The Maserati Tipo 60/61 (commonly referred to as the Maserati Birdcage ) are a series of sports racing cars produced between 1959 and 1961 by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati for privateers racing in sports car events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2-litre and 3-litre racing category. It used an intricate tubular space frame chassis , containing about 200 chro - moly steel tubes welded together, arranged triangular formation at high stress areas of the chassis, hence the nickname "Birdcage". This method of construction provided a more rigid and, at the same time, lighter chassis than other racing cars of the time.
22-502: By recessing the windscreen base into the bodywork, Maserati was able to reduce the effect of new Le Mans rules demanding a tall windscreen. The Camoradi team became famous racing the Tipo 61s but, despite being very competitive, the Birdcage was somewhat unreliable and retired from many races due to problems with the drivetrain. The road legal version of the 2004 Maserati MC 12 was available in
44-408: A De Dion tube axle, Borrani 16" & 17" wheels and Pirelli Stella Bianca tyres. It was built by Gioacchino Colombo , Vittorio Bellentani and Alberto Massimino ; the tubular work was by Valerio Colotti . A streamlined version with bodywork which partially enclosed the wheels (similar to the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 "Typ Monza" ) was used in the 1956 French Grand Prix . The 250F first raced in
66-460: A "historian's nightmare". Maserati was in difficult financial circumstances and Giulio Alfieri was trying to build a competitive car on a low budget. He would retrieve various engines from the Maserati parts bins. Then, he had them modified and installed in the ten various chassis that were constructed from the ground up. The Tipo 63 was raced with four-cylinder and twelve-cylinder engines and the chassis
88-469: A 48-second deficit in 22 laps, passing the race leader, Mike Hawthorn , on the final lap to take the win. In doing so he broke the lap record at the Nürburgring, 10 times. By the 1958 season, the 250F was totally outclassed by the new rear engined F1 cars. However, the car remained a favourite with the privateers, including Maria Teresa de Filippis , and was used by back markers through the 1960 F1 season,
110-591: A five-member works team which included Luigi Musso . In 1956 Stirling Moss won the Monaco and Italian Grands Prix , both in a works car. In 1956 three 250F T2 cars first appeared for the works drivers. Developed by Giulio Alfieri using lighter steel tubes they sported a slimmer, stiffer body and sometimes the new 315 bhp (235 kW) V12 engine of 2,491 cc (152.0 cu in ) capacity 68.7 mm × 56 mm (2.70 in × 2.20 in), although it offered little or no real advantage over
132-478: A longer nose and a fin behind the driver. The Tipo 64 featured the same 3-liter V12 as the Tipo 63 with an upgraded frame (many smaller light alloy tubes) - nicknamed "Supercage". The all new body was designed by Franco Scaglione . The Tipo 65 featured a 5-litre V8 engine similar to the one used in the Tipo 151 003 delivering about 430 hp (321 kW) pushing the car at 350 km/h (217 mph). Only one car
154-487: A prototype of a Tipo 60 would be converted to a Tipo 61 and delivered to him fielded by Maserati. Initial races with Carroll Shelby driving the car would be troublesome but the car showed promising results at the 1960 Targa Florio driven by Umberto Maglioli but would retire due to an engine failure. Casner founded the Casner Motor Racing Division who raced three Tipo 61's in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans . In
176-530: A white colour with blue stripes livery as a tribute to the Tipo 61 and the Camoradi racing team. The Tipo 60/61 were succeeded by the Tipo 151 which used a more conventional tubular chassis. In 1958, the Orsi family assigned technical director Giulio Alfieri to devise technical solutions to make Maserati race cars more competitive on the track, he was given freedom despite the company's difficult financial situation at
198-511: The 1954 Argentine Grand Prix where Juan Manuel Fangio won the first of his two victories before he left for the new Mercedes-Benz team. Fangio won the 1954 Drivers' World Championship, with points gained with both Maserati and Mercedes-Benz; Stirling Moss raced his own privately owned 250F for the full 1954 season. Prince Bira was another driver favouring the 250F. In 1955 a 5-speed gearbox ; SU fuel injection (240 bhp) and Dunlop disc brakes were introduced. Jean Behra drove this in
220-491: The 200S was mounted at the front of the car at a 45-degree angle and towards the centre for a better centre of gravity. The engine was significantly modified, having newly designed cylinder heads, a 93x72 mm bore and stroke, twin Weber 45 DCO3 carburettors, Marelli battery powered dual ignition and a revised exhaust system. It was rated at 200 hp (149 kW; 203 PS). The suspension systems consisted of spiral springs at
