45 replies to this topic

[Jerry Entin]

Jack Hinkle and his 2-liter Maserati at Coffeyville in 1959.
Can anyone help identify the chassis number of this car.

The history of the ten-or-so 200SI Maseratis coming new to the U.S. has been a unexplored chapter in motor racing history so far. One of the unidentified chassis numbers is that of Jack Hinkle's 200SI, which made its first appearance at Galveston on the weekend of April 19-20, 1958. Hinkle raced the car often after that, until he received his Birdcage Maserati in early 1960. Yet it's chassis number seems to be elusive, as is the car's next owner. Hinkle took extremely good care of his cars, so whoever bought the car is likely to have raced it again. Any takers?

photo: Hinkle Family collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 05 November 2010 - 00:11.

[raceannouncer2003]

The Dec. 13-20 Motoracing had the following on the Dec. 8, 1957 Valley of the Sun Road Races at Phoenix:

"...One of the big threats folded when Jack Hinkle, Wichita, Kan., was sidelined with valve trouble after leading the field in a warm-up race. Hinkle and Charley Howard drove identical 2-liter Maseratis and the new cars gave great promise of being going machines until they folded with a bad case of the stops..."

Would Hinkle's Phoenix Maserati be the same car as in your photo?

Steve Baughman of Salt Lake City apparently raced a 200SI in 1961. Could this have been the ex-Hinkle car? Here is a photo link:

http://www.racingspo...1-09-03-172.jpg

Tom Meehan of Seattle got a 200SI in 1960 and raced it in the early 60s. But I believe Pete Lovely helped him get his directly from Italy, so I don't think it was the Hinkle car. I believe Tom's car was s/n 2415.

Vince H.

[Jerry Entin]

Vince:

According to a recent account supplied by the factory the following 200SI chassis numbers came to the U.S. upon completion in 1957:

2412, 2414, 2421, 2423, 2424, 2425, 2426, 2427 and 2430.

The work archives contain no details about original U.S. owners, probably because all cars went through Maserati Corporation of America after leaving the factory.

For whatever reason, the factory did not mention the two 200SI cars owned by Lance Reventlow, chassis 2406 [most likely] and 2422. Reventlow's first car was a 1956 200S model upgraded to 200SI specs for Sebring in March 1957. He crashed it at Snetterton in the summer of 1957. Later that year he reappears with a 1957 long-nose model at Laguna Seca and Nassau. Chassis 2422 is often listed as his 1957 Sebring entry, clearly a mix-up.

Based on the factory account, you are correct in that 2415 came from Italy second hand at a later stage.

The two chassis number Jerry and I have not been able to link to any original U.S. owners are 2421 and 2426. Jack Hinkle and Hap Sharp are likely contenders but now it seems there is a third one: Chuck Howard. I also remember reading somewhere that the Sharp 200SI was originally sold to a European owner, so perhaps the contenders for 2421 and 2426 are Hinkle and Howard. The trick is to find out which one exactly.

all research Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 05 November 2010 - 14:57.

[ERault]

Hi Jerry and Willem,

Wasn't 2421 the one raced by Slim Helson from early 1960 ? If so the date would fit with Hinkle solding it after buying his first Birdcage. Helson's 200 SI can seen here in 1960 :

http://ferrariexpert.....ar photos.htm

I reckon not many cars had their head fairing padded with burgundy upholstery. Aylward's car had a similar treatment, but I think he and Hinkle were racing 200 SI at the same time.

[Jerry Entin]

ERault: Hi back at you.
This is from Willem:

"I talked to Slim Helson in Milford, Ohio, by phone many years ago. He did not remember the chassis number of the 200SI he once owned, or whom he bought it from, apart from that it came from soemwhere in the Midwest. There could have been a dealer or another owner in between, but it is possible that his car was 2421.

As for the fancy headrest treatment on Hinkle's car, yes, Bobby Aylward had one as well, although his was a 250S, chassis 2431."

[Gerr]

Ran across these today.
May help, might not...

