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In Reply to: RE: Here's another beautiful Jag posted by Bambi B on February 19, 2010 at 13:33:40
You should know that!
Share a bowl of grits with someone you love tonight.
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PHOTO: Another of my favourite race cars forms- a 1949 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta. Notice the 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 in the background too- another shapely Italian. Below: The 166MM had the gearshift wonderfully marked in Roman Numerals !
mr. g,
That is indeed another great one- and it was an elegant design inside as well as outside- the structure really is like a bird cage- as designed by Frank Gehry. I always thought the Birdcage was an odd fish- they're extrmely modern- the stucture and the outside form was quite advanced in 1959 in that they had about 3-Litre engines that were four cylinder- as though it was a 1914 Stutz Bearcat. Three Litre Ferrari engines in 1959 were V-12's- they had made V-12's that were only 1.5's. Engine designers knew that more pistons meant greater valves surface and also better thermodynamic behaviour- large cylinders don't have as efficient ignition. The Birdcage engine make a really odd sound too- thumpy and pulsating like Offenhausers as compared to the whine of V-12's. I'll bet you can buy recordings of those engines- and I cold listen all night! A really striking design the Tipo 61. There was a legend about the birdcage that they were incredibly fatal cars in crashes- the driver would get skewered with all those angular structural components compressed into your body. And, it was said that this awareness of the danger that made the drivers extra keen on avoiding walls!
Speaking of Maserati race cars, I was at the local used Ferrari / Maserati lot in Calabasas, CA a few months ago and they had this amazing polished Aluminium Maserati prototype from 1953. It was just beautiful- and tiny. Even though this one had had a serious racing life- all slightly tweaked - it was sleekly catlike and powerfully muscular at the same time- an Aluminium Leopard. And, those old Maserati engines were like watches. The Italians have no concept of what electrons do, but they make mechanical things an art. This dealer had the new Maserati series- the soupe, roaster and Quattroporte and the new look is even stronger than the the last one- nicely refined.
Another 50's race car I think it an absolute stunner is the Ferrari 166MM "Barchetta" -or "little boat"(photo above). These were almost miniature cars with 2-Litre V-12's that made that ripping canvas sound. Can you imagine allthose parts for 2-Litres! The bodies were just perfect, pure form and all the curves resolved into each other- fantastic. Still, the thing that I found the most delightful is the gearshift knob with the gears marked in Roman Numerals!
Those Italians- Mama mia !
Cheers,
Bambi B
P.S. The only Italian car out of 35 I ever had was a 1974 Fiat 124 "TC" - which was the boxy four door but with the engine from the 124 Spider sports car. It really was fun- like a larger, squarer Mini Cooper- vertical steering column and all. The short wheelbase, wheels at the corner, neat and fast 4-Speed shift, and high revving Spider engine made it fun- even sounded rorty- ripping sound on the overrun. Of course, all the electrical switches fell apart and it ate alternators for breakfast, but a lot of fun. I gave it to my girlfriend of the time, she drove it for three years and gave it back- she needed a larger car- and I sold it for what I paid- a lot of fun for $0.00.
The original Tipo 60 "Birdcage" Maserati was introduced in 1959 and used a 2 litre / 122 ci 4 cyl motor. It was designed to be a customer car, robust and easy to repair in the field. The Tipo 61 (next model) used a slightly larger versions of the same motor; 2.5 L and 2.9 L. These cars dominated US Sports Car racing in 59-60-61. By the early 60's Maserati, like Ferrari had changed to rear engined cars. The Tipo 63 was the 1st rear engined Birdcage and initially used the existing 4 cyl engines. A later version used a 2.5 L 12 Cyl engine derived from the motor used in the 250F Grand Prix car from 1957. Later versions also used a derrivative of the 4.5 L V-8 from the 450s and a larger 8 cyl motor derrived from the original Quatroporte sedan.
Beautiful cars that in their day were among the best racing cars in the world.
Best,
Ross
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