<< Prev Page 2 of 2 The sheer weight and power of the car revealed the limitations in brake and tyre design as the Tipo V4 ran out of both brakes and tyres at an alarmingly quick rate. There were no such issues in straight line runs and in September of 1929, Baconin Borzacchini set a new sub 5,000 cc land speed record by completing a 10 km run with an average of 246.069 km/h. That represented an improvement of over 10 km/h compared to the existing record.
Development continued and in 1930, the V4 was prepared for the Indy 500. For compliance reasons the superchargers were removed, the compression raised to 8.5 and a three speed gearbox with a reverse gear was fitted. Sadly the race was not a success but once back in Europe and equipped with wider tyres, the V4 did manage to win the Tripoli. The car continued to be raced well into the 1931 season when it won the Rome Grand Prix.
Despite the mixed results of the V16-engined Grand Prix car, two further examples were built in 1932, presumably using parts of the original V4, which was not seen again. The first was a Grand Prix car known as the V5, which, as the name suggests, used a five-litre version of the V16 engine. The V5 was faster still but also less reliable and more difficult to control. A win in the 1932 Rome Grand Prix was the highlight of the V5's career. Its final outing was at the 1934 Tripoli Grand Prix where it was crashed beyond repair by Piero Taruffi, who was lucky to emerge with limited injuries.
Also on the grid at the Tripoli Grand Prix that year, and possibly the only time two V16 Maseratis raced side-by-side, was the second V4. Built as a sports car, it was fitted with the more practical three-speed plus reverse gearbox. Fitted with a two-seater body, possibly by Castagna, it was acquired in 1932 by a Rome-based physician. He entered his V4 in Tripoli for Carlo Gazzabini, whose race ended on the fifth lap but with less dire consequences.
In addition to the V5 engine destined for the Grand Prix car, Maserati also constructed two further V16s for a powerboat, which was raced with considerable success. One of these engines was many years later used to create a replica. Today the only surviving V16 Maserati is the second V4 built, which was re-bodied in 1934 by Zagato with an attractive roadster body, it wears to this day. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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The sheer weight and power of the car revealed the limitations in brake and tyre design as the Tipo V4 ran out of both brakes and tyres at an alarmingly quick rate. There were no such issues in straight line runs and in September of 1929, Baconin Borzacchini set a new sub 5,000 cc land speed record by completing a 10 km run with an average of 246.069 km/h. That represented an improvement of over 10 km/h compared to the existing record.