1935 Maserati V8RI Racer

The Maserati Brothers - Alfieri, Bindo, Carloe, Ettore, Ernesto, and Mario - began building race cars in Italy in the 1920s. They won early and often, including the Targa Florio in 1926 in their first race with a new car. In 1937, Omer Orsi took control of Maserati, though the brothers stayed on until 1947 when they left to found OSCA. In 1936, this car was first raced by Ralph - the pseudonym for Marquis George Raphael Bethenod de las Casas.

It has had an amazingly long career competing in the Grand Prix circuit, then the Vanderbilt Cups of 1936-1937, the Indianapolis 500 of 1938-39 and Watkins Glen from 1948-55. It is one of the four cars constructed and raced on behalf of the Maserati factory by Scuderia Subalpine on the 1935 Grand Prix circuit, albeit with little success. This model's only international win was in 1936, driven by Phillippe Etrancelin at the Pau Grand Prix. Weighing in at just 1,870 pounds, its 320 horsepower supercharged 4788cc V-8 provides a top speed of 144 mph.