Two from CP&AW, August 28,1965

MASERATI 200S_Cobra engine and gearbox. A wild one, $2500.
Tom Payne's European Cars, Inc.
506 E.Michigan Ave.
Ypsilanti, Michigan: (313)482-2175

Maserati 200Si-Five-speed ZF with or without power train. Room for V8.
Terrific for street slalom or regional racing. $3850 or offers.
Vaughn Funk
18 East 6th So.,
Salt Lake City, Utah
(801)328-8527

CP&AW, January 29, 1966

Maserati 1959 200 SI-Ford 289 engine, 4-speed transmission, positraction rear,
light, fast, dependable, trailer, spares, good condition, track or street, most performance per dollar.
$2995
C. Haines
8101 Pina Way
Louisville, Ky., 40219
(502)969-8592
....likely this is the same car as the one from Ypsilanti, also likely this is Chuck Haines...Can-Am Cars

[Jerry Entin]

Another unidentified 200SI

This is likely to have been the first 2-liter offered by the Hall/Shelby agency. The car was on display during the June 1-2, 1957, SCCA National at Eagle Mountain but not raced that weekend.

Note the lack of a headrest and the bulge in the trunk lid, the latter a feature not many 200SI cars had. Jim Hall would race the agency cars for a few races and then they were sold to eager customers. Although Hinkle bought his 200SI from Hall/Shelby, photos of the Hinkle car show a headrest and no indication of the truck bulge.

Gerr: Good work on finding those ads.

Photo: Pete Van Law
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 06 November 2010 - 17:21.

[Gerr]

"I also remember reading somewhere that the Sharp 200SI was originally sold to a European owner, so perhaps the contenders for 2421 and 2426 are Hinkle and Howard. The trick is to find out which one exactly."

Re: a European owner...R&T ran this ad, June 1958.

"Latest type MASERATI 2 LITER. Raced only once, and won its class. For sale $6500.
Like new. Delivered Palm Beach, Florida.
Contact Harry Schell, 65 Ave. d'lena, Paris, France;
or Phillip Schell, 990 Adam Rd., Palm Beach, Fla."

[ERault]

Harry Schell was the first 2 liter home at the 1958 Cuban GP in a 200 SI. Could it be this car ?

[Jerry Entin]

Gerr. Thanks for the research.

Hap Sharp's first race in his 200SI came at Midland on the weekend of August 2-3, 1958, so the timeline would fit.

It is likely that Hall/Shelby bought the car first, rather than Sharp. Bob Schroeder remembers how he, Jim Hall and mechanic Bert Kemp delivered the car to Sharp in Midland, only to find out that it had five reverse gears and one forward gear.

I wonder where Harry Schell ran it first.

ERault suggests it might have been the Cuban GP, but this event was held on February 24, 1958 and it seems early for a 1957 long-nose model, especially considering the shipping time from Italy. It all depends on when the first 1957 200SI model was completed in Modena.

all research Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 06 November 2010 - 20:42.

[Wolfi]

[Tom Meehan of Seattle got a 200SI in 1960 and raced it in the early 60s. But I believe Pete Lovely helped him get his directly from Italy, so I don't think it was the Hinkle car. I believe Tom's car was s/n 2415.

Vince H.
[/quote]


Yes, #2415 is the Meehan car. Now in Italy (with a new body and an Alfa gearbox). Has great Italian racing history.

Regards


Wolfi

Edited by Wolfi, 11 November 2010 - 22:30.

[Jerry Entin]

Another shot of the post 7 Maserati 200SI

The car was put on display by the Hall/Shelby agency at Eagle Mountain on June 1-2, 1957. The agency was officially opened in May 1957.

The Maserati concession was in place by then, but how long would it take for the first factory delivered 200SI cars to arrive? Could this be the 2-liter bought from Harry Schell [wherever he raced it first]?

The car shows some interesting details: the top row of rivets holding the screen of the driver's door is not positioned in the aluminum strip itself [like all other 200SI cars offered by Hall/Shelby, but slightly higher with the help of round extensions. As mentioned already, no sign of a headrest.

