From Voiturettes to Formula 1 – Maserati 1100cc and 1500cc racing and sports cars from 1931 to 1951

Five Chapters cover the five Maserati voiturette models, in the order 4CS, 4CM, 6CM, 4CL and 4CLT, the four-cylinder and six-cylinder, 1100cc and 1500cc sports and racing cars, of which Maserati built just over a hundred examples between 1932 and 1951 (plus 13 spare engines). Historical sections give a yearly overview of sports car, voiturette or Grand Prix racing (according to model). These overviews precede a description of each batch of cars produced in the relevant chapter.

For each individual car produced, a chassis by chassis description is followed by:

1. a complete list of contemporary race appearances and results (generally up to 1955)
2. profiles (cross-referenced if necessary) of almost all of drivers, owners, entrants, teams and related personalities mentioned in the book.

About four hundred racing drivers, from a variety of continents, raced examples of 1100cc and 1500cc, 4 and 6-cylinder, Maseratis from late 1931 until well into the nineteen fifties, the great majority of which have profiles. Among the drivers, “Gigi” Villoresi raced no less than seventeen different examples of these cars. The first three World Drivers’ Cham- pions all begun their career at the wheel of Maserati voiturettes: Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari. In addition, many of the greatest Grand Prix drivers also drove Maserati’s 1500cc cars: Tazio Nuvolari, Louis Chiron, Achille Varzi, Luigi Fagioli, Giuseppe Campari. Further top class Grand Prix drivers who enjoyed success at the wheel of these cars were: Froilán Gonzaléz, René Dreyfus, Ray- mond Sommer, Piero Taruffi, Carlo Felice Trossi. Three of the most important and active “privateers” of post World War II racing owned and raced 1500cc Maseratis: “B Bira”, Emmanuel de Graffenried, Reg Parnell. Several great hopes of international motor sport, who sadly did not live long enough to fulfil their promise, were also able to briefly show their natural talent at the wheel of Maserati voiturettes: Armand Hug, Aldo Marazza, Emilio Villoresi, Johnnie Wakefield and Richard “Dick” Seaman.

Technical sections follow the description of each batch of cars in the respective chapter. The text concentrates on contemporary racing history, not later fate of surviving cars.

The original research upon which this book is based has involved, in particular, the use of the following primary sources:

• Original Maserati Factory documents, including Chassis Build Sheets, Engine Test Sheets, and Model Chassis Listings
• Italian “Cronologico” Registration documents from the Public Registry.
• Contemporary photographs, where detailed differences and similari- ties between individual cars have been extensively studied, in order to produce a comprehensive record of each car’s competition appearances
• In the area of driver/entrant biographies - birth, death and other genealogical records