The Maserati Tipo 54 was originally designed for the 1955 World Sportscar Championship, but after the Le Mans disaster project leader Vittorio Bellentani cancelled development. In early 1956, Tony Parravano contracted Maserati to build a 4.5 liter V8 for his Kurtis Indycar, which would be the largest engine Maserati had ever built. This inspired everyone at Maserati to restart the Tipo 54 project, now renamed the 450S. Valerio Colotti designed a tube frame chassis specifically for the massive engine and transmission, placing them as close to the middle of the car as possible, and using a reinforced double wishbone and de dion suspension. Like everyone but Jaguar, they used drum brakes front and back.
The first prototype made its debut at the 1956 Swedish Grand Prix, but horrible handling and vibration issues forced them to send the car back to Modena. The first proper effort was in January 1957 for the Buenos Aires 1,000 km race, with Sterling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio driving. The 450S was leading handily when the clutch broke. And this would pretty much sum up their entire season.
After a dominant performance by Fangio and Behra at Sebring, Maserati suffered disaster at the Mille Miglia, with Behra crashing into a truck at 150 mph, and Moss suffering the embarrassment of having his brake pedal fall off 10 miles into the 1,000 mile race. A rear axle failure at Le Mans and transmission failure in Sweden continued to dog Sterling Moss, while a broken wheel hub put Fangio out at the Nurburgring, but Behra was finally able to finish a race, winning in Sweden ahead of Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn to keep Maserati in championship contention.
Heading into the final race in Venezuela the teams run of horrible luck continued, with their team manager dying a day before the race. Clearly cursed, Moss crashed into an AC Bristol near the beginning of the race, demolishing his car. The other 450S caught fire during its first pit stop, with Moss and Behra suffering burns. Harry Schell got back into the charred 450S and resumed the race. While following Schell in his 300S, Jo Bonniers engine exploded, blinding him. His car smashed into Schell, totalling both cars. Somehow, the Maserati team was able to leave Venezuela with only their team manager perishing. The next season the FIA reduced engine sizes to only 3 liters, rendering the 450S obsolete.
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10 мар 2023
