1956 Maserati 250 F

Graciously Lent by the Auriana Collection

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOS BY KIMBALL STUDIOS

• This car was driven by Stirling Moss to victory in 1956 European Grand Prix at Monza

• Stirling Moss won the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix in the sister car of this 250 F

• One of the most iconic Grand Prix cars of the 20th century

Maserati has been a famous name in motor racing for almost 100 years ever since the first Maserati racing car won its class at the grueling Targa Florio road race in Sicily in 1926. The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto, were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century and were always interested in the sport. After selling their company to another Italian family in 1937, the new company returned to grand prix racing in 1950, and introduced their finest Formula One car, the Maserati 250F, in 1954.

The Maserati 250F was part of the Formula One World Championship between 1954 and 1958. At the end of the 250F’s development two cars were built with 12-cylinder engines.

The 250F claimed a total of nine Grand Prix wins for the factory team and Fangio went on to win the 1957 World Championship with a Maserati 250F. Their main competition came from Ferrari, Vanwall and Mercedes Benz. Designed by a team led by Gioacchino Colombo, 250F’s were successful in many races both in the World Formula One Championship and in many other F1 races around the world in that period. Maserati’s were driven by the great names in motorsports - Juan Manuel Fangio, José Froilán González, Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Jean Behra, Tony Brooks, Prince Bira, Peter Collins, and Luigi Musso. Maserati ran factory teams and sold cars to private entries and all in all some 26 250F’s were built.  

The car shown here, chassis 2525 won the 1956 European Grand Prix at Monza in 1956 when it was driven that day by the glamorous British driver, Stirling Moss, who was one of the most successful drivers ever, although he is equally well known as the greatest driver in history who never won the world championship! Moss also won the Monaco Grand Prix that year in another 250F.

Altogether Maserati 250Fs won 8 Grand Prix and they remained competitive until the introduction of rear-engine cars from Cooper and Lotus towards the end of the fifties.

Specifications:

Engine: In line 6-cylinder twin-overhead cam

Power: 270 bhp

Transmission: First a 4-speed and later a 5-speed gearbox

Transmission: Four-Speed Manual

Weight: 1400 lbs