mongooz
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Built to contest the 1957 World Sportscar Championship, the 450 S was the biggest threat to Jaguar, Ferrari and Aston Martin. At the forefront of its competitor’s minds was the awesome 400 bhp V8.
Maserati had repeated success with the 3-litre 300S, when they decided to take advantage of the displacement limits. Engineer Guilo Alfieri decided to depart from the inline-6 and instead turn to a V8 by the fact that it would “have to reach certain power limits and possess indispensable harmony among stress levels and thermal loads of consumption.”
Motivated by Tony Parravano and need for an engine that could contest Indianapolis, the V8 was first tested in a car in late 1956. With a quad cam, twin spark V12 power was an impressive 390 bhp or 400 bhp on a good day. This left Ferrari scrambling to come up with a competent alternative.
After 1957 Maserati decided to retire from racing all together, leaving the 450S as their last great sports racing car. Many of the 10 cars produced made their way to America, and won even more events driven by Carroll Shelby, Jim Hall, and Temple Buell.
read more:https://www.supercars.net/blog/1957-maserati-450s/
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