Maserati 300S

It's a concept which, in these days of ultra-specialization in motorsport, is simply unthinkable: create a road-legal sports car for endurance racing, and base it directly on a successful Formula One car. That's precisely what Maserati set out to do just over fifty years ago � and the result was the Tipo 300S.

Admittedly, the company had an excellent base from which to start: the legendary 250F. This was introduced in 1954 � and, in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio, won its first ever grand prix, in Argentina. Fangio also won the next grand prix, at the world-famous Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium; he then moved on to drive for Mercedes, although those two victories played a vital role in helping the maestro claim his second World Championship. He returned to the factory for 1957 and was utterly dominant, the combination of Fangio and the Maserati 250F winning four races and finishing second twice more in the seven-race season.

To rewind a little, the World Sports Car Championship came into being in 1953 and included such classic races as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Mille Miglia, the Carrera Panamerica and the Targa Florio. It was obvious that Maserati should be involved in the competition � but with what? At first, the Maserati 2000 Sport was updated to create the Tipo 2500 Sport, but as the original design was already six years old, something more modern was required.

So the development team did the obvious, and designed a sports car based on the 250F. Of course, a few changes were needed, not least to the engine � given the requirement for sports cars to run on pump fuel, the explosive 12:1 compression ratio used in the F1 2.5-litre straight-six had to be reduced to a more reasonable 9.5:1, while the stroke was lengthened to take the capacity up to just under the 3-litre limit allowed in the Sports Car Championship.

The chassis, meanwhile, needed surprisingly few changes. The wheelbase was slightly extended but front and rear track were unchanged, and the suspension was essentially unchanged, beyond being strengthened to cope with the stresses imposed by racing on public roads. But the tradition of Maserati for producing engineering excellence continued; for example, the brake drums were almost works of art. Cast in light alloy, they incorporated both radial fins to aid cooling, and holes designed to let both water and heat out of the drums.

To this exceptional platform was added one of the most beautiful light alloy bodies ever produced. Formed by hand without benefit of a wind tunnel, the naturally aerodynamic shape looked incredibly fast. It was indeed slippery, and also stable. The 300S became renowned as one of the easiest sports cars in which to compete and win.

Proof that Maserati had got the mix right came immediately. The car made its racing debut on 13 March 1955, in the 12 Hours of Sebring; the two entries came through this stern test with flying colors, taking third and fourth places having encountered no real problems � a remarkable achievement for a brand-new car, even one with forbears as illustrious as the 300S.

In the Tour of Sicily, less than a month later, a brace of 300S again took third and fourth places; and in May the stellar duo of Jean Behra and Luigi Musso drove a 300S to a narrow victory in the 1,000km Supercortemaggiore race at Monza, with the other works 300S also claiming third. Behra won again in June, claiming first place in the Portuguese Grand Prix � despite the name, the race was for sports cars.

The company was not content to rest on its laurels, and for 1956 Maserati redesigned the bodywork, restyling the front of the car with a longer nose. The results soon came when Moss and Menditeguy won the Buenos Aires 1,000km to give Maserati their first victory in the World Sports Car Championship; Behra and Gonzalez also took third. The 300S also won the 1,000km at the N�rburgring, driven by a combination of Schell, Taruffi, Moss and Behra. More honors came in the Targa Florio (Taruffi, second) and the Paris 1,000km (Rosier and Behra, first).

1958 saw the final development for the car when three variations of V12 engine were fitted, following on from a similar upgrade to the 250F. This gave another 40 horsepower, taking peak power to 300bhp � enough to provide sparkling performance in a car weighing just 780kg. The factory switched development away from the 300S, concentrating on the forthcoming Tipo 60 and 61 models � the legendary Birdcage cars. Nevertheless the 300S was still a formidable racing car, claiming victory in races in Portugal and Karlskoga, in Sweden, and taking second in a race at Copenhagen.

Fifty years ago Maserati took a successful grand prix car and turned it into a successful sports car; they proved the versatility and durability of their designs, yet continued to strive to improve on their initial efforts. Those values continue to ring true today, as Maserati cars race in the FIA GT Championship, whilst the racing version of the GranSport is used as the perfect test-bed for developments which are later fitted to the road cars. The factory remains acutely aware of the importance of racing, both as a way of improving all their cars and to honor the long and distinguished heritage that lies behind the famous trident badge.