Maserati was the subject of high praise, scooping up a number of awards for some of its rarest vehicles as well as its long standing prominence in the automotive industry, at this year’s Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este competition.
The car brand took the top prize; the Best of the Show award for its 1956 450 S. It also went away with such accolades as the Design Award for Concepts and Prototypes for the Maserati Alfieri and the Auto and Design Trophy for the 1956 Maserati A6GCS Berlinetta. The 1956 450 S also came top of the racing car category.
As this year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Maserati business, this was marked in the show as its 1929 Maserati V4 Sport took the special centenary category titled Maserati – The First Century.
The 450 S, which took the Best of the Show category, is owned by the Swiss collector and entrepreneur Albert Spiess. Intended to be a racing car, it contains only two seats and is equipped with a 4.5 litre 400 HP engine and has a body by Fantuzzi. During production, in 1956 and 1957, only ten of these cars were built. The 450 S made its way to the US in 1956, where it was bought by Tony Parravano and competed in a number of races, where it then changed owners several times.
There were six cars from a variety of eras that were competing for the top spot in the special Maserati – The First Century award. The V4 Sport, which won the accolade, is particularly rare as it is the only one left in the world. It was one of two that was produced in 1929 but the other one was converted into a V5 and then was destroyed in a race.
The car features a 16 cylinder V engine and contains two Tipo 26B inline-8 blocks, which helps to deliver a total cylinder capacity of 3,961 cc as well as 305 HP.
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