The Maserati Tipo 26M was a model of
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
race car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...
produced by Italian manufacturer
Maserati
Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, for a total of 13 units, between 1930 and 1932.
Before the Tipo 26M, the original
Tipo 26 from 1926 had evolved into version such as 26B, 26C and 26R. Based on these, the Tipo 26M was designed in 1930 as mostly single-seaters (''M'' meaning ''
monoposto
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
'') and also referred to as ''8C 2500'' (8 cylinder, 2500 cc). Six of the 26M were made into
Tipo 26M Sport for long endurance purposes.
Special two-seaters for road use, were the ''26M Grand Sport'' by
Carrozzeria Castagna
Carrozzeria Castagna is an Italian coachbuilding company based in Milan, Italy.
History
The company history began in 1849 when Carlo Castagna bought the Ferrari coachbuilding business. Carrozzeria Castagna built the first coach automobile with a ...
, and the ''Sport Tipo
1000 Miglia'' by
Ugo Zagato
Ugo Zagato (25 June 1890, in Gavello – 31 October 1968) was an Italian automobile designer, known for establishing and running the Zagato coachbuilder, famous for its lightweight designs.
He had five brothers and lost his father (1905), forcing ...
. Two four-seaters were later referred to as the company's first attempt at non-racing cars.
The Tipo 26M dominated the
1930 Grand Prix season having its debut at
VI Premio Reale di Roma (
Luigi Arcangeli
Luigi Arcangeli (1902 - 23 May 1931) was an Italian motorcycle and car racer.
Biography
Arcangeli was born at Forlì in 1894.
A factory rider for Sarolea, Sunbeam, Bianchi and Moto Guzzi, he turned to four wheels in the wake of his friend Tazi ...
won, 25 May 1930),
IV Coppa Ciano (
Luigi Fagioli
Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...
won, 21 July 1930),
VI Coppa Acerbo (
Achille Varzi
Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian Grand Prix driver.
Career
Born in Galliate, province of Novara (Piedmont), Achille Varzi was the son of a textile manufacturer. As a young man, he was a successful motorcycle ra ...
won,
Ernesto Maserati
Ernesto Maserati (4 August 1898 – 1 December 1975) was an Italian automotive engineer and racer, with Maserati of Modena since its inception in Bologna on 14 December 1914, together with his brothers Alfieri Maserati (leader), Ettore Masera ...
second, 17 August 1930),
III Gran Premio di Monza (Varzi won, Arcangeli second, 7 September 1930)
and
VII Gran Premio de España (Varzi won,
Aymo Maggi
Aymo Maggi (30 July 1903 – 23 October 1961) was an Italian racing car driver from Brescia. He was the ''conte di Gradella'' based in Pandino outside Cremona.
Maggi started automobile racing in 1922 and had his first important victory in his hom ...
second, 5 October 1930).
In the first half of the
1931 Grand Prix season
The 1931 Grand Prix season was a watershed year, with the advent of the AIACR European Championship. After several years of Grand Prix racing in the doldrums with little technical development, 1931 saw new models come from all three main manufac ...
it lost to
Alfa Romeo 8C
The Alfa Romeo 8C was originally a range of Alfa Romeo road, Auto racing, race and sports cars of the 1930s. In 2004 Alfa Romeo revived the 8C name for a V8-engined concept car which made it into production for 2007, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizion ...
and
Bugatti T51
The Bugatti Type 51 series succeeded the famous Type 35 as Bugatti's premier racing car for the 1930s. Unlike the dominant Type 35s of the prior decade, the Type 51 (and later Type 53, Type 54, and Type 59) were unable to compete with the governm ...
.
A higher bore engine with carburetors from
Edoardo Weber of
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, became the 8C 2800 that won at the
IV Gran Premio di Monza (
Luigi Fagioli
Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...
, 6 September 1931) and
I Mountains Championship at Brooklands (
Tim Birkin
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.
Background and family
Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of S ...
, 17 October 1931).
Other drivers of 26M this year were
Clemente Biondetti
Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955) was an Italian auto racing driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success.
Biography
Born in Buddusò, S ...
,
Luigi Parenti,
George Eyston
Captain George Edward Thomas Eyston MC OBE (28 June 1897 – 11 June 1979) was a British engineer, inventor, and racing driver best known for breaking the land speed record three times between 1937 and 1939.
Early life
George Eyston was educ ...
,
Pietro Ghersi
Pietro Ghersi (1899 – 1 January 1972) was an Italian motorcycle racer and, from 1927, also a racecar driver. He was born in Genoa.
With his brother Mario Ghersi and Luigi Arcangeli he biked in the 1926 Isle of Man TT and 1930 Isle of Man TT i ...
,
Umberto Klinger Umberto Klinger (August 3, 1900 in Saluzzo – January 26, 1971 in Venice) was an aviator, Italian politician and entrepreneur.
Biography
Volunteer in the Alpini assault troop Arditi detachments during the World War I, First World War, subsequen ...
and
René Dreyfus
René Dreyfus (6 May 1905 – 16 August 1993) was a French driver who raced automobiles for 14 years in the 1920s and 1930s, the Golden Era of Grand Prix motor racing.
Early life
Dreyfus was born and raised in Nice to a Jewish family. He show ...
.
Later victories were with
Tim Birkin
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.
Background and family
Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of S ...
's 26M,
III Mountains Championship (
Whitney Straight
Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States.
Early life
Born in New York City, Whitn ...
, 21 October 1933) and as an ''8C'' at
Circuit d'Albi
The Circuit d'Albi is a motorsport race track located in the French town of Le Sequestre near Albi, about northeast of Toulouse. Built to replace the nearby '' Les Planques'' public road circuit, Albi has 70 years of history in motor-racing, ...
GP (
Buddy Featherstonhaugh
Rupert Edward Lee "Buddy" Featherstonhaugh ( ; 4 October 1909 – 12 July 1976) was an English jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.
Musical career
Born in Paris in 1909, the son of an English marine architect and his Scottish wife. His grandfath ...
, 22 July 1934).
References
{{Maserati
Tipo 26M
Grand Prix cars