Maserati Tipo 26

The Maserati Tipo 26 was a Grand Prix racing car and the first car built by Maserati, with eleven examples made between 1926 and 1932. The design originated with a Grand Prix car that Alfieri Maserati had drawn for Diatto; when the collaboration between Maserati and Diatto ended, he took the design to the Bologna workshop that he had set up with his brothers in 1914. A steel ladder-type frame carried a supercharged inline-eight engine of 1.5 litres, with a crankshaft-driven Roots supercharger, twin gear-driven overhead camshafts and dry sump lubrication, a three-speed manual gearbox and two-seater aluminium bodywork. At its debut in the 1926 Targa Florio, with Alfieri Maserati driving, it won the Grand Prix class and finished ninth overall. For the 1928 Mille Miglia two chassis received roadster bodies and became known as the Tipo 26 MM.