1955 OSCA MT4

Berlinetta
Chassis number: 1153

First shown at the 1955 Turin Motor Show, this is one of four road-going MT4s built at the OSCA factory, and it is the only MT4 2AD 1500 Berlinetta with coachwork by Vignale. This car has a unique body style and has the larger 1.5-liter engine. It is complete in every way, including its original fitted luggage, paint, carpets and interior trim. It has its original oxblood leather interior and its original Nardi steering wheel with a hand-painted OSCA badge, as well as the car's original three-piece fitted Swiss luggage. It features unique taillights cut into dozens of facets so the light reflects like rubies. The original jack and canvas tool bar are still with the car, with its chassis number painted on the fabric. The instruments feature a prototype Jaeger fuel gauge with nine tiny bulbs that glow red to show fuel level.

During its 10,000 kilometers of use in Europe, the car has led a quiet life-unusual for OSCAs as they tended to be used enthusiastically on the road and on the race circuit. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti and built on the Fiat 8V chassis, it was first shown at the Turin Auto Show in 1955. It then went in to private ownership in France and later in Switzerland. More recently, it sold at an auction in Paris for more than half a million dollars, the most ever paid for any OSCA.

This 1955 OSCA is a very special 'one-off' Vignale Berlinetta and was the 1955 Turin Auto Show car. It has had only four owners in its 50-year history, and was acquired by its previous owner in 2005. The most important aspect of this car is that it is entirely original, and has never been restored. It is a 'time warp' machine with an elegant body style and a wonderful patina.

O.S.C.A only made four original Berlinettas ex-works, and the Vignale coachwork on this example is unique on the MT4-2AD chassis. This car is the only one of the four to have the larger and more powerful 1500cc engine. In addition to the one-off bodywork, other unique features include fitted luggage, plexiglass rear window, alloy filler cap and custom rear lights. The odometer reads only 10,000 kms, and it still retains the original tool kit (with the chassis number stamped on it). The key to the fitted luggage is still attached to the suitcase handle by the original string.

The current owner purchased the car twice - once in 2010 and again in 2016 after it was owned by OSCA collector Elad Shraga.

Spider by Morelli

This OSCA is similar to an earlier car that made the OSCA name famous at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1954 when a little OSCA overcame the giants of motor racing. Sixty cars started the race, among them C-Type Jaguars, 4.5-liter Ferraris, the Aston martin DB3S team, and a trio of factory Lancia D24s with Fangio, Ascari, and Taruffi driving. Among the OSCAs was one entered by Briggs Cunningham for drivers Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd. One by one, the high-powered cars fell out and only 25 cars finished. In a stunning upset, Stirling won the long race five laps ahead of the second place car. It remains one of the greatest wins of his career.

Spider by Morelli
Chassis number: 1164
Engine number: 1516

OSCA, founded in 1947, stands for Officine Specializzare Costrizone Automoibli or 'specialist workshop for building motor cars' for short. Even shorter, OSCA, or Osca. MT4 stands for Maserati Tipo 4 cilindri and was the Maserati brothers' first Osca design. Fiat derived crankcase, alloy head, and 1092cc, the 71 horsepower motor was a gem, the surrounding chassis and bodywork a beauty. By 1954 the engine was out to 1453cc and 108 horsepower. OSCA was sold in 1967 to MV Agusta.

This car was the Road & Track August 1955 test car, racing in period all over California as well as in Venezuela and Hawaii. It came back to the first Monterey Historics in 1974, Pebble Beach the same year to win the Race Car Class award, and ever thereafter, more. It has been an entry in many retrospectives in the U.S. and Europe since.

This car was bodied by Morelli of Ferrara.

Spider by Morelli
Chassis number: 1168

Most of the OSCA bodies built prior to 1955 were constructed by the factory because there were few coachbuilders located near to its premises in Bologna. After Carrozzeria Morelli, based a few kilometers away in Ferara, rebodied an OSCA MT4 in 1953, the Maserati brothers signed a contract for more OSCA bodies, and soon OSCA bodies made up 90 percent of Morelli's business. Of all the 78 MT4 chassis built, Morelli was responsible for around 25 of them.

