While Part 1 of this general overview of Maserati's technical advances through the years recounted the earlier history of the marque and the development of the V8 line from 1935 to the present day, this second installment returns to the years immediately before WWII and focuses on the first ventures into aerodynamic studies and built-up crankshafts, proceeding to the 1950s and the rapid evolution of the Trident's advances in areas of design.
Aerodynamic studies
Though aerodynamics did not yet play a great part in Grand Prix racing before the war, they became a matter of interest for manufacturers competing for land speed records. Indeed, record attempts were a great source of publicity and successful endeavors rewarded their makers with considerable prestige and following, a fact which did not escape the Maserati brothers' attention.
Beyond the mighty V-16 Tipo V4 which achieved a 10km flying start world record in 1929 (as mentioned in Part 1), devoted enthusiasts of the Trident soon promoted other projects with backing from the factory. Most noticeably, engineer Giuseppe Furmanik ordered a 4CM 1100 in 1934, promptly modifying it to turn it into a record car. This first version was an open single-seater with aerodynamic fine-tuning of minor impact, but three years later its second version received a fully enclosed body which had been wind-tunnel tested and whose slippery shape was ahead of the times in many respects. In both instances the attempts brought Furmanik - and Maserati - World class records.
Enticed by the experiment and by the growing trend for streamlining, the Maserati brothers soon started to pay more attention to the air flow of their racing cars, and they stunned the Tripoli crowds in 1939 with a fully faired version of the 4CL. The car was in fact based on the same chassis which Furmanik had used, and the body was crafted by Farina of Turin. It proved the fastest of the field but a piston broke, ending the car’s race, and then the war halted further experiments.
The quest for better airflow continued after the war: the first competition A6GCS was bodied as an aerodynamic coupé for the 1947 Mille Miglia, and even the prototype of the first A6 1500 road model sported a wind-cheating skin by Pinin Farina. The Turinese coachbuilder also created the immortal A6GCS Berlinetta seven years later, with its incredibly low profile minimizing the frontal section.
More drastic yet was the twin hull, Maserati-powered TARF II record car of 1951, although this was a project led by Piero Taruffi in which the factory did not directly participate. The racing department was however undeniably keen to investigate the potential advantages of aerodynamics for the 250F in particular, with a semi-streamlined version appearing briefly in 1955 and a prototype canopy tested around the same time.
Sports racers had sleek bodies by Fantuzzi and Fiandri, and aerodynamics played a greater part as the regulations stated the wheels be covered. The Polytechnic University of Milan provided invaluable support when chief designer Giulio Alfieri tested a 1:5 scale model of the 150S in its wind tunnel around 1956. The tests highlighted the need for a longer nose section and lower intake which was immediately adopted on the 300S as well. Following these unexpected findings, the 250F was also tested and a long process of fine tuning started, as the problems to be addressed were many but less drastic.
Most Maserati sports racers had open bodies, with one notable exception being the 450S Le Mans coupé designed by Frank Costin in 1957. Important features such as the full length under-body could not be completed in time for the race and compromised the car's balance. Le Mans and its infamous Hunaudières straight provided a challenge which was later faced by successive versions of the Tipo 151 low-drag coupés. The 151/3, last of the line which appeared in 1964, was the most radical with its abruptly truncated profile. In the Le Mans test session of the following year it became the first contender to officially record a top speed of over 300 kph down the straight.
The end of all racing programs resulted in fewer aerodynamic developments afterwards, but in the meantime production models had benefited from the staff's awareness of drag. The Mistral in particular was innovative with its air intake mounted underneath the front bumper, thus doing away with the traditional grille. Its high tail featured another interesting first for a coupe: the tailgate.
Built-up crankshaft
Returning to purely mechanical matters, there were a host of technical advances regarding all the major areas of car construction: engine, transmission and chassis. One of the most admirable was the idea of the built-up crankshaft, with which the Maserati brothers had started experimenting in the late 1930s and which found application up to the prototype 4CF2 engine in 1953.
Despite first appearing on the 4CL in 1939, it would take another 10 years before the new technical director Alberto Massimino had the system patented for use in the 4CLT. Other than bringing an improvement in terms of maximum rev speeds, the specially designed crankshaft allowed the use of con rods machined out of a single block of metal, and mounted on the shaft with roller bearings. The advantages were numerous, including improved reliability and smoother running.
The technical direction before the war was still assumed by the Maserati brothers, despite the Orsi takeover. They were at the origin of the supersquare engine of the 4CL, which featured 4 valve-per-cylinder heads and a new distribution system by linguette (hence the 4C"L") which were pushrods commanding the valves from twin overhead camshafts, a solution which had not been favored by Maserati until then. The brothers were joined by Alberto Massimino, who became the chief designer and remained solely in charge after they left the company in 1947 to found OSCA. Vittorio Bellentani was added to the team in 1951 but it was star-designer Gioachino Colombo of Alfa Romeo fame who was meant to succeed Massimino at the end of 1952.
His input was fantastic but short-lived as he and Bellentani simply did not see eye to eye, and in 1954 Giulio Alfieri took the reins of Maserati's design office, a position he would maintain for over two decades. Through these changes in technical leadership, Maserati racing cars were constantly benefiting from upgrades which culminated with the 250F's F1 World title in 1957. Incidentally, it featured a transaxle gearbox as first tested on the V8Ri of 1935, before the same transmission layout appeared on the 300S in 1955. The transaxle scheme allows a more balanced weight distribution between front and rear and is still associated with high performance machines. No wonder then that it is a solution still employed on models in the current Maserati line-up.
On the 250F, the five-speed gearbox (introduced in 1955, a first for a Maserati) was not only mounted at the rear but it was also offset to the right so that the operation of changing gear ratios proved extremely easy. Without having to take either engine or gearbox out of the car, the mechanics could set any of 20 different settings with the greatest ease.
The third and last installment of this article will start back from a major technical development in which Maserati played a leading part: fuel injection.