Small but Perfectly Formed

Giovanni Moretti established his motorcycle manufacturing business in 1925 in Fabbrichetta, an area in the Grugliasco district, just to the west of Turin’s city centre. Though it was not long before he began to experiment with vehicles which would today be termed ‘microcars,’ the first Moretti recognisable as a conventional ‘car,’ the Cita, did not appear until ’46. Subsequently, an unusually wide and diverse range of models emerged. With the following decade came a model line utilising Moretti’s own 4 cylinder 747 cc engine, a development of the Cita’s 350 cc twin cylinder and ‘600’s’ 592 cc 4 cylinder power units . Although mainly known for his work for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, Ing. Alberto Massimino is thought to have been responsible for the design of this engine. Development soon resulted in a twin cam version, subsequently enhanced with additional main bearings, (5 in total), allowing a high rpm capability, opening up Moretti’s sport and racing ambitions, power output being a competitive 55-60 bhp, (twice that made by the original, single cam version. In competition barchetta applications, this engine was capable of over 70 bhp).

750 Moretti Twin Cam engine. Courtesy VeloceToday

Thinking about Moretti also brings to mind Tecno and its racing cars. Mostly the Etceterini were in effect modifiers of Fiat vehicles and parts. Both Moretti and Tecno were intent on designing/making everything for their products including the engines – and Tecno didn’t hesitate even when it came to the ‘need’ for something as complex and challenging as a Flat 12.

The ‘750’ would be utilised to power twelve Moretti models from ’52 through to ’60 by which time the basis of new products and ongoing production was switched to Fiat models in a methodology similar to that adopted by Abarth after its split with Simca.  By far the most charismatic Moretti of the Fifties was the Gran Sport Berlinetta.  A range of introduction dates have been suggested, but it is probably accurate to say that the model was made only in the years ’53 and ’54.  In considering this model, it is useful to also refer to the barchetta ‘Sport,’ of similar configuration.  Only three of these were initially constructed, (with a further two in ’56 for Le Mans).  In comparison, the coupe’s built-count is heady at around twenty!  Testifying to the esteem in which the model is held, no less than twelve survivors are currently catalogued in the Moretti Registry, (https://moretti-registry.com/ ).

The bodywork, styled by Giovanni Michelotti, sits on a spaceframe chassis - not a backbone type as misreported elsewhere – constructed with square section tubing.  The body itself has been said to have been made at Motto, but I have not seen any certain confirmation of this, and the Carrozzeria’s badges are not evident on the cars.  The possible confusion may result from a misunderstanding of the two similar company names.  A proportion of Motto’s work was as a subcontractor, including commissions from Vignale, the carrozzeria with which Michelotti was associated from 1949 onwards.  Additionally, around the same date, Moretti created another coupe model, differentiated by being powered by a ‘1200’ (1204 cc) version of the twin cam engine.  This model’s body is generally accepted as having been Motto-built.

 

750 Gran Sport chassis frame. Courtesy Karl Ludvigsen

A wide range of values has been quoted for the kerb weight of the Gran Sport, all the way from 655 Kg down to 495 Kg. The latter figure is credible given the car’s size and the usually-given 0-60 mph time of around 11 seconds, (for the 57 bhp output version engine).  For comparison, early versions of the Abarth 750 GT Zagato weighed a touch under 600 Kg and deployed about 47 bhp maximum power from the engine, enabling a 0-60 mph capability of around 17 seconds. 

The earliest-produced car for which I have images is #1037.  This is the single recorded Gran Sport with a Zagato body.  The basic outline of the car is similar to the Michelotti design as seen in the illustration below:

Left: #1037, Gran Sport Zagato; right: Gran Sport #1293

Notable variations as seen in these photographs: nose profile/intake aperture; bonnet panel; wheel openings; roofline; rear side windows/C post; rear wings.  (Note – the grille in the front aperture of #1293 is customised in egg-crate style – a horizontal slatted style is standard). 

Some previous citations about this car attribute a single cam engine, unlikely in my view with its apparent competition history.  Source Picryl comments on a photograph of the car starting the ‘54 Mille Miglia, “The Moretti Registry thinks this was the only one, and that it was more recently owned by Stuart Schaller in the USA before sold to Japan (seen in white/red at a Concours d'Elegance in Tokyo with license plate "S85264 ROMA". They also claim that Elio Zagato raced it early 1954.“  I have tried to verify the latter claim, but without success.

#1037. Courtesy Carrozzieri-Italiani; Angelo Giambra II

#1037 on ’54 Mille Miglia. Courtesy Cliff Reuter

#1290 is a very well known Gran Sport on both sides of the Atlantic.  On the East Coast of America, Max Hoffman established not only a business, but also an interest-culture in European cars immediately after WWII.  As his portfolio of agreements grew with various manufacturers -notably Jaguar, Volkswagen, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes Benz and BMW – his business became highly profitable given the great volume of cars distributed and retailed from the New York base.  On the other coast, a garage proprietor/racer, Ernie McAfee shared Hoffman’s interest in Europe’s more sporting automotive products, though the scale of his vision was nothing like as heady.  With a particular expertise in customisation and liking for high performance – for example taking William Doheny’s Ferrari 121 4.4 LM Spider to a series of victories in ‘55/’56 – McAfee began to explore opportunities to import lesser known Italian cars with competition potential, notably OSCA, Siata and Moretti.

