1935 - 1936 Maserati V8RI - Images, Specifications and Information

Model history:

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The arrival of the German Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz teams during the 1934 Grand Prix season raised the bar considerably. In one clean sweep a whole generation of Italian and French Grand Prix was rendered virtually obsolete. One of them was the Maserati 8CM, which was no match for more powerful and independently sprung newcomers. Despite operating at a fraction of the Germans' budgets, the Maserati brothers nevertheless took up the challenge and started developing a new car for 1935.

The main limiting factor of the new for 1934 rules was a maximum dry-weight of 750 kg. The rational behind this was to lower the speeds and make the sport a little safer. The blistering speed of the German cars showed that the first objective was certainly not met and it did not take a genius to figure that a very light car was not any safer. The new rules also increased the costs substantially by encouraging manufacturers to use more exotic materials. Maserati for example had to turn to Isotta Fraschini to cast many of the parts for their new Grand Prix car in a light magnesium alloy called elektron.

In order to catch up, the Maserati brothers recognised that only a clean-sheet design would do. That is most apparent with the engine. Where earlier Maseratis used in-line four, six and eight cylinder engines, the new machine sported a V8. Each block of four cylinders were cast with integral heads to rule out head-gasket failures. Quite in contrast with earlier Maserati designs, each bank only featured a single overhead camshaft, driven from the crankshaft by gears. The most likely reason for this compromise was to keep the weight down. The new engine displaced a formidable 4788 cc and with the help of a Roots-type supercharger produced around 300 bhp.

With its boxed channel-section legs the chassis was another novelty for Maserati. Following the lead of the German cars, the car featured independent suspension on all four corners. At the front it sported double wishbones and torsion bars while at the rear swing axles and semi-elliptic leaf springs were fitted. The compact engine was mounted so low in the sophisticated chassis that the exhaust manifolds were swept upwards. Just like its predecessors, the new Maserati used a four-speed gearbox but it was mounted in unit with the final drive for the first time. Due to its bulbous aluminium body, the new Grand Prix car also looked nothing like its predecessors.

Dubbed the V8RI (for Ruote Indipendenti or Independent Suspension), the new Maserati was heralded by the Italian press with very high expectations. Desperate for success against the mighty Germans, some reporters suggested the new miracle car from Bologna produced as much as 400 bhp and had a top speed of nearly 300 km/h. This very warm welcome meant that the the V8RI could really only disappoint. When it finally appeared in June of 1935, all bugs had been ironed out of the blisteringly fast German cars, so the new Maserati had to be very quick and reliable from the first lap to really make a mark, sadly it turned out to be neither.

Lined up to drive the first example at the V8RI's debut was Frenchman Philippe Etancelin, who was a gifted gentleman driver and a loyal Maserati customer. He finished a promising second behind an Alfa Romeo in the first heat of the Grand Prix de la Marne at Rouen but then was forced to retire from the feature race with engine troubles. At the subsequent Swiss Grand Prix 'Phi-Phi' crashed out on the opening lap. A second car was readied in time for the Italian Grand Prix for Giuseppe Farina. In front of the partisan crowd the Maseratis failed miserably with Farina's car developing an engine problem before the start and Etancelin crashing heavily due to a stuck throttle.

A few more outings in minor events late in the season did not yield any better results. Surprisingly undeterred the Maserati brothers were not ready to give up just yet. Two more cars were built over the winter, the first of which was destined for Etancelin. The car that he had crashed heavily during the Italian Grand Prix was reconstructed with a revised rear suspension. Through two trailing arms, each corner could now move independently without the camber changes that were part and parcel of the swing axle configuration. Incorporating some small revisions, the supercharged V8 engine now had 320 bhp available, which was still well short of what the German engines produced.

Etancelin started the 1936 season remarkably well with a victory at the Pau Grand Prix in his brand new V8RI. It must be said that the competition was not particularly strong. The remainder of the year was unfortunately again filled with disappointment with poor reliability and lack of pace preventing the V8RI from scoring any more notable results. After a season and a half, Maserati abandoned the costly project, setting their sights instead on the much more profitable 'Voiturette' class. The four V8RIs were all sold to the United States where they were raced for many more years. Unlike most other Grand Prix cars from this era, all four cars have survived.

Although not particularly successful, the V8RI project was not a complete loss for Maserati. The innovative chassis design formed the basis for the subsequent Voiturette cars and also the 8CTF that scored back to back Indy 500 victories in 1939 and 1940. The V8RI also was the first ever V8-engined Grand Prix car. The Maserati brothers did have to pay a high price for the ambitious project; in 1937 they were forced to sell their company to the Orsi family. This inevitable step did provide the brothers with more capital and time to do what they did best: designing exquisite racing cars.

Chassis: 4503

This is the Maserati V8RI delivered new to Philippe Etancelin in February of 1936. He immediately drove the car to a debut victory at the Pau Grand Prix. In the following months, he campaigned the French blue liveried machine in most of the major Grands Prix in Europe. For a variety of reasons, 'Phi-Phi' was forced to retire from each of them. In October he scored an eighth place finish in the Vanderbilt Cup near New York. Shortly after the car was sold to American Henry J. Topping Jnr. Converted to a two-seater, it was subsequently raced in the 1937 Indy 500 by Babe Stapp. He was forced to retire on lap 36 with a clutch failure after qualifying in a lowly 31st position.

In the following years the sophisticated machine was extensively raced on the dirt tracks in Oregon. It was rediscovered in the 1970s in a rather derelict state. Sharing so few parts with its Maserati contemporaries, the V8RI was quite a challenge to restore. Fortunately the effort was made and the rare car has been brought back to the configuration in which it won the 1936 Pau Grand Prix. Today the car is owned by a German collector and historic racer, who gives the V8-engined machine regulars outings. He is seen here during the 2010 Monaco Historic Grand Prix.