Page 2 - Maserati 450S book by Walter Baumer and Jean-Francois Blachette

PREFACE
The 450S represents glorious triumph and tragic downfall like no other Maserati race car from the 1950s. It was the fastest front-engine race car of its time and if everything worked and when well maintained, the car was almost unbeatable in the hands of good drivers with superior skills to handle the beast.
In 1957, with just four races in Europe in just one year, the 450S gained a reputation as an incredibly fast car, but it had an enduring reputation for being unreliable. This was only in a few cases due to the car itself, but to the rather superficial preparation in the factory or by the mechanics on site. The car became a giant and a failure at the same time. As a result, the easier to drive and less powerful 300S, which was also used in Europe for several years, became a racing car icon and not the 450S.
But while all other easier-to-drive Maserati race cars have been involved in a few fatal accidents at some point, the 450S was spared. Due to its incredible power and the very high price Maserati asked for the car, it was not suited for the typical amateur race driver.
Following the tragic crash of Alfonso de Portago and Ed Nelson in the Ferrari 335S in the Mille Miglia that killed both drivers and nine spectators, over- powered cars like the 450S and its direct rivals from Ferrari, the 335S and 315S were banned by the F.I.A. in the World Sportscar Championship from 1958 on. As a result, all these cars remaining at both companies were sold to private owners in the United States, where they successfully continued their careers as the fastest front-engined racing cars in that period with such great drivers as Carroll Shelby, Bill Krause, Lloyd Ruby, Masten Gregory, Jim Hall and Chuck Daigh.
Walter Bäumer and Jean-François Blachette December 2023
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