While reading the entry on Maserati in the Beaulieu Encyclopedia
of the Automobile, I came across the following paragraph:
"In 1957, Maserati nearly won the World Sports Car Championship
with its 450S sports racer which used a 4.5 litre "quad cam" V8
which had been originally been commissioned by an American
enthusiast for an Indianapolis car. The commissioner, who
was rumoured to be associated with organised crime, vanished
overnight. Maserati did not return to Indianapolis, but it was
left with a superb engine."
Does anyone have any details on either
a) the commissioner?
b) the Indy car
Graham
1950s Maserati engined Indy 500 car
Started by
Graham Clayton
, Jul 23 2001 22:25
8 replies to this topic
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#2
fines
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Posted 24 July 2001 - 00:09
a) would probably be Tony Parravano and b) the El Dorado Special. Not having the time to rush to my books, I would suggest to search TNF for "Parravano" and/or "El Dorado", since I think we discussed that topic a few months ago.
#3
FLB
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Posted 24 July 2001 - 01:07
Fines, that's what I thought too, until I read this:
The key word, to me, seems to be originally, as in prior to the existence of the 450S.
The Eldorado Special failed to start at IMS in 1959 with Ralph Liguori (too slow, 136.395 mph), but is mostly interesting because it was driven by Stirling Moss at the Race of Two Worlds in 1958, where he crashed as a consequence of a steering failure. Eldorado was an ice cream company, owned by a Signore Zanetti. The Special was a 250F chassis mated to a 450S engine.
Now, the question becomes: Does the quote indicate that the engine was designed before 1957, with another car in mind?
Mike Boyle, the money man behind Shaw's 8CTF, was also somewhat shady (where's Buford when you need him?;) )
Originally posted by Graham Clayton
"In 1957, Maserati nearly won the World Sports Car Championship with its 450S sports racer which used a 4.5 litre "quad cam" V8 which had been originally been commissioned by an American enthusiast for an Indianapolis car.
Graham
The key word, to me, seems to be originally, as in prior to the existence of the 450S.
The Eldorado Special failed to start at IMS in 1959 with Ralph Liguori (too slow, 136.395 mph), but is mostly interesting because it was driven by Stirling Moss at the Race of Two Worlds in 1958, where he crashed as a consequence of a steering failure. Eldorado was an ice cream company, owned by a Signore Zanetti. The Special was a 250F chassis mated to a 450S engine.
Now, the question becomes: Does the quote indicate that the engine was designed before 1957, with another car in mind?
Mike Boyle, the money man behind Shaw's 8CTF, was also somewhat shady (where's Buford when you need him?;) )
#4
David McKinney
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Posted 24 July 2001 - 06:12
Yes to Tony Parravano, but no to the El Dorado Special.
In 1956 Parravano set about building a Kurtis-based Indy car, which was to be powered by a Maserati engine. Although I can find no mention of it, presumably he commissioned the new V8 at that time (I had always thought the 4.2-litre Indy engine was developed from the 450S, but maybe it was the other way around).
Whatever, the car was never finished.
Parravano did however take delivery of two 4.2-litre engines at the end of the year, at the same time as he acquired an offset Maserati 250F. A few months later, under investigation by the IRS, he had to cease all racing activity.
In 1956 Parravano set about building a Kurtis-based Indy car, which was to be powered by a Maserati engine. Although I can find no mention of it, presumably he commissioned the new V8 at that time (I had always thought the 4.2-litre Indy engine was developed from the 450S, but maybe it was the other way around).
Whatever, the car was never finished.
Parravano did however take delivery of two 4.2-litre engines at the end of the year, at the same time as he acquired an offset Maserati 250F. A few months later, under investigation by the IRS, he had to cease all racing activity.
#5
Roger Clark
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Posted 24 July 2001 - 06:34
"No 3 of this (450S) series was finished before the end of the year (1956) and was sold to tony Parravano...along with three V8 engines, two having a reduced stroke to bring the capacity down to 4.2litres as they were intened for an Indianapolis project."- D Jenkinson
#6
fines
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Posted 25 July 2001 - 14:54
I shouldn't post in the middle of the night, when surfing the www for want of sleep! Of course, the El Dorado doesn't fit the year! 
#7
cabianca
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Posted 25 July 2001 - 21:42
Answered this one before on another forum.
