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| Category | Voiturette /Formula One | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Maserati | ||
| Designer(s) | Ernesto Maserati | ||
| Production | 1939–1950 | ||
| Predecessor | Maserati 6CM | ||
| Successor | Maserati A6GCM | ||
| 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 | 1,491 cc (91 cu in)straight-4 single-stagesuperchargerfront-mounted | ||
| Transmission | Maserati 4-speedmanual | ||
| Tyres | Pirelli | ||
| Competition history | |||
| Notable entrants | Officine Alfieri Maserati Scuderia Platé Scuderia Milano Scuderia Ambrosiana | ||
| Notable drivers |  Johnnie Wakefield Luigi Villoresi Toulo de GraffenriedReg Parnell B. Bira Pierre Levegh Louis ChironGiuseppe Farina Juan Manuel FangioMaurice TrintignantTazio NuvolariRaymond Sommer | ||
| Debut | 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix | ||
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TheMaserati 4CL and its derived sister model theMaserati 4CLT are single-seatopen-wheelGrand Prixracing cars that were designed and built byMaserati. The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939 season, as a rival to theAlfa Romeo 158 and variousERA models in thevoiturette class of internationalGrand Prix motor racing. Although racing ceased duringWorld War II, the 4CL was one of the front running models at the resumption of racing in the late 1940s. Experiments with two-stagesupercharging 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 theFormula 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 theMaserati brothers into designing a new, square-bore, inline-4-cylinder engine, with a bore and stroke of 78 mm for a total displacement of 1,490.85 cc (1.5 L). 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 thecompression ratio. Following customary Maserati practice, the engine was mounted into a chassis design almost identical to that of the 4CL's predecessor: theMaserati 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 itswheelbase, the 4CL'strack was a full 5 cm (1.97 in) wider than the 6CM, and sat lower thanks to repositioned spring hangers.
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Enveloping this rather conservative chassis was a low, curvaceous alloy-panel body, built in-house by Maserati. Maserati also built a streamlined version of the 4CL from the outset. Continued engine development, in response to Alfa Romeo's post-war introduction of two-stage supercharging, began to expose weaknesses in the chassis design. In an attempt to improve torsional rigidity Maserati began to experiment with tubular section chassis members. These experimental models ran alongside conventional 4CLs throughout the 1947 season, and eventually led to the introduction of the 4CLT in 1948.
In the hands ofLuigi Villoresi the streamliner took pole position on the 4CL's race debut at the1939 Tripoli Grand Prix, ahead ofMercedes' brand newW165s. However, both it and two of the three conventional 4CLs entered retired early in the race with engine troubles, leaving the Silver Arrows to take the victory. Embarrassingly for the works team, following this disappointing debut the 4CL's first taste of victory came in the hands of privateerJohnnie Wakefield at theNaples Grand Prix, two races later. Through the remainder of 1939 voiturette races Wakefield took two further victories, and the works' 4CLs picked up another two, before the outbreak of war curtailed international competition. Villoresi took the 4CL to victory in the 1940Targa Florio, but with entry restricted toAxis countries, and only Maserati fielding a factory team, the opposition was hardly world class.
On the resumption of competition in 1946 the Maserati 4CL proved the class of the field. Luigi Villoresi immediately returned to winning ways, taking victory in the first race following the cessation of hostilities: the1946 Nice Grand Prix.Tazio Nuvolari andGiorgio Pelassa both took wins in 4CLs, but it wasRaymond Sommer and his 4CL who dominated the season. 1947 would prove to be the 4CL's most successful season and, despite Alfa Romeo fielding the revamped 158 and new308, Maserati drivers picked up 10 individual race victories.
After the replacement of the factory team's 4CLs by the new 4CLT, many examples of the older cars found their way into privateer hands. It was owing to the 4CL's popularity with privateer entrants that many were still being run in top-flight competition at the outset of theFormula One World Championship in 1950.
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| 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 ccstraight-4, two-stagesupercharger,front-mounted | ||
| Transmission | Maserati 4-speedmanual | ||
| 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 | Luigi VilloresiReg ParnellToulo de GraffenriedJuan Manuel FangioLouis ChironB. Bira Harry SchellGiuseppe Farina | ||
| Debut | 1948 San Remo Grand Prix | ||
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Chassis and engine changes made to the experimental 4CLs eventually coalesced into the 4CLT, the appendedT denoting itstubular chassis. The improvements in torsional rigidity that the tubular construction brought were required to counteract the increases in torque and power resulting from the twin-supercharger upgrade of the elderly inline-4 engine. Power was up to approximately 260 bhp (194 kW), from the 4CL's 220. Other changes included the use ofroller bearings for thecrankshaft, forged (rather than cast) rear suspension components, and the chassis was designed to run withhydraulicdampers from the outset.
The first variant of the 4CLT earned its "Sanremo" nickname from the first race for which it was entered: the1948 San Remo Grand Prix. The name stuck, asAlberto Ascari took his 4CLT to victory in its maiden race appearance. A portent of things to come, Villoresi andReg Parnell won five of the 1948 season's remaining races. In the first year of the Formula One World Championship, a Sanremo scored what was to be the Maserati's best Championship finish, whenLouis Chiron took third place at his home Grand Prix: the1950 Monaco Grand Prix. The last 4CLT variant to compete in the World Championship was a 4CLT/48 modified by theArzani-Volpini team, that failed to even qualify for the1955 Italian Grand Prix.
