<< Prev Page 2 of 2 At the Mille Miglia two months later victory was further away than ever. Jean Behra destroyed his 450S on the open roads before the race when, travelling at 150mph, a truck pulled out in front of him, there was no room to slow down or pass the truck. The Moss driven 450S did make it to the start but he had to retire 10 miles in the race with a broken brake pedal. Moss didn't have any luck at the Nürburgring 1000km either where he retired from first place in the 10th lap as a wheel came off.
For Le Mans Maserati brought out a low drag coupe version of the 450S for Moss to race. Ironically it proved to be slower than than the roadster bodied 450S due to major design flaws. In the race Moss showcased his ability and desire to win and piloted the underperforming coupe to second place, but in 38th lap he was let down by a failing rear axle and had to retire.
Ferrari wanted to capitalize on the 450S' reliability problems and sent Mike Hawthorn out to win the Swedish Grand Prix with the new 315S. Yet it was the Maserati duo Moss and Behra that outpaced the Ferrari from the get-go. This time one of the cars actually made it to the finish to record the second victory for the 450S. The Moss / Schell driven 450S had to retire after a transmission failure. Behra was able to lap Hawthorn who was in second place and secured his second win of the season with the 450S. Maserati was still in contention for the World Championship.
The finale of the season, the Venuzuelan Grand Prix, would decide the championship. Luck had definitely run out and it turned out to be one of the worst weekends in Maserati's racing history. One day before the race Maserati's team manager died but the team persisted. Three cars were entered, two 450S and one 300S. Moss' 450S was destroyed after a collision with an AC Bristol. The second 450S caught fire when re-fueling, the fire was extinguished and Schell took it out again. Both Moss and Behra were burned. When Schell tried to pass Jo Bonnier's 300S on a straight of the track, the 300S blew. Bonnier couldn't control his car and careened right into Schell's 450S. Both cars were destroyed. Nothing more than three wrecks remained from Maserati's entry and all hopes for the championship were gone.
The sport's governing body changed the rules for sportscar racing for the 1958 season, leaving the 450S obsolete. When it finished, it won, and in the rest of the races it was let down more by bad-luck than anything else. Most of 450ss went to the United States where they were raced with some success. Two were fitted with enlarged 5.7 litre engines, pumping out an incredible 526bhp. In awe of its power Carol Shelby nick-named his 450S, 'Big Hawg'. << Prev Page 2 of 2
Ultimatecarpage.com
> Cars by brand
> Italy
> Maserati
450S Costin Zagato Coupe
At the Mille Miglia two months later victory was further away than ever. Jean Behra destroyed his 450S on the open roads before the race when, travelling at 150mph, a truck pulled out in front of him, there was no room to slow down or pass the truck. The Moss driven 450S did make it to the start but he had to retire 10 miles in the race with a broken brake pedal. Moss didn't have any luck at the Nürburgring 1000km either where he retired from first place in the 10th lap as a wheel came off.