The 200SI supplied to Hap Sharp at the end of July 1958 shows the same characteristics: use of round extensions and no headrest, with the same number and location of rivets, five in the top row of the driver's door, four in the bottom row.

Jim Hall did not race his first 200SI until Stillwater on September 14-15 and it was a different car, presumably the first one straight from the factory. There is no photographic evidence that Hall ever raced the post 7 200SI. If the 200SI raced by Hap Sharp from August 1958 on is the same car as in post 7 the question remains, why wasn't the car raced for more than a year?

Photo: Pete Van Law
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 07 November 2010 - 13:58.

[Jerry Entin]

Hap Sharp and his 200SI at Mansfield in August 1958

Hap Sharp's 200SI seen in its second appearance after Midland. Note the number and location of the rivets and the absence of a headrest. A small roll bar has been added and there is no sign of a trunk bulge, perhaps hammered away.

Photo: Bob Jackson, Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 07 November 2010 - 14:59.

[Wolfi]

No connection to the Sharp 200SI, but #2412 and the Bob Ocker 150S which looked like a 200SI had trunk bulges.

Regards

Wolfi

[Jerry Entin]

Looking again at Gerr's post, I noticed that it mentions Harry Schell advertising in June of 1958, not 1957. So the June 1957 Eagle Mountain display car could not have come from Harry.

This also means that, based on the long time span of inactivity between the June 1957 display and Sharp's 200SI appearance in October 1958, the post 7 car is unlikely to have been Sharp's.

Harry's 200SI ending up with Sharp is still a possibility, though.

all research: Willem Oosthoek

[ERault]

Jim Hall did not race his first 200SI until Stillwater on September 14-15 and it was a different car, presumably the first one straight from the factory. There is no photographic evidence that Hall ever raced the post 7 200SI. If the 200SI raced by Hap Sharp from August 1958 on is the same car as in post 7 the question remains, why wasn't the car raced for more than a year?

I found two new owners racing between june 1957 and august 1958 : Gay Jackson and George Koehne. Jackson's car was discussed already and Jerry posted photos here :

http://forums.autosp...showtopic=99310 Post 22 shows what looks like a huge transversal rollbar and it is said in this thread that the car was retired from active duty when its broken engine was sent to Italy without coming back...

Not sure about Koehne's car however.

[Jerry Entin]

ERault: The full-width roll bar you described on the 200SI owned by Gaylord Jackson was possible because the car was campaigned without a headrest. The Jackson 200SI is chassis 2423.

As for the George Koehne 200SI, based on the color scheme raced by Koehne [white and red], it is likely to have been chassis 2424.

Both cars saw action for the first time at Fort Pierce, Florida, on September 28-29, 1957. The Jackson 200SI came via Hall-Shelby. The Koehne 200SI is likely to have been imported by George himself, using the cargo space of one of his Air Force bombers, as he did with various other cars.

all research: Willem Oosthoek

[Terry O'Neil]

Moving across to the East coast I see that John Fitch, (2427) Archie Means (2427) and M Brewer (2427) raced at various tracks, as did Charlie Kolb. Which 200SI did he use?
Many thanks
Terry

[ERault]

Note the lack of a headrest and the bulge in the trunk lid, the latter a feature not many 200SI cars had. Jim Hall would race the agency cars for a few races and then they were sold to eager customers. Although Hinkle bought his 200SI from Hall/Shelby, photos of the Hinkle car show a headrest and no indication of the truck bulge.
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Am I correct in my understanding of the bulge in the trunk lid being needed to comply with the world sportscar championship regulations ? If so, the 200 SI exposed at Eagle Mountain on the photo would have been either a car previously run in a championship race, or ordered by a customer who intended to do so. What do you think ?

[Jerry Entin]

Terry:
The red 200SI that Charlie Kolb raced on various tracks in 1959 bears a striking resemblance to chassis 2425, the car that Bob Kuhn bought from Hall/Shelby in 1958. The presence and location of the portholes under the headlights are identical, and not many 1957 SI Maseratis had them.

