This year's field was peppered with vintage Alfa Romeo models, including this Touring-bodied 6C1750 from the 1933 and the 1932 Monza below it. The Monza developed around 170 supercharged horsepower from that 2.6 liter straight eight, really two inline fours joined at the center and with dual overhead cams.
This 1933 Maserati 4CM appeared ready to face the competition with silver flame-painted radiator shell. Engine is a twin-cam inline four; in supercharged 2 liter form it developed around 165 horsepower, about the same as the Alfa Monza. The 4CM was also available with a 1.5 liter version of this engine.
This Jaguar C-type was the model that established Jaguar as a force in endurance racing, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1951 and 1953; the second victory was the first at Le Mans with disc brakes. The 1952 effort was hampered by an experiment with a lower, aerodynamic nose which proved to interfere with the cooling system. Jaguar quickly returned to the design shown below…
The Siata 208CS* below was designed during the C-type Jag's era. 33 examples of S and CS were made from 1952 to 1955. All used the 70 degree V8 engine from Fiat's 2 liter 8V.
Bodies came from a variety of coach builders, with coupe models (CS) like the one above originating with Stablimenti Farina (a branch of the Pinin Farina family) and continuing with Carrozzeria Balbo after the first firm folded. Roadsters (S) were offered by Motto. Suspension was independent at all four wheels.
The Porsche Abarth Carrera* GTL shown below displays a similar smoothness of compound curves. It was also a product of Italian design, in this case from Franco Scaglione. The first body by Viarengo and Filipponi was too rough for the minions of Porsche, and the balance of the twenty-car order was reputedly built by Rocco Motto*.
The first car appeared in 1960 and won its class at a rainy Le Mans despite leaky doors and window seals. The engine was a 1.6 liter version of Porsche's 4-cam Carrera unit with roller bearing crankshaft. The whole project was intended to extend the competition life of the 356 chassis until new cars (901, 904) were ready.
The Abarth Carrera GTL reunited Carlo Abarth, who had been with Cisitalia* during the abortive Cisitalia Porsche 360* GP car project, with his old friends and rivals at Porsche. Abarth lined up the design and construction team, and they succeeded in reducing the weight and frontal area of the old bathtub 356, and making in competitive again for awhile. They also succeeded in giving Porsche and Abarth collectors something to dream about…
A Birdcage Maserati* (Tipo 60 and 61) is a rare sight (there were only 22), and this may be the only time you'll see one flanked by a Lotus 23 and an Railton from the 1930s. The latter car was usually powered by an American Hudson engine, and often seen in touring form with weather protection and fenders. The green one in the photo is stripped down for a weekend of racing…The Birdcage was known for the space frame chassis of slender tubes, welded into a rigid unit and visible inside the cockpit. Engines were twin-cam inline fours of 2 liters (Tipo 60, of which 16 were built) and the rarer 2.9 liter Tipo 61 that Stirling Moss used to win at the Nurburgring. The Lotus 23 from 1962-'63 featured midship-mounted engines from Climax, Cosworth, and Lotus in a version of the Elan twin-cam. Sizes ranged from 750cc to 1.6 liters in what turned out to be the Swiss Army knife of club racers.
*Footnote: The Siata 208 series and its Fiat 8V sister cars are featured in "The Etceterini Files, Part 10" post from 11/13/16 as well as in "Hillsborough Concours Part 1" from 7/26/18. Both Siata 208S and Porsche Abarth are featured in "Unsung Genius: Rocco Motto, the Closer" from 3/25/18. The Abarth Carrera story is detailed a bit more in "Revs Institute Part 3: Porsches by Another Name" from 3/25/17. Finally, the Cisitalia Porsche connection is described in "The Etceterini Files Part Eleven" from 4/22/17.
Photo Credit: All photos are by the author.
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