For 1949, minor modifications to the brake drums, switching from vanes to slits for cooling, along with small changes to the cockpit control layout and a repositioned oil header-tank resulted in a car sometimes referred to as the 4CLT/49. It was never known as such by the factory. The Ascari/Villoresi/Parnell trio, joined byJuan Manuel Fangio andToulo de Graffenried, took up where they had left off the previous season, winning nine of the first fifteen races of 1949, including de Graffenried's victory in theBritish Grand Prix. However, the second half of the season only saw three further wins, as increasingly competitiveFerrari andTalbot cars squeezed out the Maseratis in most major races.
1950 saw the introduction of theFIAWorld Championship of Drivers. In response to improvements to the Alfa 158 and the already competitive Ferrari and Talbot, Maserati again upgraded the 4CLT's engine. A multi-part crankshaft, lightened and balanced rods, a more powerful pair of superchargers and changes to the ignition timing took engine output up to a claimed 280 bhp (209 kW).[1] Coupled to shedding 10 kg (22 lb) from the car's weight, this brought the Maserati up to near-Alfa levels of performance. Although moderately competitive in short runs, the final upgrades proved to be too much for the decade-old powerplant's design and the 4CLT's Grand Prix performance was hindered by engine failures. The season's only Formula One wins came in non-Championship events. Fangio won thePau Grand Prix on the same day as Parnell took theRichmond Trophy atGoodwood.David Hampshire won theNottingham Trophy later in the year. Fangio also won theFormula TwoRamparts Grand Prix, atAngoulême, in a 4CLT chassis fitted with anA6GCM engine. TheMilano team modified a 4CLT for use in 1950 and 1951, but without success.
Also for 1951 B. Bira modified his '49-spec 4CLT to accept a more powerful, 4,450 cc (271.6 cu in), naturally aspiratedOSCAV12 engine. This engine developed around 300 bhp (224 kW).[2] With it Bira won the Goodwood race early in the season, but in its only World Championship appearance, at the1951 Spanish Grand Prix, it retired on the first lap.
In late 1949 a number (two or three, depending on source) of the remaining Sanremo cars were converted for use in theTemporada seriesFormula Libre races inBuenos Aires, Argentina, in the 1949 to 1950 summer season. This model was referred to as the 4CLT/50; although that name is sometimes also applied to the 1950-specification Formula One cars, the Temporada cars are the only ones that were referred to as such by the factory. The modifications were mostly restricted to enlargement of the engine capacity to 1,719 cc (104.9 cu in).[1] Despite these improvements the series was dominated by Ferrari, and following the final race the cars were shipped back to Italy and reconverted to Formula One specifications.
A long term campaigner of Maserati automobiles,Enrico Platé recognised the Maserati's shortcomings as a Formula One vehicle, and converted a 4CLT/48 into the Maserati-Platé 4CLTFormula Two variant. As F2 was fornaturally aspirated cars, the first step was to remove the superchargers. After this, to counteract the resulting loss in performance, the compression ratio was more than doubled and capacity was upped to the class limit of 2.0 L (122.05 cu in). With the lower power output from the revised engine, weight was shed and handling sharpened by reducing the wheelbase.
De Graffenried won the Richmond Trophy, andGiuseppe Farina theParis Grand Prix, in 1951, but with the switch to Formula Two rules for the World Championship from1952 onwards, the old 4CLT chassis were found to be overweight and underpowered in comparison to their newer rivals. Despite having been the mainstay of top-flight racing since the end of the 1930s, the 4CL and 4CLT rapidly fell from favour, as smaller and lighter machines began to emerge from European factories still recovering from the effects of war.
Today, many 4CL and 4CLT models survive and are regularly campaigned in historic motorsport events, as well as being on static display in museums.
| Technical data | 4CL | 4CLT/48 | 4CLT/50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine: | Front mounted 4-cylinderin-line engine | ||
| displacement: | 1491 cm3 | ||
| Bore x stroke: | 78 x 78 mm | ||
| Max power at rpm: | 220 hp at 6 000 rpm | 260 hp at 7 000 rpm | 280 hp at 7 000 rpm |
| Valve control: | 2 overheadcamshafts, 4 valves per cylinder | ||
| Compression: | 6.5:1 | 6.0:1 | |
| Carburetor: | Single Weber 45DCO | Double Weber 50DCO | Double Weber 52DCO |
| Upload: | Roots compressor | DoubleRoots compressors | |
| Gearbox: | 4-speed manual | ||
| suspension front: | Double cross links, torsion springs | Double cross links, coil springs | |
| suspension rear: | Rigid rear axle, leaf springs | ||
| Brakes: | Hydraulic drum brakes | ||
| Chassis &body: | Box beam frame with aluminum body | Ladder frame with aluminum body | |
| Wheelbase: | 250 cm | ||
| Dry weight: | 630 kg | 620 kg | |
| Top speed: | 250 km/h | 270 km/h | 280 km/h |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | P. Pietsch | 4CL | Maserati 4CL 1.5L4s | BEL | FRA | GER | SUI | |
 Paul Pietsch | Ret | |||||||
| J. Wakefield | 4CL | Maserati 4CL 1.5L4s | John Wakefield | 12 | ||||
| G. Rocco | 4CL | Maserati 4CL 1.5L4s |  Giovanni Rocco | Ret | ||||
Source:[3] | ||||||||
(key)
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