Kuhn ran the car in 1958 USAC events a number of times, but after that I have not been able to find him with 2425. If Kolb did race the Kuhn 200SI, I don't know what arrangement he may have had with Kuhn in 1959 [lease contract?] but I do know that Kuhn Motors in Fairborn, Ohio, was still legal owner of 2425 as late as May 1960.

Around that time Kuhn had an extensive correspondence with Jim Hall Race Cars [the Hall/Shelby agency did not exist anymore] in an effort to acquire a Texas title. Without that Kuhn was unable to get an Ohio title, apparently a requirement to sell the 2425.


all research: Willem Oosthoek

[Jerry Entin]

Erault:
We think that all 1957 200SI models were compatible with the international FIA regulations, hence the I behind the S. Since in most cases the factory did not know whom the future owners would be or the competition purpose of the car, it would be safe to finish them in compliance with the rules and let the owners make any modifications afterwards.

As for the 200SI on display during the Eagle Mountain SCCA National, photographer Pete Van Law remembers the car as a "brand new looking 150S" and that he was told the new owner was Stan Sugarman of Phoenix. Unfortunately, no records exist of Sugarman ever owning a 150S, or a 200SI for that matter.

It isn't the 1957 model 150S that Bob Oker raced in California either. This car had a built-in rear view mirror, a metal tonneau and a small windshield. Most historians agree that the car on display was a 200SI.

all research : Willem Oosthoek

[ERault]

Erault:
We think that all 1957 200SI models were compatible with the international FIA regulations, hence the I behind the S. Since in most cases the factory did not know whom the future owners would be or the competition purpose of the car, it would be safe to finish them in compliance with the rules and let the owners make any modifications afterwards.

I agree the 200 SI (as opposed to the 1956 200 S) was intended to comply with the 1957 FIA regulations. My thinking was that a) I could find no other use for the bulge and b) the few cars in FIA championship races I had photos at hands appeared to have that bulge (number 22 and 26 at Sebring in 1957, number 32 at Buenos Aires 1958). But I have now found out that number 25 at Le Mans in 1957 did not have one, so my theory is flawed and I am back to square one. Maybe listing all the cars we know had that bulge would make some pattern emerge ?

[Jerry Entin]

Chuck Howard and his 200SI
This was during the Saturday race before the Examiner GP at Pomona in March 1959.

Good friend and photographer Bob Tronolone provided us with this rare shot of Chuck Howard's 200SI. With the original U.S. owners of chassis 2421 and 2426 still to be decided between Jack Hinkle and Howard, this photo is a great help. It shows the Howard 200SI with portholes, making it the third US-bound 2-liter with that feature [chassis 2414 and 2425 had them as well]. Hinkle's car did not have them.

Three Californians ran chassis 2421 at Monterey between 1980 and 1984: Jay Foreman, Richard Crebs and Ned McDaniel. Pictures in the Monterey program show their 200SI with portholes, which leads me to believe that the Howard car was chassis 2421. Based on the process of elimination that leaves Hinkle with chassis 2426.

For Terry O'Neil: This discovery also makes chassis 2421 a likely candidate for the 200SI that Charlie Kolb ran in 1959. Even more so considering the problems that Bob Kuhn had in obtaining a Texas title.

all research Willem Oosthoek
photo: Brob Tronolone

Edited by Jerry Entin, 10 November 2010 - 00:15.

[Jerry Entin]

Steve Baughman in his 200SI at the 1961 "Times GP" at Riverside.
Not a great photo but maybe someone can spot something distinctive which could help ID the car.

More on the Baughman car: In 1962 or 1963 it was entered in several races by Salt Lake City driver Yale Thomas with Chevy power. I don't recall if it actually appeared or raced.

Photo: Tam McPartland
all research: Tam McPartland

[ERault]

Well, Baughman's car looks suspiciously similar to Hinkle's 200 SI as shown on post 1.

As for Yale Thomas, he won a regional at Aspen in on july 28, 1963 in a Chevy engined Maserati and was a DNF at the Continental Divide USRRC round that year.

