Maserati Tipo V4
The Maserati Tipo V4 (1929–1932) was a grand tourer race car designed by Zagato. It’s notable for being the first known racecar powered by a V16 engine. To fit the design on a limited budget, Maserati stacked two straight-eight engines on a common crankcase at a 22.5-degree angle, linking two crankshafts to a single output shaft. Each bank had a Roots supercharger, and Edoardo Weber tuned two updraft carburetors to help the engine breathe. The V16 produced about 375 hp with supercharging. The car used a steel ladder frame, an aluminum body, and a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a 3-speed manual gearbox. Suspension consisted of a rigid front axle and a live rear axle with leaf springs, and the brakes were cable-operated drums. Its dimensions were a wheelbase of 2,670 mm, length of 3,784 mm, width of 1,610 mm, and a curb weight around 1,050 kg. The Tipo V4 was built for Grand Prix racing and wore a simple aluminum competition body with distinctive dual exhausts.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:51 (CET).