 

'56 McAfee advertisement. Courtesy HobbyDB

The performance in competition of the Moretti 750 Barchetta inspired McAfee in ’53 to order a batch of Gran Sports – usually cited as a batch of ten.  #1290 is one of these.  Its first owner, customising bodyshop (Rich & Jones) joint-proprietor, Harry Jones, was persuaded to loan it to Road & Track for a road test, the report of which was published in the magazine’s August ’54 issue. This was concluded with the summary: 

Summed up, the Moretti Coupe is one of the most appealing automobiles we’ve ever seen or driven.  Its few faults could easily be corrected by any enthusiast-owner and the price is reasonable* for a custom bodied machine that can go out and bring home a class H** win at any sports car event you can name. 

*At the beginning of the article, mention was made that the Moretti was twice the price of the other cars featuring in road test reports that month – Volkswagen, Nash-Metropolitan and Austin A30.  The retail price of $4200 for an aluminium-bodied Gran Sport in ’54 has been quoted by Conceptcarz.  **Class H was for 500-750 cc cars.

  

#1290. Courtesy Erik Fuller

After a brief spell in Europe around ‘05, the car was sold at Monterey by RM Sotheby’s ex the Skip Barber Collection in ’16 for $132,000.

The next available chassis number, #1291, was assigned to another Gran Sport which has spent time both in the U.S. and in Europe.

 

#1291. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Restored around 2010, the car was repainted in a near-maroon, darker red, and the condition of its engine and its interior was considerably ‘improved,’ as seen below:

 

#1291. Courtesy Bonhams

The Moretti Registry records that #1292 was in August 2017 in the USA and undergoing restoration.  Some in progress photographs are posted, including a view of the bare bodyshell, seen below:

#1292. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Another Gran Sport familiar to enthusiasts in the U.S. is #1293.

#1293. Karl Ludvigsen on the 1998 Mille Miglia. Courtesy VeloceToday

Knowledge about this particular car was much increased by its ownership from ’79 to ’01 by the prolific automotive/motorsport author, Karl Ludvigsen.  From his writing it is evident that Karl greatly enjoyed his Gran Sport and was confident enough in its performance and reliability to run it in the Mille Miglia in ’98.  Generally, he was complimentary about its characteristics, though I was amused by what he recently told me about the steering: “Its worst feature is the steering, which wanders its way up and around the front of the engine to get to the right front wheel. But it manages to work pretty well.”

#1293 Whilst in England (‘80s/90s). Courtesy Moretti Registry

Over a quarter of a century before Ludvigsen’s acquisition, #1293 was just one half of deal McAfee made with Mrs Alejandro De Tomaso, (then with the maiden name, Elizabeth Haskell, and liking to be known by her middle name, Isabelle, she was of a very wealthy family and with a love of fast cars, to the extent that she held a competition licence).  McAfee supplied #1293 as a new vehicle to Isabelle along with the similar specification #1294 – apparently, one for road use, the other primarily as a racing car. 

Various circumstances have led to the curious position whereby each car nowadays runs with the other’s original engine.  Furthermore, according to the Californian dealer, Fantasy Junction, #1294’s current unit has been substantially modified – in its description for sale of the car in circa ’08, the dealer stated: “This car was recently restored by Butch Bucciarelli of Southern California with vintage racing in mind. The motor was rebuilt and re-engineered with Carrillo rods, billet Moldex crank, arias pistons, and Mazda Miata oil pump thus solving a historical oil circulation issue with the 750 engine.“

 

#1294 at Walterboro, South Carolina, ’58. Courtesy Moretti Registry

#1294. Original chassis plate, and, centre and right, as restored. Courtesy Moretti Registry

 

Noted in the Moretti Registry in 2017 as an exhibit in the Autoworld Museum in Brussels, #1296 is another Gran Sport painted in red/black.  A YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=X-u9mVVioFA – provides a 360° view of the car on display in the Museum.

 

#1296 at Autoworld, Brussels. Courtesy Perico001 (Flikr)

The view of the car above emphasises the unusual dimensional nature of the 15” wheel : body size ratio.  Similarly notable is how narrow the tyres are by contemporary standards, tending to undermine the impression of the car’s performance capability from this viewpoint.  The ‘look’ is compounded by the relative lack of negative wheel offset, (seen below on #1290).