1. The backer of the 450S engine was Tony Parravanno, an American entrant who had been using Ferraris, but was changing to Maserati (as did other American entrants including Briggs Cunningham, Jim Kimberly, Bill Spear, etc.). Maser had the engine on the drawing board for some time but didn't have the money to build it. Tony wanted an engine for Indianapolis so had Maserati build 2 4.2 liter V-8s to meet the Indy regs. The 450S Sports Car WC engines were built AFTER the Indy engines. Tony bought a new Kurtis chassis for the Maser engines, but the program never got off the ground as Tony got into trouble with the US Gov't over a tax evasion case.
2. Much of Tony's stuff found its way into the hands of Frank Arciero. Arciero, like Tony, was a building contractor from Detroit who had come to Los Angeles to make big bucks. Arciero later (1959) tried the Kurtis/Maserati combo at Indy but wasn't fast enough to qualify. Shorty Templeman was the driver. This was NOT the El Dorado Special which had run the the Monza Race of Two Worlds before coming to Indy. Arciero also had Tony's wrecked 375 MM Ferrari. He put one of the 4.2 Maseratis in that chassis and clothed the whole mess in an ugly British Mistrial plastic body. Surprisingly, it was fairly fast in the hands of Skip Hudson. Frank also had Tony's 375 Plus which had its chassis shortened by Tony and was fitted with an American body by Sutton in Los Angeles. This car, still with its 4.9 Ferrari V-12, was the car that put Dan Gurney on the map as his first "big car" drive.
3. The Beaulieu Encyclopedia reference to organized crime is wrong. I have been through all the relevent government complaints and court records and the only thing Parravano was ever accused of was tax evasion. He did not immediately disappear. He did hang out with some bad dudes and disappeared without a trace three years later, on April 8, 1960. The last race in which he was an entrant was in April 1957, when Phil Hill drove Parravano's Ferrari 121 LM to win the main event at Palm Springs.
1. The backer of the 450S engine was Tony Parravanno, an American entrant who had been using Ferraris, but was changing to Maserati (as did other American entrants including Briggs Cunningham, Jim Kimberly, Bill Spear, etc.). Maser had the engine on the drawing board for some time but didn't have the money to build it. Tony wanted an engine for Indianapolis so had Maserati build 2 4.2 liter V-8s to meet the Indy regs. The 450S Sports Car WC engines were built AFTER the Indy engines. Tony bought a new Kurtis chassis for the Maser engines, but the program never got off the ground as Tony got into trouble with the US Gov't over a tax evasion case.
2. Much of Tony's stuff found its way into the hands of Frank Arciero. Arciero, like Tony, was a building contractor from Detroit who had come to Los Angeles to make big bucks. Arciero later (1959) tried the Kurtis/Maserati combo at Indy but wasn't fast enough to qualify. Shorty Templeman was the driver. This was NOT the El Dorado Special which had run the the Monza Race of Two Worlds before coming to Indy. Arciero also had Tony's wrecked 375 MM Ferrari. He put one of the 4.2 Maseratis in that chassis and clothed the whole mess in an ugly British Mistrial plastic body. Surprisingly, it was fairly fast in the hands of Skip Hudson. Frank also had Tony's 375 Plus which had its chassis shortened by Tony and was fitted with an American body by Sutton in Los Angeles. This car, still with its 4.9 Ferrari V-12, was the car that put Dan Gurney on the map as his first "big car" drive.
3. The Beaulieu Encyclopedia reference to organized crime is wrong. I have been through all the relevent government complaints and court records and the only thing Parravano was ever accused of was tax evasion. He did not immediately disappear. He did hang out with some bad dudes and disappeared without a trace three years later, on April 8, 1960. The last race in which he was an entrant was in April 1957, when Phil Hill drove Parravano's Ferrari 121 LM to win the main event at Palm Springs.
#8
Roger Clark
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Posted 25 July 2001 - 23:00
The 450S Sports Car WC engines were built AFTER the Indy engines.
The V8 sports car first appeared in practice for te Swedish GP in August 1956. According to Orsini and Zagari's history of Maserati, the first 4.2-litre engine was built in December that year. I had never heard that Parravano was the backer of the 450S, although I'm sure that his purchase of a car and two engines helped.
