<< Prev Page 3 of 3 Briggs Cunningham brought one of the Le Mans cars to the United States and soon after took delivery of a new example, with a slightly longer wheelbase. Walt Hansgen and Augie Pabst raced the cars to two victories in the highly competitive USAC championship. Meanwhile Serenissima only fielded their Tipo 63s once more, at the Pescara 4 Hours. Reliability issues sidelined the cars early once again. Leased from the factory, both of these cars were returned to the factory after this final outing.
Back in Modena, Alfieri continued to develop the design with the help of a young Gian Paolo Dallara. The result was the Tipo 64 with a DeDion rear axle and a completely revised bodywork. Two cars were built and raced by Serenissima and Cunningham but suffered from a lack of development. A final version was the hastily thrown together Tipo 65, which combined one of the Tipo 63 chassis with the mighty V8 engine from the Tipo 151. The car was only raced at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans where it, not surprisingly, failed to finish.
That Alfieri was on the right path was ironically underlined by arch-rival Ferrari, who continued their dominance with the mid, V12-engined 250 P from 1962 onwards. Whether the Tipo 63 and subsequent Tipo 64 could have ever matched the might of Ferrari, we will never know. The ambitious project could have certainly benefited from more development and direct factory involvement in the form of a works team. Today all cars are accounted for, although rebuilt and renumbered several times, they have caused much confusion among historians. << Prev Page 3 of 3
Ultimatecarpage.com
> Cars by brand
> Italy
> Maserati
Racing cars
> Other Sportscars
Briggs Cunningham brought one of the Le Mans cars to the United States and soon after took delivery of a new example, with a slightly longer wheelbase. Walt Hansgen and Augie Pabst raced the cars to two victories in the highly competitive USAC championship. Meanwhile Serenissima only fielded their Tipo 63s once more, at the Pescara 4 Hours. Reliability issues sidelined the cars early once again. Leased from the factory, both of these cars were returned to the factory after this final outing.