[Jerry Entin]

Bob Oker in Dusty Miller's Maserati 150S, chassis 1675
Bob is on his way to third overall at Paramount Ranch in December 1957.


Thanks to Tam's photo we now know where Jack Hinkle's chassis 2426 ended up: Steve Baughman. However, the June 1957 display Maserati at Eagle Mountain has not been identified yet. Few 200SI cars in the U.S. had the trunk bulge and this feature only seems to appear in cars that were completed in Modena in the early 57s.

As Wolfi mentioned, Jim Kimberly's 200SI [chassis 2412] and Dusty Miller's 150S [chassis 1675] had one. The Miller 150S was completed on January 29, 1957, the Kimberly 200SI on February 17, 1957.

Of the other 200SIs completed in time to possibly make it to Eagle Mountain in June on time, chassis 2414 [completed on March 23, 1957] and 2422 [March 31, 1957] no trunk bulge seems to be in place, but then photos don't reveal much detail about the trunk. Chassis 2414 had portholes anyway. All other 1957 200SI cars were completed after Eagle Mountain, starting with Chuck Howard's chassis 2421 on June 3, 1957.

Could the display Maserati have been Dusty Miller's 150S, since photographer Pete Van Law remembers it as a 150S? Chassis 1675 is often confused with the 200SI model since it had the same body lines. It was the last 150S to come from Modena. But it did not comply with the 1957 international rules [small windshield, metal tonneau on the passenger side] so it can't have been the same car.

Photo: Joe Playan Collection
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 11 November 2010 - 20:56.

[Jerry Entin]

Bob Oker in Dusty Miller's 150S at Pomona in 1958

This Allen Kuhn photo made the cover of the April 1958 issue of Sports Car Journal magazine of Art Evans.

Probably the clearest evidence that chassis 1675 was not the Eagle Mountain display car, in spite of its trunk bulge.

Photo: Allen Kuhn
all research : Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 11 November 2010 - 21:25.

[ERault]

This also means that, based on the long time span of inactivity between the June 1957 display and Sharp's 200SI appearance in October 1958, the post 7 car is unlikely to have been Sharp's.
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Looking again at the Eagle Mountain car on post 12 and Sharp's one on the following post, I just noticed that on Sharp's 200 SI the front side vents are parallel to the wheel arch, whereas on the Eagle Mountain the vents are more upright. That would indeed confirm two different cars.

[Jerry Entin]

From Jim Sitz,: Race historian of Vintage Motorsport magazine:

The March 61 issue of the SCCA magazine shows an ad by Gracie Harris of Kansas City, selling the ex-Jack Hinkle 2-liter Maserati.

Another piece of the puzzle falls in place. Gracie was an accomplished amateur driver and it looks like she was the owner between Hinkle and Baughman.

[raceannouncer2003]

From Jim Sitz,: Race historian of Vintage Motorsport magazine:

The March 61 issue of the SCCA magazine shows an ad by Gracie Harris of Kansas City, selling the ex-Jack Hinkle 2-liter Maserati.

Another piece of the puzzle falls in place. Gracie was an accomplished amateur driver and it looks like she was the owner between Hinkle and Baughman.

The entry list for the July 4, 1960 Lake Garnett races, which Jack Hinkle won in his new Tipo 61, shows Grace Harris in a Maserati.

Vince H.

[Jerry Entin]

Lance Reventlow and his 1957 Maserati 200SI
This was chassis 2422, Lance claimed third overall at Laguna Seca on June 15, 1958.

Now to one of the more elusive 200SI Maseratis, the second one owned by Lance Reventlow. It was chassis 2422 and it had nothing to do with the 200SI model he raced at Sebring in 1957. In fact, we have been able to find only two race appearances for chassis 2422, Nassau in 1957 [Chuck Daigh claimed Lance's main objective there was to beat the 2-liter Ferrari of his friend Bruce Kessler] and the first-ever race at Laguna Seca, on June 15, 1958.

