Maserati Tipo 60

The Maserati Tipo 60, nicknamed the Birdcage, is a competition car that Maserati built from 1959 to 1960. The nickname comes from its very stiff, ultralight chassis of about 200 small-diameter tubes in a lattice, and the aluminium body was hand-formed by Gentilini and Allegretti. Designed by Giulio Alfieri, it was a sports model meant for racing and for private enthusiasts. The four-cylinder in-line engine, based on that of the 200S, had a capacity of 1,990 cc, two double-choke Weber carburettors, dry-sump lubrication and 200 CV at 7,800 rpm, and the car brought Maserati its first disc brakes, with Girling calipers, and a top speed of 270 km/h. Stirling Moss won on its debut at Rouen on 12 July 1959, beating two Lotus 15 cars. Odoardo Govoni won three hill-climb championships from 1960 to 1962, and the first car, built in March 1959, was converted in November into a Tipo 61 with a 2,900 cc engine.