The bad news: Joe Colasacco’s rather non-dramatic spin in Lawrence Auriana’s Maserati 151 at Goodwood banged her up pretty badly.
The good news: It probably won’t be cheap, but she looks pretty repairable.
I can’t imagine how nerve racking it must be to drive someone else’s £10Million car in these events and how overcome with guilt I would feel if I followed Joe’s line here. There’s not too much to fault him for either (although on replay it looks like overcooked it a bit—he can’t really have been trying to pass on the outside here, can he?).
It was a wet(JJ and Automobiliac have said in the comments that it was dry despite the gloomy appearance) race and he just nudges the rear onto the grass, spinning immediately. In a lot of tracks, this wouldn’t be that big of a deal. It’s part of what makes Goodwood so precious, but it also illustrates why the rest of the tracks in the world have changed so much in the meantime.
A few weeks ago we were fortunate to receive a handful of photos from racing driver Mandy Alvarez of the Cuban road racing scene experienced as a child in Cuba. Our luck has grown, because Mandy has dug back into the archives for another round of marvelous shots of racing on the island.
With Fangio kidnapped by the revolutionaries, it fell to Maurice Trintignant to take the driver’s seat in Juan Manuel’s Maserati. He finished 11th. It’s hard to imagine climbing into the racing seat, now knowing the fate of your teammate, but the show must go on.
de Portago passes Fangio
At the ’57 Grand Prix Alfonso de Portago (#12) passes Juan Manuel Fangio (#2). Fangio later took the lead—and the race—when de Portago pitted and was unable to continue. Man, do those street lamps look awfully close. It’s photos like this that remind us that drivers were a whole magnitude of bravery higher than we see today. Even Monaco is surrounded by walls for the weekend.
Testa Rossas lined up and ready
Eugenio Castelotti pushed to the grid
Fangio and Bertochi on the Saturday of the 1958 GP (prior to the kidnapping)
Thanks again, Mandy!
We’d always excited to share more reader photos with Chicane readers. Drop us a line at tips@thechicane.com.
Beautiful. Elegant. Purposeful. I’ve caught myself fantasizing about this particular variation on the Maser A6GCS since it got so much camera time in the BBC2 program, The Real Italian Job: James Martin’s Mille Miglia. While the program is a fairly poor trip through the contemporary Mille Miglia Rally, and the chef’s Maser gave out far too early to really see the beautiful sights of the Mille, there is a shining highpoint that made the program well worth watching: the absolutely captivating A6GCS. Although the dealer doesn’t mention it, this car appears to be the very example featured in the program—notice the Mille Miglia rally number featured on the car here, James Martin’s car bore the same number.
Maserati created a variety of different sportscars under the A6 model designation, from rather luxurious coupes to open-top enclosed-fender sportscars. This stripped-down, (mostly) open wheel variant though is, for me, the title holder. She’s absolutely marvelous, looking something like a machine that somehow successfully combines the Formula Car, Sportscar, and Hot Rod. There’s nothing here that doesn’t need to be, there are no dramatic design flourishes—it is the very essence of form following function.
This example, chassis #2006, is currently among the stock of London dealer Cars International Kensington. One of only 3 of this variant made, she was supplied new to Baron Nicola Musmeci in May, 1948. The Baron wasted no time preparing the car for the Targa Florio the following March, where it placed 4th. He repeated the trip around Sicily the following year, bringing this little machine home in 5th place. The car also raced as a Formula 2 car with the passenger seat blocked out and the road equipment stripped out, and even entered the Mille Miglia in 1951.
Musmeci apparently didn’t tire from the car after the string of successes because the car didn’t change hands until 1972. Sadly the next owner largely mothballed it after a body restoration, and we haven’t seen it on the track until Cars International, after acquiring the car (presumably for Martin) in 2007, entered her in the 2008 Mille Miglia. It has since been restored again, this time with a complete engine rebuild as well. Count ’em. That’s 3 owners since 1948. The James Martin program went into some detail about James buying this car, but was Cars International the “owner”? When Cars International says they “acquired” the car, they did so on Martin’s behalf? This is all assuming I’m right and that this is indeed the James Martin car, which seems more than likely.
I’ve been obsessing about this car for quite some time now, even pouring over this Gilco chassis construction diagram. Why should I let my non-existant welding skills get in the way of building my dream? After all, I’m going to assume it’s HIGHLY unlikely that one of these will come available in my price range any time soon. More photos and information on the dealer’s info page.
We’ve had quite a bit of focus lately on the factories and workshops that turned out our dream machines. Winter has hit the upper Midwest and the garage must be calling. These scenes were photographed in preparation for the 1953 Mille Miglia and the wrenches were spinning furiously amongst the Italian makers. The home race is always reason enough to turn up the heat a bit.
OSCA
OSCA Workshop – 1953
Maserati
And of course, the rather more commanding Ferrari floor.
Here’s Mike Hawthorn checking in on the 250MM Spyder he’d be piloting for the race. He DNFed that year, but his car is still looking amazing 56 years later. The race would be won by the 250’s larger brother, Giannino Marzotto’s 340MM Spyder.
I woke up late on Sunday and turned on Spike TV’s “Powerblock” of automotive shows for a few minutes while I got up and around. During the episode of Muscle Cars, there was a brief spotlight on the early 60’s Pontiac GTO variant, the Catalina. The Catalina was a 2+2 (a designation borrowed from Ferraris of the period), and was available with beefier horsepower than even the coveted GTO. During the segment, they cut to a Catalina owner who commented that, “you never see these at car shows, and never on the street, they’re very rare”. Compared to the GTO perhaps they’re rare, but in the 61-67 era the show focused on, Pontiac kicked over 25,000 Catalinas out the factory doors. Rare, eh?
Now this; this is rare. This Maserati powered 1953 Bandini 1500 is on offer from Digit Motorsport in Arizona. It wasn’t uncommon for Bandini importer, Tony Pampeo, to bring rolling Bandini chassis into the United States and then add a engine, typically a Siata, Alfa, Fiat, MG or Offy. This time, however, Tony dropped a Mille Miglia stalwart Maserati A6 in the Bandini. Bellissimo!
The Mille Miglia eligible car looks immaculate following her €90,000 bare chassis restoration. The sale includes the documentation of the restoration, and certification from Dino Bandini as to this gorgeous barchetta’s authenticity. Remarkable. Now this, my friend, is something you never see at car shows. This is rare.
More photos and information is available at the dealer’s info page.
As always, if its Bandini, then Cliff has photos and information on it at Etceterini’s Bandini page.
This photo from the January 1980 issue of MotorSport Magazine shows Maserati 250F Lighweight #2527 as she was being prepared for a season of vintage racing. There’s no denying that this 250F is a very special car, having taken Juan Fangio to a pair of 1957 wins in Argentina, with further successes for Harry Schell. Today, driver Jeff O’Neill keeps 2527 in good practice and fighting trim on racetracks around the country, appearing recently at the 2008 Monterrey Historics.
It’s good to see that, despite the radical increase in the value of this machine between these two photos, a car like this Maserati 250F has avoided becoming a showpiece in a speculator’s warehouse and has instead maintained a presence on the racetrack. The stratospheric rise in the values of vintage racers, particularly the incredible price jump of the mid 1980s, has been both a blessing and a curse. These cars have been rescued from the junk heaps of history, but have all too often fallen into the hands of investors and kept off the track and out of view of the fans of vintage motorsport.
