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When it comes to motorsport, there are cars that are in history books for their sports merits or for the drivers who drove them. In this case, the cause is another. Have you ever heard of the Maserati Eldorado ? In 1958, the year from which the sixtieth anniversary is celebrated, Eldorado was the first car in Europe to introduce an external sponsorship to the world of competitions.
The name Eldorado will recall many of the namesake ice who, at the turn of the economic boom, invented a whole series of mirrors with imaginative forms and names that children of the The time will surely be remembered. Just to be known the Eldorado decided to invest heavily in marketing and approaching a world, that of the race, until then to the prerogative of the usual suspects, in terms of sponsorship (tobacco manufacturers, outside the automotive industry, have arrived
Maserati has therefore abandoned the clbadic colors imposed by the federation to become what we have called, euphemistically, a mirror of car, so much the presence of the sponsor on the Italian car.This was commissioned to Maserati by Commendatore Gino Zanetti, owner of the ice cream industry Eldorado.Zanetti, in fact, wanted to promote the brand internationally and turn to the Casa del Tridente to build a single-seater with which to compete in Monza in "Trofeo dei due Mondi" : The Automobile Club of Italy had organized on the Lombard circuit a 500 Miles like that & # 39; Indianapolis, with the best American and European drivers starting, all in all, a great place to get noticed.
The Maserati 420 / M / 58, chbadis 4203, was thus fully painted in the creamy white shade, instead of red as usual. Two black Eldorado writings appeared on the sides of the badpit, while two smaller ones became a nose and the small deflector which served as windshield. The car has thus become a kind of advertising showcase of the famous ice cream brand, not to mention a few touches of red and green to remember that it was still an Italian car.
The logo with the face of the smiling cowboy who was positioned at the center of the nose and on the sides of the rear wing, could not miss. The Italy inscription appeared under the great Eldorado written on the left side and under the English flag (the pilot was Stirling Moss) on the right side.
The previous year, in 1957, the Modenese house won the F1 world championship with Juan Manuel Fangio and then decided to withdraw from competitions and build racing cars only at the request of private customers, by providing them with badistance. Just the ideal situation that the Italian entrepreneur was looking for: that is precisely the reason why Zanetti turned to Maserati
Maserati Eldorado, a little bit of a daddy. history [19659006] 
The Eldorado was close relative of the car that triumphed the previous year in F1, in the seventh edition of the championship born in 1950. The project from Giulio Alfieri, the single-seater was equipped with the eight-cylinder derived from the 450S twin engine and had a reduced displacement at 4 190 cc capable of 410 hp at 8000 rpm; this engine was mounted offset by nine centimeters to the left of the longitudinal axis, as well as transmission. This choice was made to ensure proper weight distribution, taking into account the anti-clockwise direction of Monza 's high curves the only race that saw her occupied on the runway
while the De Dion's rear axle was devoid of the differential. The tubular frame derived from that of the multi-victorious 250F, although it was oversized compared to the latter, also because of the many reinforcements introduced to allow the fireball to withstand the constraints of concrete paving. the track of Monza. To reduce the weights of magnesium and haliball disc wheels and 18-inch Firestone tires with helium gas-filled braided treads were adopted. With these measurements, the car reached 758 kg. The aluminum body, dressed by hand by Fantuzzi, featured a vertical aerodynamic fin behind the badpit as well as a front air intake for the carburetors.
The race was scheduled for June 29, 1958, with three rounds to determine the final ranking . In the first Moss, he came 4th. In the second he was 5th. On the other hand, the steering control was broken and his Maserati ended the race against the railings, frustrating the hopes of the English driver to finish the event in third place overall.
Because of the results of the three heats and the total number of laps completed, Moss was still ranked seventh. It came out unscathed from the accident and overall, the "Eldorado" reported little damage demonstrating excellent structural strength.
The 500 Miles of Monza soon finished his story but did not finish that of the Eldorado Maserati: He participated, repainted with the red but still with the sponsors Eldorado, at 500 Miles of Indianapolis in 1959 . The car did not qualify because of the untrained driver, otherwise you know this story … Today, the car is, as you see, in Modena and belongs to the Panini collection.
Maserati Eldorado: main technical characteristics
Indy single seat
Engine: 90 ° V8
Engine capacity: 4 190 cc
Power: 410 hp at 8,000 g / m
Transmission: manual 2 speeds
Chbadis: tubular structure, aluminum body
Weight: 758 kg
Top speed: more than 350 km / h
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