Built Up Models

The 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage Long Tail 24h Le Mans

Drivers Munaron & Scarlatti

By 1958, Maserati was rather short on cash and in need of a design that could be successful on the race track. In order to produce such a machine, brilliant engineer Giulio Alfieri decided to make the most of Le Mans regulations, lightening Maserati’s chassis to the absolute minimum while still using four-cylinder power. For the Tipo 60, Alfieri’s team welded around 200 tiny steel tubes to form a cage-like structure, adding a 2.0-litre four-cylinder and an alloy body with a deeply recessed windshield. This ultra-low seating position would also result in massive wheel wells, under which lay the latest in tire development.

Since this 150-pound “Birdcage” chassis cracked during early testing, Maserati quickly switched to a different grade of chro-moly steel tubings. Moss then won his first race with the Tipo 60. After six units were made, the Modena factory moved on for 1960 to the Tipo 61, essentially the same car with a 2.9-litre four-cylinder instead of a 2.0 Litre.