This is the only image we have been able to find of the car. It was completed in Modena on March 31, 1957, but it is unlikely that the first customer was Reventlow. Lance still had his first 200SI, likely to have been chassis 2406, and did not crash it until the summer, in England. The Maserati archives don't list chassis 2422 as having gone to the US originally. Does this mean that Reventlow bought it secondhand in Italy during his European grand tour in 1957, or is it an omission in the records. Could it have ben the June 1957 Eagle Mountain display car? Shelby and Reventlow know each other,

Unfortunately, the image is too grainy to determine any specific body features. If it is the display 200SI, the headrest is an obvious addition.

photo: Bill Hewitt
all research: Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 13 November 2010 - 02:11.

[Jean L]

In this video
at 1.38 ,a Maserati with the Reventlow paint scheme in the paddock of the Nürburgring 1957.

[Jerry Entin]

Jean L:

The car in the paddock is Reventlow's first 2-liter of 1956 vintage. It was imported in red into the US by Phil Rauch of Maserati Southwest Distributors, based in North Hollywood. Sports Car Illustrated magazine managed to arrange a practice session at Paramount Ranch in January 1957, with Bill Pollack, Bruce Kessler, Lance Reventlow and Carlyle Blackwell doing the testing. Reventlow was so impressed by the car that he bought it on the spot. Criff Borgeson did the write-up on the test session in the May 1957 issue of SCI.

It is likely that the car was chassis 2406, completed on August 17, 1956. The first five 200S models were used by the factory team and this was the first customer car. Borgeson's article does not mention a chassis number but the quality of finish indicate an extra effort that is unlikely to have gone into a works car. "The Maserati's bodywork is beautiful. Our test car had been pushed a great deal in and out of showrooms and on and off trailers. Its aluminum paneling was flawless, without a ripple. This degree of quality is unusual for Italian racing machinery..."

Reventlow raced it as a 200S in red with small windshield and metal tonneau at Pomona and New Smyrna. For Sebring in March the car was upgraded to 200SI specs with full-width screen and two extra headlights built into the nose. It was also repainted in his own color scheme. All the modifications were done in California.

After Sebring the car was sent back to Italy to be prepared for the European season. It is possible that Reventlow collected the factory-fresh 2-liter at the Nurburgring, although it was not entered there. The two headlights added for Sebring have been removed again, as the nose opening indicate.

all research : Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 13 November 2010 - 13:04.

[Cynic2]

From my rather spotty recollections, (and, as I'm traveling, no reference material), I recall Wayne Golumb, then in Illinois, bringing a 150S to a Ferrari Club of America annual meeting in the 1970s, with a similar paint scheme. I also believe that Steve Barney, of North Carolina, had a simiar (but different) 150S/200S.

No idea of chassis numers on either. Wayne could have raced his in vintage racing at the time; Steve probably not.

David

Edited by Cynic2, 13 November 2010 - 13:58.

[Wolfi]

From my rather spotty recollections, (and, as I'm traveling, no reference material), I recall Wayne Golumb, then in Illinois, bringing a 150S to a Ferrari Club of America annual meeting in the 1970s, with a similar paint scheme. I also believe that Steve Barney, of North Carolina, had a simiar (but different) 150S/200S.

No idea of chassis numers on either. Wayne could have raced his in vintage racing at the time; Steve probably not.

David

Wayne Golomb´s car was #2425.

Regards


Wolfi

Edited by Wolfi, 13 November 2010 - 14:38.

[raceannouncer2003]

the first-ever race at Laguna Seca, on June 15, 1958.

I believe the first-ever race at Laguna Seca was in November of 1957.

Vince H.

[Jerry Entin]

Chassis 2414 when owned by Jim Bruni of New Jersey in the late 70s Note the slightly higher portholes which helps identify the car.

Side view of Jim Bruni owned chassis 2414.

The photos that Brian had posted in what was post # 34 show portholes under the headlights.

Of the 200SI cars that came to the US originally, only three featured them: chassis 2414, 2421 and 2425. But on chassis 2414 they were positioned slightly higher and the car was still in Salt Lake City then, with an American V8. This car's color scheme is similar to chassis 2425 when Otto Klein raced it in the 60s. As for the engine, as the original ones expired swaps between the original 2-liter size and 1.5-liter and 2.5-liter versions were not uncommon, so it is possible it carried a 1.5-liter.

