Pete05
Premium
- 7,079
- Melbourne, Australia
Country of origin: Italy
Produced from: 1935 - 1936
Numbers built: 4
Predecessor: Maserati 8CM
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 cars 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 German's 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 750kg. 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 didn't 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 recognized 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 4788cc and with the help of a Roots-Type supercharger produced around 300 bhp.
With it's 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 it's 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 it's bulbous aluminium body, the new Grand Prix car also looked nothing like it's predecessors.
Dubbed the V8RI (for Ruote Indipendenti or Independant 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 300km/h. This very warm welcome meant that 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 very 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 Entancelin, 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 problems. 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 Maserati failed miserably with Farina's car developing an engine problem before the start and Entacelin crashing heavily due to a stuck throttle.
A few more outings in minor events late in the season didn't 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 Entancelin. The car that he had crashed during the Italian GP was reconstructed with a revised rear suspension. Through two trailing arms, each corner could now move independantly 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.
Entancelin 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 V8RI's 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 1939/40. The V8RI also was the first V8-engined Grand Prix car.
ENGINE
Configuration
90 degree V8
Location
Front, longitudinally mounted
Construction
Cast iron block and heads
Displacement
4788 cc / 292.2 cu in
Bore / Stroke
84 mm (3.3") x 108 mm (4.3")
Compression
5.0:1
Valvetrain
2 valves per cylinder, SOHC per bank
Fuel feed
Weber 50 mm DCO carburettor
Aspiration
Naturally aspirated
Power
320 bhp / 239 kW @ 5300 rpm
DRIVETRAIN
Chassis
Aluminium body on a steel boxed-section frame and cross-members
Front suspension
Double wishbones, torsion bars
Rear suspension
Swing axles, semi-elliptic leaf springs, twin Watts linkages
Steering
Worm-and-peg
Brakes
Hydraulic drums all-round
Gearbox
4 speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Weight
750 kg / 1653.5 lbs
Wheelbase
2700 mm / 106.3"
Front track
1350 mm / 53.1"
Rear track
1370 mm / 53.9"
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