242-455: The Camoradi team won the 1000 km Nürburgring . The Tipo 61 was the most well known model but Giulio Alfieri designed 5 different models, all based on an intricate multi-tubular frame concept. This multi-tubular construction produced a light weight and rigid chassis that was a significant competitive advantage for a racing car. All models included independent front suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes and 5-speed transmission. A De Dion type rear axle
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#1732869936257264-413: The chassis. On 12 July 1959, the Tipo 60 won in its debut race, driven by Moss. This caught the attention of American racing teams competing in the 3-litre class. After demands of making a 3-litre variant of the car available, the displacement of the engine was increased to 2,890 cc (2.9 L) which resulted in an increase in the power output by 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS). Consequently, weight
286-450: The front and De Dion rear axle with single transverse leaf spring. The construction techniques used on the chassis allowed for a low weight of 570 kg (1,257 lb). The first car was completed in May 1959 and was given to Stirling Moss for testing. Initial tests revealed cracks in the chassis. The development team would resolve the issue by changing the grade of the steel used to construct
308-441: The front at a 45° angle for a weight of 600 kg (1,323 lb) pushing the car at a speed of 285 km/h (177 mph). The mid-engined Birdcage cars began with the Tipo 63. Maserati now changed to a mid-engine configuration using a similar multi-tubular chassis construction as the Tipo 60/61. The rear suspension was changed to an independent double wishbone configuration. The Tipo 63 through 65 cars have been described as
330-519: The older straight 6. It was later developed into the 3 litre V12 that won two races powering the Cooper T81 and T86 from 1966 to 1969, the final "Tipo 10" variant of the engine having three valves and two spark plugs per cylinder. In 1957 Juan Manuel Fangio drove to four more championship victories, including his final win at German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring (Aug. 4, 1957), where he overcame
352-424: The race, the Tipo 61 would show impressive performance, clocking speeds of 272.0 km/h (169 mph) and maintaining a lead over cars fielded by rival Ferrari of over 4 minutes but a starter motor problem would push the team to last place. Rain combined with the impractical windshield design would once again not let the car finish. The Tipos never won Le Mans due to reliability issues, however in both 1960 and 1961
374-442: The time. The initial idea was to use a backbone chassis, as used by Maserati's competitors but that idea did not go ahead. In October 1958, Alfieri and his team came up with an innovative idea which consisted of using 200 small steel tubes having a diameter between 10 and 15 mm welded together in very short lengths in a complex mesh to form a cage like structure. A compact 1,990 cc (2.0 L) four-cylinder engine taken from
396-477: Was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. The 250F principally used the SSG, 220 bhp (at 7400rpm) 2,493 cc (152.1 cu in) capacity 84 mm × 75 mm (3.31 in × 2.95 in) Maserati A6 straight-six engine, ribbed 13.4" drum brakes , wishbone independent front suspension,
418-640: Was built using a modified Tipo 63 chassis. The Maserati Birdcage 75th is a concept car to honor both the Birdcage and the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina . It features a 700 bhp (522 kW) V12 engine . Camoradi Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 829334789 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:45:36 GMT Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F
440-493: Was increased to 600 kg (1,323 lb) due to the use of a revised propeller shaft in the engine. This change did not affect the fuel consumption which gave the car a significant advantage during races. The revised version of the car was called the Tipo 61. The Tipo 60/61's impressive performance would catch the attention of "Lucky" Casner . After testing a prototype of the car at the Modena Autodrome, and on his request,
462-465: Was radically redesigned when the first version proved less competitive than the Tipo 61. The Tipo 63 first used a 4-cylinder engine similar to the Tipo 61 and later a V12 engine from the 1957 250F Grand Prix car. The Tipo 63 cars raced in 1961 with both engines, placing 4th at the 24 hours of Le Mans (12 cylinder version) with Briggs Cunningham 's team. Count Volpi's Scuderia Serenissima hired Medardo Fantuzzi to modify one of their Tipo 63 cars with
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#1732869936257484-422: Was used on the Tipo 60 and 61. The Tipo 60 featured a small 2-litre 4-cylinder engine rated at 200 hp (149 kW), located in the front and tilted over at a 45° angle for a lower center of gravity. The weight was 570 kg (1,257 lb) and the car had at a maximum speed of 270 km/h (168 mph). The Tipo 61 featured a 2.9-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 250 hp (186 kW), located in
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