1939 Maserati 4CL
The Maserati 4CL and its derived sister model the
Maserati 4CLT are single-seat racing cars that were designed and built by
Maserati.
The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939
season, as a rival to the Alfa Romeo 158 and various ERA models in the
voiturette class of international Grand Prix motor racing. Although racing
ceased during World War II, the 4CL was one of the front running models at the
resumption of racing in the late 1940s. Experiments with two-stage
supercharging and tubular chassis construction eventually led to the
introduction of the revised 4CLT model in 1948.
The Maserati 4CL was steadily upgraded and updated
over the following two years, resulting in the ultimate 4CLT/50 model,
introduced for the inaugural year of the Formula One World Championship in
1950. In the immediate post-war period, and the first two years of the Formula
One category, the 4CLT was the car of choice for many privateer entrants,
leading to numerous examples being involved in most races during this period.
After the replacement of the factory team’s 4CLs by
the new 4CLT, many examples of the older cars found their way into privateer
hands. It was owing to the 4CL’s popularity with privateer entrants that many
were still being run in top-flight competition at the outset of the Formula One
World Championship in 1950.
