The Maserati 8C was a

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 built by Maserati between 1931 and 1933. The 8C was being designed by

Alfieri Maserati Alfieri Maserati (23 September 1887 – 3 March 1932) was an Italian automotive engineer, known for establishing and leading the Maserati racing car manufacturer with the other Maserati Brothers. Maserati was born in Voghera. In 1903 he and his ...

in the early 1930s; however, he died before its completion. The chassis was that of the Tipo 26M, and it was initially fitted with a Tipo 26M engine with its cylinders bored out by 4 mm to arrive at its limit of 2.8 litres. Development of the new 3.0 L engine continued and it was constructed for racing in 1932. The car won the 1933

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

and

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Henry 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 ...

achieved third place driving it in the

Tripoli Grand Prix The Tripoli Grand Prix (Italian: ''Gran Premio di Tripoli'') was a motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli, the capital of what was then Italian Tripolitania, now Libya. It lasted until 1940. Background Motor ...

. However, it was not very successful in other races. The car featured some of the world's earliest

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

brakes. The Tipo 8C 3000 was the final two-seater Grand Prix Maserati. In 2000 an original Maserati 8C 2800 sold at an

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

for US$1.65 million and a 1932 Maserati 8C 3000 for $1.08 million.

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