Maserati 4CLT – year 1948

Officine Alfieri Maserati SpA, Modena, Italy.

W 1947 The ten-year contract between Adolf Orsi and the Maserati brothers expired, who left for their new company OSCA (Specialized Automobile Construction Workshop). The head of the design department was Eng. Maximine.

In the same year, the model was modernized 4 CL. New vehicle, 4 CLT, got a tubular frame and low, aerodynamic body with a distinctive look at the front. The original sixteen-valve engine with two overhead camshafts was housed in one block with a dry disc clutch and a four-speed gearbox. The propeller shaft was no longer housed in an articulated sheath. The driving forces were transmitted by two inclined bars connecting the rigid rear axle to the frame. In the version with 1948 In the year, a two-stage compressor was used, which made the engine power 191,4 kW (260 KM) by 7000 RPM. There were also variants with an engine of power 213,4 kW (290 KM), and there was a model for free formula racing 4 CLT 50 with the stroke increased to 90 mm and capacity 1719 cm3. The front axle had an independent inclined suspension, spiral springs. The front wheels were steered by a steering system with a worm gear. The fuel tank had a capacity 190 I. A car with a weight 625 kg reached the top speed 260 km/h.

Within three years, when Maserati 4 CLT participated in the Grand Prix races under the name "Scuderia Ambrosiana”, have become the most popular racing cars. Famous players used them: Louis Villoresi, Alberto Ascari — syn Antonia Ascari, a famous Alfa Romeo driver, Joseph Farina, Louis Chiron, Emmanuel of Graffenried, Nello Pagani, and from 1949 of the year also one of the greatest players of all time – Argentinean Juan Manuel Fangio, five-time world champion.

Villoresi himself won in 1948 year of the England Grand Prix at Silverstone, second place at the Italian Grand Prix in Turin and third place at the European Grand Prix in Bern and the French Grand Prix in Reims. Giuseppe Farina won the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Maserati car also took third place, led by the Swiss de Graffenried.