This MT4 1500 has a rare streamlined Morelli body built for American racer Paul Pappalardo. Later owners included Richard Gent, James K. Wolosoft, Eric Bauer, and Joel Finn. Its current owner bought the car in 1995 and showed it at Pebble Beach in 1996. It has recently been restored for its return visit to the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The early 1930s was a difficult time for world economics as the Great Depression strangled the life out of many prominent businesses. The onset of the Second World War would claim even more companies as production ceased in support of war efforts and several European factories were bombed during the war.

The Maserati brothers had created a prosperous business fueled by successful racing endeavors that made their marque legendary. Their luck changed during the 1930s and was forced to sell their factory in 1937 to Adolfo Orsi with one of the agreements of the contract stating that the brothers would work with the company for ten years. At the conclusion of the ten years, the brothers left to form a new company. Though the Maserati marque continued to thrive with help from the financial support of Orsi, the brothers had a company of their own and the freedom it would bring. It was called l'Officine Specialzate Costruzione Automobili Fratelli Maserati, or by its shortened name 'OSCA'.

When the brothers left the Maserati company, they also left the financial stability supplied by Orsi. With limited funds to construct a machine of the same caliber as their Maserati's, the brothers were forced to take a different approach and use more conventional methods of construction. The products they would produce were lightweight, reliable and small. They carried a sticker price well above what most individuals could afford. Their first model was the MT4, Maserati Tipo 4, constructed from a tubular steel frame, clothed in aluminum, and powered by a four-cylinder engine. The front of the car was suspended in place by double wishbones and coil springs while the rear had a live axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs. Drum brakes could be found on a four corners. The engine drew its inspiration from the Maserati 6-cylinder unit, given single overhead camshafts, aluminum block and head, and mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. The first few MT4 models were powered by an engine that displaced 1090cc; subsequent examples had larger 1340cc, 1450cc and 1490cc units. The 1450cc unit was introduced in 1953 and the 1490cc twin-spark engine in 1954.

The MT4's were constructed as rolling chassis and were left to custom coachbuilders to create the bodies. As such, specifications varied greatly from vehicle to vehicle. The very first MT4 was given a cycle fender body and dubbed 'Siluro.' It was driven in its inaugural race by Franco Carnacchia at the 1948 Pescara Grand Prix. Luigi Villoresi drove it in its second outing where he emerged victorious beating the larger competition and claiming its first GP victory.

The victory at Napels in the hands of the very capable driver, Villoresi, did much to establish the OSCA marque and created a reputation that would help give the company the business it needed. Modifications and enhancements continued on the MT4 models. One of the first was to the engine, which received a larger displacement size bringing it to 1340cc. Near the beginning of 1950, the Maserati brothers introduced the MT4 2AD, which featured a new twin cam head. All but the first nine MT4 models created were outfitted with this improvement.

The OSCA MT4 models continued to rack up victories in Europe and the United States. In many cases, they had little difficulty outpacing the other small-displacement vehicles. In 1954 Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd drove an MT4 to a very impressive overall victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring, beating the rest of the field of which many had much larger and more powerful engines.

The next evolution of the MT4 was the TN, meaning Tipo Nuovo, which appeared in 1955. It was built on a revised chassis that measured 2200mm and was powered by a 1491cc engine. The bodies were built in a similar style to the MT4 and construction continued until 1957.

It was on the rare occasion that OSCA built a car over two liters. Many of their MT4 machines were designed for either Formula Libre (F2) or sports car racing. The cars were fast and dominated many of the classes in which they competed. They raced well in such grueling races as the Targa Florio, LeMans, and the Mille Miglia. Their superior power-to-weight ratio often allowed them to outpace and outlast other more powerful competition.

by Dan Vaughan