#9
cabianca
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Posted 26 July 2001 - 18:31
Roger Clark and Maserati Watchers,
You are correct that Orsini claims that the sports version of the Maserati V-8 was built before the Indy version. My comment was caused because I knew that Parravano's engines were numbered 01 and 02. The fact is that the first two sports engines were 4501 and 4502 while the first two Indy engines were 4201 and 4202. Another source contradicts Orsini.
Regarding Parravano's participation in the project, Joel Finn, in "Maserati, the Postwar Sports Racing Cars", writes as follows:
"In conjunction with the smaller displacement 150S, 200S, 300S series, preliminary design work was undertaken in late 1954 by Bellantani and his staff to develop a big displacement engine that would allow Maserati to compete across the board with Ferrari. The chosen layout, a 90 degree V8, featured four gear driven camshafts with a total capacity in the 4500cc range, yet leaving plenty of room for expansion. This design effort extended into 1955, but became temporarily shelved during the summer, due to the uncertanties about the furture of sporst car racing following the Le Mans disaster. The project did not remain idle very long, as Tony Parravano expressed the desire to acquire a suitable 4.2 liter European motor, set up to run on alcohol, that he intended to install in a Kurtis chassis for an Indianapolis 500 attempt. With his encouragement and a general commitment to purchase two motors, the project was revived."
Parravano not only purchased the two 4.2 motors, but a complete 450S sports racer (4502) as well. Finn claims that all this equipment was "sold" to Parravano in October, 1956. Orsini shows the car being completed 29 Oct 56, but the engines being finished later (4201 completed 3 Dec 56, 4202 completed 29 Jan 57). This leaves the subject of whether Parravano actually took delivery in October or simply paid in advance (unlikely with Parravano) open to question. It should be noted here that Finn has claimed over the years to have Parravano's records, but to my knowledge, no one has ever seen them. The Parravao family claims that there were no such records. Certainly Tony had the advantage of being able to communicate his desires directly with Maserati without an interpreter, an advantage over other American customers.
None of this proves that Maserati wouldn't have built the 450S without Parravano. However, considering how unstable the Orsi's financial situation was, it seems unlikely that Maserati would have been willing to undertake the project without knowing at least some of its residual products could be sold.
You are correct that Orsini claims that the sports version of the Maserati V-8 was built before the Indy version. My comment was caused because I knew that Parravano's engines were numbered 01 and 02. The fact is that the first two sports engines were 4501 and 4502 while the first two Indy engines were 4201 and 4202. Another source contradicts Orsini.
Regarding Parravano's participation in the project, Joel Finn, in "Maserati, the Postwar Sports Racing Cars", writes as follows:
"In conjunction with the smaller displacement 150S, 200S, 300S series, preliminary design work was undertaken in late 1954 by Bellantani and his staff to develop a big displacement engine that would allow Maserati to compete across the board with Ferrari. The chosen layout, a 90 degree V8, featured four gear driven camshafts with a total capacity in the 4500cc range, yet leaving plenty of room for expansion. This design effort extended into 1955, but became temporarily shelved during the summer, due to the uncertanties about the furture of sporst car racing following the Le Mans disaster. The project did not remain idle very long, as Tony Parravano expressed the desire to acquire a suitable 4.2 liter European motor, set up to run on alcohol, that he intended to install in a Kurtis chassis for an Indianapolis 500 attempt. With his encouragement and a general commitment to purchase two motors, the project was revived."
Parravano not only purchased the two 4.2 motors, but a complete 450S sports racer (4502) as well. Finn claims that all this equipment was "sold" to Parravano in October, 1956. Orsini shows the car being completed 29 Oct 56, but the engines being finished later (4201 completed 3 Dec 56, 4202 completed 29 Jan 57). This leaves the subject of whether Parravano actually took delivery in October or simply paid in advance (unlikely with Parravano) open to question. It should be noted here that Finn has claimed over the years to have Parravano's records, but to my knowledge, no one has ever seen them. The Parravao family claims that there were no such records. Certainly Tony had the advantage of being able to communicate his desires directly with Maserati without an interpreter, an advantage over other American customers.
None of this proves that Maserati wouldn't have built the 450S without Parravano. However, considering how unstable the Orsi's financial situation was, it seems unlikely that Maserati would have been willing to undertake the project without knowing at least some of its residual products could be sold.
