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Maserati 4CL

Maserati 4CL
A Maserati 4CL
Category Voiturette / Formula One
Constructor Maserati
Designer(s) Ernesto Maserati
Technical specifications
Chassis Light alloy ladder
Suspension (front) Independent, torsion springs and friction dampers
Suspension (rear) Live axle, leaf springs and friction dampers
Axle track F: 1,250 mm (49.2 in)
R: 1,276 mm (50.2 in)
Wheelbase 2,500 mm (98.4 in)
Engine Maserati 1,491 cc (91 cu in) straight-4, single-stage supercharger, front-mounted
Transmission Maserati 4-speed manual
Tyres Pirelli
Competition history
Notable entrants Officine Alfieri Maserati
Scuderia Platé
Scuderia Milano
Scuderia Ambrosiana
Notable drivers United Kingdom Johnnie Wakefield
Italy Luigi Villoresi
Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried
United Kingdom Reg Parnell
Thailand B. Bira
France Pierre Levegh
Monaco Louis Chiron
Italy Giuseppe Farina
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
France Maurice Trintignant
Italy Tazio Nuvolari
France Raymond Sommer
Debut 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix
Wins
6 (pre-war Voiturette)
25 (post-war Grand Prix)
0 (Formula One)
Maserati 4CLT
An ex-Reg Parnell Maserati 4CLT/48
Category Voiturette / Formula One
Constructor Maserati
Designer(s) Ernesto Maserati
Alberto Massimino
Vittorio Bellentani
Arialdo Ruggieri
Technical specifications
Chassis Light alloy tubular ladder
Suspension (front) Independent, coil springs and hydraulic dampers
Suspension (rear) Live axle, leaf springs and hydraulic dampers
Axle track F: 1,250 mm (49.2 in)
R: 1,200 mm (47.2 in)
Wheelbase 2,500 mm (98.4 in)
Engine Maserati 1491 cc straight-4, two-stage supercharger, front-mounted
Transmission Maserati 4-speed manual
Tyres Pirelli / Ernesto / Dunlop
Competition history
Notable entrants Officine Alfieri Maserati
Scuderia Platé
Scuderia Ambrosiana
Scuderia Achille Varzi
Automóvil Club Argentino
Scuderia Milano
Notable drivers Italy Luigi Villoresi
United Kingdom Reg Parnell
Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Monaco Louis Chiron
Thailand B. Bira
United States Harry Schell
Italy Giuseppe Farina
Debut 1948 Sanremo Grand Prix
Wins
18 (post-war Grand Prix)
0 (WC Formula One)
5 (non-Champ F1)

The Maserati 4CL and its derived sister model the Maserati 4CLT are single-seat racing cars that were designed and built by Maserati. The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939 season, as a rival to the Alfa Romeo 158 and various ERA models in the voiturette class of international Grand Prix motor racing. Although racing ceased during World War II, the 4CL was one of the front running models at the resumption of racing in the late 1940s. Experiments with two-stage supercharging and tubular chassis construction eventually led to the introduction of the revised 4CLT model in 1948. The 4CLT was steadily upgraded and updated over the following two years, resulting in the ultimate 4CLT/50 model, introduced for the inaugural year of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. In the immediate post-war period, and the first two years of the Formula One category, the 4CLT was the car of choice for many privateer entrants, leading to numerous examples being involved in most races during this period.

In the late 1930s, continued rapid development in the increasingly competitive international voiturette class, and the introduction of the Alfa Romeo 158 and ERA B- and C-type models, forced the Maserati brothers into designing a new, square-bore, inline-4-cylinder engine. This new engine developed 30–50 bhp more than the previous inline-6, the increase mostly achieved through an increase to four valves per cylinder, coupled to the use of a more powerful supercharger and a small increase in the compression ratio. Following customary Maserati practice, the engine was mounted into a chassis design almost identical to that of the 4CL's predecessor: the Maserati 6CM. Conventional in its architecture, twin box-section spars ran the length of the car joined, ladder-fashion, by smaller cross members, although the 4CL design did incorporate more aluminium componentry than its forebear. Although near-identical in its wheelbase, the 4CL's track was a full 5 cm (1.97 in) wider than the 6CM, and sat lower thanks to repositioned spring hangers.


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