Pete05
Premium
- 7,305
- Melbourne, Australia
In the 1930's Maserati held a unique position as one of the very few manufacturers of racing cars. These racing cars were usually also very successful, but rarely profitable. In light of that, it is amazing to note that Maserati survived for over a decade as an independent company. By the mid-1930's the constant lack of funds really started to become problematic for the financial future of the Maserati brothers and also greatly hampered the development of new racing cars. In 1937 financial security returned as the brothers sold the company to wealthy industrialist Adolfo Orsi. One of the conditions of the sale was that the brothers would continue to work at Maserati for at least ten years.
Not having to worry about the business side freed up energy and motivation to develop one of the most ambitious Maseratis of the day; a brand new Grand Prix car for the 1938 season. At the time GP racing was dominated by the German government supported Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz teams. Other manufacturers had all but given up and had turned their attention to voiturette racing with smaller engined and less complicated racing cars. It was in this class that Maserati was also particularly successful with the six cylinder engined 6CM. Starting in 1938 the regulations for Grand Prix cars would be drastically changed and this gave the Italians and French a renewed chance, at least in theory.
Gone was the ridiculous maximum weight of 750 kg, replaced instead by a minimum weight depending on displacement, with a maximum of 3 litres for Supercharged and 4.5 litres for Naturally Aspirated engines. Given their long experience with Superchargers, it was no surprise that the brothers opted for the former. In fact the new eight cylinder engine was not too dissimilar to the 'four' used in the final versions of the 4CM 1500 voiturette car. Like that twin-cam engine, the 3 litre 'eight' used a fixed cylinder head or 'testa fissa', which also explains the 8CTF type designation. This setup allowed for higher compression ratios and did away with the need for the often vulnerable head gasket. Not one, but two Roots-type Superchargers were bolted onto the nose of the engine. At the car's debut, the big 'eight' produced 350 bhp and later it was good for at least 365 bhp.
Mated to a four speed gearbox, the eight cylinder engine was installed in a steel box-section frame that was derived from the 6CM with an additional magnesium X-shaped cross-brace under the seat. Not only did it strengthen the chassis, it also doubled as the oil tank for the dry-sump system. The engine only had solid mounts at the rear to prevent chassis flex from cracking the crank case. The car was suspended at the front by double wishbones with longitudinally mounted torsion bars and at the rear by the tried and trusted live-axle with quarter elliptic leaf springs. The hydraulic assisted brakes sported magnesium drums designed to disperse heat more easily and to be less prone to fading. The 8CTF was finished off with an aluminium body similar to that of the 6CM, with a longer nose required by the engine.
Two 8CTFs were ready in time for the second GP of the season at Tripoli. There it faced the on paper superior Mercedes-Benz W154, which was a bit heavier, but powered by a 450+ bhp V12. Not boding well for the Maserati Works team either was the poor health of both drivers Achille Varzi and Count Trossi. Starting from the second row, Trossi surprised the Germans and pleased the many Italians by closely chasing the leading Mercedes for several laps.
After nine laps the gearbox let go, leaving an easy win for Hermann Lang. Despite the great debut, the 8CTF was set aside to focus on building the successful voiturettes, which were in high demand. The 8CTFs were raced again at various locations, showing great pace, but poor reliability. Both the brakes and the engine proved to be prone to failure.
Little was done to fix the problems with Maserati's engineers continuing to develop an construct the voiturettes. This was given more priority when the organizers of the important Tripoli GP would be held for voiturette cars. The Works team did race the 8CTF during the German GP at the Nurburgring with local driver Paul Pietsch heading the assault. He showed once more what the Maserati was capable of and he brought back memories of 1935 when he took the lead in front of a 300,000 strong crowd. Reliability woes and six pit stops again seemed to rob the Maserati from a great finish, but an amazing drive saw Pietsch fight back to third. Two of the three 8CTFs were sold to Lucy O'Reilly Schell, who unsuccessfully entered them in the Swiss GP before taking the cars to the United States where the other one had already been sold to.
Earlier in 1939 the third car and a spare engine had been bought by Mike Boyle to be driven by 1937 winner Wilbur Shaw in the Indy 500. The Maserati was right at home on the oval and the methanol based fuel proved a lot kinder for the fragile engine. Shaw beat the local specials and recorded the first win for an Italian car and the first win for a European car since 1916. A year later the other two also lined up, but it was Shaw who took yet another win. The 8CTFs continued to be raced at Indy into the 1950's with two thirds as the best result. Amazingly the Grand Prix Maserati excelled in another American classic; the Pikes Peak hillclimb where it was driven to back to back victories by Louis Unser in 1946/47. After almost two decades of racing the 8CTF was finally retired in 1954, after failing to qualify for Indy for the third year in a row.
Despite their lengthy career, all three cars have survived. The dual Indy winner (chassis 3032) has been prominently displayed for many years in the Indy Speedway Museum. The other two 8CTFs are in private hands and like the Indy winner are maintainedto full running order.
ENGINE
Configuration
Straight 8
Location
Front, longitudinally mounted
Construction
Cast-iron block and head
Lubrication
Dual oil pumps (pressure and scavenge)
Displacement
2991 cc / 182.5 cu in
Bore / Stroke
69 mm (2.7") x 100 mm (3.9")
Compression
6.5:1
Cooling system
Water-cooled, centrifugal pump
Valvetrain
2 valves per cylinder, DOHC
Ignition
Single plug, Scintilla magneto
Fuel feed
2 x Memini MA12 Carburettors
Fuel tank
150 litres / 33 Imperial gallons
Aspiration
Twin Roots-Type Superchargers
Power
365 bhp / 272 kW @ 6300 rpm
DRIVETRAIN
Body
Aluminium
Chassis
Steel box-section frame
Front suspension
Double wishbones, torsion bar, springs, friction dampers
Rear suspension
Live axle, trailing links, quarter elliptic leaf springs
Steering
Worm and sector
Brakes
Hydraulic drums, all round
Gearbox
4 speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Weight
780 kg / 1719.6 lbs
Length
4100 mm / 161.4"
Width
1520 mm / 59.8"
Height
1200 mm / 47.2"
Wheelbase
2720 mm / 107.1"
Front track
1340 mm / 52.8"
Rear track
1360 mm / 53.5"
Tyres
Front: Pirelli 19"x 5.5" or 19"x6"
Rear: Pirelli 19"x6.5"
Wheels
Wire wheels,
(F) 19" x 3.25"
(R) 19" x 4"
Successor
Maserati 8CLT
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