MASERATI 4CLT : THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF CHASSIS N° 1600

The Maserati 4CLT chassis no.1600 is one of the cars that set the great Juan Manuel Fangio on his way to five World Championships. Fangio won two Grands Prix with it, and it was also driven by other rising stars: José Froilán González, Benedicto Campos and Onofre Marimón. The 4CLT was a state-of-the-art race car in the immediate post-war years. This book describes its development from the 1939 4CL and how Maserati moved from voiturette racing to Formula 1 as the foremost supplier of cars to private teams.


Author Cristián Bertschi is a specialist in tracking the history of cars of this era and describes 1600’s exploits race-by-race, including a period after it ceased to be competitive in Grand Prix racing and was fitted with a Ford V8 engine for local events in Argentina.
4CLT 1600’s subsequent history reads like a detective story: how it was re-discovered, put back to its original specification, restored and rebuilt, and went on a journey from Argentina to the United States and Japan before settling back in Europe, where it is now an established competitor in historic racing.
As well as a detailed chronicle of the car’s highs and lows, the text includes profiles of the men who raced in 1600 and a personal account of driving and running it by a former owner who describes the daunting task of re-creating a Maserati 4CLT engine from scratch.
Profusely illustrated and including many previously unpublished photographs, the book provides not only the remarkable story of an exceptional car but also an insight to the vibrant post-war racing scene in South America.