Maserati 4CLT - The remarkable history of chassis no. 1600
3The latest in the 'Exceptional Cars' series tells the story of one of the two cars bought by The Automovil Club Argentino (ACA). Painted in the bright blue and yellow Argentine racing colours, 1600 was to play an important role in the Argentine team's international expeditions to Europe. Fangio won two races in the car, the most important being at Pau in 1950, where he repeated his win in the ACA sister car a year earlier.
As well as a detailed chronicle of the car’s highs and lows, the text includes profiles of the drivers who raced in 1600 and a personal account of driving and running the car by a former owner who describes the daunting task of re-creating a Maserati 4CLT engine from scratch.
Key content
- 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.
- Profusely illustrated and including many previously unpublished photographs, the book provides not only the remarkable story of an exceptional car but also an insight to the vibrant post-war racing scene in South America.
The author
Cristián Bertschi trained in industrial design and lectured at the University of Buenos Aires, until 2000, when he discovered that he could turn his passion for cars and motorsport into a full-time job. He has written for publications such as Het Klaverblaadje, Cavallino and Automobilsport. He also runs the INGO database, a platform that tracks the individual history of more than 15,000 cars by their serial numbers.
ISBN 978-1-907085-75-8