You're right Vince:
We meant to say first-ever SCCA race at Laguna Seca. The San Francisco Region held the First Annual Laguna Seca Regional Road Races in June of 1958. Sorry for the confusion.

all research Willem Oosthoek

Edited by Jerry Entin, 13 November 2010 - 22:48.

[B Squared]

I'm reposting these at Jerry's request. When I saw David (Cynic2) state that the car was a 150, I pulled the post as I didn't think that they belonged in the thread. Sorry for the confusion. B²

photos: B²
from the Ferrari Club of America national meeting at the General Motors Technical Center in the early '70's.

[Jerry Entin]

After Laguna Seca in June 1958 there was never a sign again of Lance Reventlow racing his white 200SI, chassis 2422, and one wonders where the car ended up. With his Scarabs being so successful overall winners, I doubt there would be any inclination for Reventlow to hang on to his 2-liter Maserati. But where did it go?

A month after Laguna Seca, on July 19-20 1958, Jacksonville brain surgeon David Lane showed up at Cocoa-Titusville, Florida, with an immaculate white 1957 Maserati 200SI #39, so far unidentified. This one featured even fancier decorative blue stripes than the Reventlow 200SI, and I wonder if it could have been the same car.

all research: Willem Oosthoek

[Jerry Entin]

David Lane's Maserati 200SI
A month after Laguna Seca, another white 1957 200SI showed up at Cocoa-Titusville this time.

David Lane was still in his first year of competition. At Cocoa-Titusville he finished 4th overall with this 2-liter Maserati, which may have been Lance Reventlow's second one.



Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 15 November 2010 - 18:37.

[cabianca]

Lance Reventlow and his 1957 Maserati 200SI
This was chassis 2422, Lance claimed third overall at Laguna Seca on June 15, 1958.

Now to one of the more elusive 200SI Maseratis, the second one owned by Lance Reventlow. It was chassis 2422 and it had nothing to do with the 200SI model he raced at Sebring in 1957. In fact, we have been able to find only two race appearances for chassis 2422, Nassau in 1957 [Chuck Daigh claimed Lance's main objective there was to beat the 2-liter Ferrari of his friend Bruce Kessler] and the first-ever race at Laguna Seca, on June 15, 1958.

This is the only image we have been able to find of the car. It was completed in Modena on March 31, 1957, but it is unlikely that the first customer was Reventlow. Lance still had his first 200SI, likely to have been chassis 2406, and did not crash it until the summer, in England. The Maserati archives don't list chassis 2422 as having gone to the US originally. Does this mean that Reventlow bought it secondhand in Italy during his European grand tour in 1957, or is it an omission in the records. Could it have ben the June 1957 Eagle Mountain display car? Shelby and Reventlow know each other,

Unfortunately, the image is too grainy to determine any specific body features. If it is the display 200SI, the headrest is an obvious addition.

photo: Bill Hewitt
all research: Willem Oosthoek

The first race at Laguna Seca was held on 10 Nov 1957.

[Jerry Entin]

Cabianca: As mentioned already on November 13, 2010, in post 36 by Vince/Raceannouncer and confirmed in post 37 as meant to read the first SCCA race at Laguna Seca.

[etceterini.com]

My Dad can't remember where/when he took these photos. I don't think it was 1959 but perhaps 1960?
Jerry can you tell us where and when these were taken?

[Jean L]

Possibly Lawrenceville 3 april 1960.In any case in 1960 and before 24 july.

[D-Type]

My Dad can't remember where/when he took these photos. I don't think it was 1959 but perhaps 1960?
Jerry can you tell us where and when these were taken?

Totally OT: doesn't comparison with the Birdcage show how absurd the 1959 "Deep screen" rule was?

Edited by D-Type, 09 July 2012 - 08:34.

[RA Historian]

I tend to agree with Jean L. It does look like Lawrenceville. The T-61 is the Causey car, now in the collection of Nick Mason.
Tom