1961 Fiat 1500S

Officine Specializzate per la Costruzione Automobili Fratelli Maserati (OSCA) was founded after World War II by the three surviving Maserati brothers. The small OSCA company built limited edition competition cars intended for racing and never made more than 30 cars in a single years. Their first offering was introduced in 1948 and dubbed the MT4 (Maserati Tipo 4). It was a small siluro with a 1,092cc overhead-camshaft engine which propelled the car to competition success while in the hands of Luigi Villoresi.

The OSCA engine later grew to 1,491cc and given twin-cam cylinder heads. FIAT later used the engine for its range-topping sports cars, while OSCA began producing its own GT cars.

From 1959 through 1966, Fiat produced the 1500S and 1600S Spiders. Wearing a design by Pininfarina, it had a striking resemblance to the Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet. Power was sourced from the Maserati brothers MT4 racing engine, which gave the new car the performance to match its elegant looks. Approximately 3,089 of the 34,211 Fiat Spiders and coupes were built in this period with the twin-cam OSCA powered engine. The 1959-1962 1500S is distinguishable by its hood scoop.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2019