Maserati 8C

The Maserati 8C was a racing car built by Maserati from 1931 to 1933, known as the 8C 2800 and the 8C 3000 according to the displacement of its engine. Alfieri Maserati designed it in the early 1930s as the definitive mid-sized Grand Prix car, but he died before the project was completed. The front-engine, rear-drive car continued to be developed after his death and was ready to race in 1932. The 8C 2800 was the final evolution of the Tipo 26, built to compete with the Alfa Romeo 8C Monza, the Alfa Romeo Tipo A and the Bugatti Tipo 51; it used the Tipo 26 M engine bored out to 2.8 litres, a straight-eight of 2,811.9 cc giving 205 CV, and first raced at the French Grand Prix on 21 June 1931. The 8C 3000 had a 2,991.4 cc engine of 220 CV and won the 1933 French Grand Prix with Giuseppe Campari. In 2000 an original 8C 2800 sold at auction for 1.65 million dollars and an 8C 3000 for 1.08 million.