1965 Maserati Tipo 65

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The Maserati Tipo 61 was designed by Giulio Alfieri in the late 1950s, and 16 examples were created. Known as the 'Birdcage' due to its intricate tubular chassis design which resembled a bird cage, the sophisticated chassis was lightweight, nimble, and rigid. The spaceframe chassis was comprised of around 200 small aluminum tubes welded together and suspended by wishbones at the front and a DeDion axle at the rear.

Both the Tipo 60 and Tipo 61 were powered by a four-cylinder engine, mounted in the front at a 45-degree angle and powering the rear wheels. The Tipo 60 was powered by a two-liter, four-cylinder engine. The Tipo 61 used a 250 S, 2.9-liter four-cylinder engine. The 250-horsepower Tipo 61 with two Weber 45 DCO3 carburetors was suitable for SCCA competition and, with its low weight, was highly competitive. Disc brakes were used on all four corners of the car. A five-speed manual gearbox and rack-and-pinion steering were standard and were partly responsible for the vehicle's reputation for being easy to drive.

In 1960, Gus Audrey won the class championship in SCCA racing. Roger Penske did the same in 1961. In 1960, Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney entered a Tipo 61 Birdcage into the highly competitive Nurburgring 1000 km race. The Birdcage emerged victoriously against other famous and competitive nameplates such as Ferrari, Porsches, and Aston Martins. It repeated its victory at the Nurburgring the following year.

Tipo 63
The Tipo 60 and 61 were the first of the so-called Birdcage cars and featured a front-engined design. The first rear-engine Birdcage was the Tipo 63, powered by a 2890.3 cc Tipo 61 four-cylinder engine inclined at a 58-degree angle. Many components were borrowed from the prior birdcage models, such as the five-speed transaxle and front suspension. In the rear, however, was an independent suspension with coil springs.

Four of the Tipo 63 cars used four-cylinder engines, with two additional cars being outfitted with the 12-cylinder engine sourced from the 250F Grand Prix. The engine was so large that it intruded into the cockpit. The Tipo 63 Birdcage's were constructed for Cunningham, Serenissima, and Camoradi teams and driven by famous drivers such as Bruce McLaren, Walt Hansgen, Stirling Moss, Masten Gregory, and others. On the track, the vehicles were met with disappointing results. They are best remembered for their fourth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race driven by team Cunningham.

Many of the disappointing finishes were caused by mechanical issues such as a carburetor problem that caused Dick Thompson and Bill Kimberley to finish 9th at the Road America 500 in 1961. Scarfiotti and Vaccarella failed to finish at Nurburgring due to bad weather - water had entered the carburetors. In 1961, four Tipo 63 models were entered into the Le Mans race where three failed to finish. The fourth had been crashed during practice by Walt Hansgen after the suspension collapsed. It was rebuilt for the Le Mans race where it was driven by Pabst and Thompson and achieved a fourth-place finish.

Tipo 64
The Tipo 64 involved a total revision of the frame in search of better weight distribution and weight reduction. The engine was moved forward, which shifted the cockpit further forward, the front suspension was improved, and a De Dion axle replaced the independent suspension of the Type 63. Also changed was the positioning of the rear exhausts which were now a very low megaphone type, as opposed to the higher-placed exhaust on the Type 63.

Tipo 65
The Maserati Tipo 65 was powered by a 5-liter V8 engine that produced around 430 horsepower and rested in a similar frame used by the Tipo 64. It was completed in time for LeMans and arrived at the track just five days prior to the race. The testing session was valuable to the team, as it provided information about the car's abilities and potential weaknesses.

The car qualified in the 21st position and was piloted by F1 driver Jo Siffert. Within a short amount of time, the car had been brought into eighth place. Sadly, it was not to last, as the car spun and punctured the radiator. The car limped back to the pits, but its time on the track was over. Due to regulations, cars were allowed to refill fluids only after 25 laps were completed. As a result, the team was forced to withdraw from the race.

After the race, the car was repaired but it would not return to the track. It was later sold to a Swiss collector who made a few modifications, most noticeably to the front. It was then sold to Jo Siffert. Siffert died during a tragic accident during the early 1970s, and the car was sold to an individual from England. While in his care, it actively campaigned in historic competition. It was then purchased by Peter Kaus and became part of the Rosso Bianco Museum. In the mid-2000s it was sold at auction.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2008