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Technology in race cars (5): Maserati Tipo 60/61 Birdcage - front revolutionary in a birdcage

Name: Maserati Tipo 61 1960
Brand: Maserati

Created on May 31, 2021

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Tim Scott Courtesy of RM Auctions

Kyle Burt - Courtesy RM Auctions

Dave Nicholas

Maserati

Gerhard Schütz

Drew Gibson - Goodwood Revival

Archiv Essen Motor Show

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Tim Scott Courtesy of RM Auctions

Kyle Burt - Courtesy RM Auctions

Dave Nicholas

Maserati

Gerhard Schütz

Drew Gibson - Goodwood Revival

Archiv Essen Motor Show

Archiv

Maserati Tipo 61 'Birdcage' (1959) - in the race for the Sussex Trophy at the Goodwood Revival 2012

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Maserati Tipo 60/61 (1960) - Caging for the engine

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Maserati Tipo 60/61 (1960) - Transmission transverse on the rear axle, on the right the slide rail for the front De Dion tube

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - front sculpture

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - Wrecking tail after the aerodynamicist Kamm, full use at the Targa Florio

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Maserati Tipo 60/61 (1960) - Front section (without engine)

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Maserati Tipo 63 (1962) - mid-engine tests, swapping places for driver and engine

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Maserati Tipo 63 (1962) - design revolution, not quite successful yet

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Maserati Tipo 63 (1962) - Mid-engined birdcage with four-cylinder engine

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Maserati Tipo 65 (1964) - Birdcage with the twelve-cylinder mid-engine

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - Birdcage in the predecessor series of the CanAm, future Chaparral design sends its regards

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Maserati Tipo 60/61 (1960) - Front-engined sports car in the review

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - Birdcage - the bird in the cage breaks out

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Maserati Tipo 60 (1960) - Boffa in the place of honor at the Freiburg-Schauinsland Grand Prix in 1960

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - 600 kg heavy and 300 km/h fast

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - 1000 km Nürburgring - Stirling Moss / Dan Gurney won in 1960

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1961) - 1000 km Nürburgring - Masten Gregory and Lloyd Casner won in 1961

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Maserati Tipo 61 "Birdcage" (1960) - Lloyd 'Lucky' Casner did not reach the finish line at Le Mans in 1960

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Maserati Tipo 63 (Birdcage) - presented at the last minute at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - the three-liter front-engined sports car in the bodywork

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Maserati Tipo 61 (1960) - with hood up, Masten Gregory's car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1960

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12 Hours of Sebring 1961: Maserati Tipo 61 1959 Driven by Stirling Moss and Graham Hill : Chassis #2472

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12 Hours of Sebring 1961: Maserati Tipo 61 1959 Chassis #2459

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12 Hours of Sebring 1961: Maserati Tipo 61 1959 Chassis #2457

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Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage (1960) - at the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 1997

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12 Hours of Sebring 1961: Maserati Tipo 60 1959 Chassis #2468

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Maserati Tipo 61 'Birdcage' (1960) - auctioned as lot 242 by RM Auction on August 17, 2013 in Monterey

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Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage (1960) - auctioned as lot 251 by RM Auction London September 8/9, 2013

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Maserati Tipo 61 'Birdcage' (1959) - Driver Mark Hales - Sussex Trophy - Goodwood Revival 2014

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Maserati T61 Birdcage (1959) - no wonder it was called a birdcage - at the Rétromobile Paris 2014

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Maserati T61 Birdcage (1959) - lightweight construction made visible - at the Rétromobile Paris 2014

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Impressions of the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2012 - Maserati Birdcage in the historic paddock

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Maserati Tipo 60/61 Birdcage (1959) - at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 in Class I "Two Seats against the Stopwatch"

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Maserati T61 Birdcage (1959) - AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2010

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Maserati T63 Birdcage (1960) - AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2010

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Maserati T61 Birdcage Streamliner (1959) - AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2010

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Maserati T63 Birdcage (1961) - Plateau 3 - Le Mans Classic 2016

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Maserati T61 (1960) - Race 4 for two-seater racing cars and GTs up to 1960/1961 at the AVD OGP 2011

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Maserati T61 Birdcage (1959) - in Plateau 3 (1957-1961) at the Le Mans Classic 2012

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Summary

In 1960, the time for front-engined sports car prototypes had almost come to an end, but Alfieri proved with the Maserati Tipo 60 that even more was possible. No sports car was so light-footed and aerodynamically designed, not least thanks to a filigree tubular frame, which also gave the car the name "Birdcage". This article in the series "Technology in racing cars" analyzes the design of the car and shows it in many pictures.

Estimated reading time: 4min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and CanAm, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important drivers of innovation in these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus: With the first large-effect Formula 1 car to win a world championship in 1978, the Type 79. But in this episode, we are talking about the front-engined Maserati Tipo 60/61, known as the "Birdcage".

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