the brakes were always an issue...
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Today there are only 4 "unreal" 450S in existance.