Courtesy Erik Fuller

Mirbach Schuttenbach is a dealer located at Anzing near Munich.  Its corporate ‘number plate’ is attached to #1297 in the photograph below, date unknown.  At some point the car apparently suffered from some ‘blow-over’ repainting, with items such as the front grille and window frames finishing up in the same overly-bright red hue.  Captioned, ‘ex-Tanner, Fronrath and Noble,’ there are several photographs of the car in competition on the excellent Cliff Reuter Etceterini website, but I have been unable to trace the specific races events involved.

#1297. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Ada Pace – also known as Sayonara – was Turin-born race/hillclimb/rally driver active from the late 40s (initially on scooters) through to ’64.  She owned and raced a Moretti 600 early in the 50s and the Moretti Registry has posted a photograph of her at the wheel of #1298, as below.  The car was apparently destroyed long ago and further information about it has not been discovered as yet.

 

#1298. Courtesy Moretti Registry

The ’54 running of the Mille Miglia saw the first appearance of the Gran Sport in a major motor sport event.  Indeed, it was a double debut as #1332 and, as mentioned above, the Zagato-bodied #1037 were entered.  #1037 was driven by Rinaldo Pravettoni and Piero Moscatelli, while #1332 was crewed by Fontana/Gino Munaron.  Unfortunately, neither car completed the course.  There are six period photographs of #1332 in competitive events on the Moretti Registry website, including that below which was taken at Montlhery in ’54 with race number #53.

#1332 at Montlhery, '54. Courtesy Maurice Louche

An unusual feature of #1459 is its right hand drive configuration.  From late in the production run – in ’54 – the car is also distinctive in its competition history, appearing in the ’54 Tour de France and the ‘55 12 Hours of Hyeres.  In the first of those events, in the hands of Ernest de Regibus, it was disqualified, while there is no detailed information about the following year’s 12 hour race.

 

#1459 om '54 Tour de France

21st century photographs of the car while it was still located in France are posted on the Moretti Registry website, example below.  Apparently, it is now in Germany.

 

#1459. Courtesy Moretti Registry

#1508 is another Gran Sport with some documented competition history, including four hillclimbs in ’58.  It is pictured below on display at the Museo Mille Miglia, Brescia.

 

#1508. Courtesy Pablo Rivas (Facebook)

The car was recently featured on Facebook with an indication that it had been long-term operated in and around a village near Avignon, France.  It was apparently restored late last century with the bodywork aspect handled by Carrosserie Alesi Franck, a specialist business owned by Franco Alesi, father of Jean, the former F1 driver.

 

#1508 is the latest known survivor by dint of its chassis number.  In ’54 a new series of ‘Gran Sports’ began to emerge from the Moretti factory, this time equipped with a 1200 cc version of the 4 cylinder twin cam engine.  By the beginning of the new decade a transition was well underway, resulting in Moretti’s role changing from that of a manufacturer to modifier/upgrader in contractual association with Fiat – an arrangement eventually also adopted elsewhere, for example with BMW/Alpina and Mercedes Benz/AMG.

 

Further points to ponder:

It may seem fairly obvious why Max Hoffman was moving so many more imported cars in the U.S. than Ernie McAfee managed during his period of activity trading as Ernie McAfee Engineering from the late '40s through to April ’56, (when Ernie was killed at the Pebble Beach Roadway Course).  However, a factor beyond his control was the Moretti policy of requiring up-front payment amounting to 50% of the projected purchase price before a car’s (built-to-order) manufacture was initiated.  It is telling that McAfee did not vigorously market the Gran Sport Moretti – he probably had enough leads/prospective customers available to him, through networking on the West Coast motorsport/custom car scene, relative to the time he could spare from his other strands of business.  Note his ‘56 advertisement below, in which no mention is made of the Moretti marque:

 

After McAfee’s death, Jack Brumby’s Italia Motors, East Hollywood, took over the importation of Moretti cars. 

As with other small-scale, specialist Italian makers, a lot of Moretti’s production could be thought of as ‘one-offs,’ as the built-to-order process meant that only rarely were two cars exactly the same in terms of detailed specification.  At a high level, there was the option to have a Gran Sport in either Stradale or Competizione form.  The latter would come with an aluminium body and this accounts for the inconsistency seen across the internet in published specification summaries, where the quoted kerb weight for the model simply named as ‘750 Gran Sport’ is given, variously, as 494 Kg (VeloceToday), 499 Kg (Sports Car Market), 520 Kg (Roarington), 544 Kg (Conceptcarz), 562 Kg (AutoCatalog), 665 Kg (Auta 5P) and 667 (ZePerfs).  Some of this may be the result of confusion with the overtly race-purpose Grand Sport Barchetta model. 

A similarly loosely defined situation applied also with engine performance.  Maximum output in the model’s basic form was quoted as 51 bhp, the figure given in the Road & Track road test of Harry Jones’s Gran Sport mentioned above.  Not surprisingly, this resulted in the test’s data including a 0-60 mph time of 15.5.seconds.  Elsewhere a 71 bhp peak was cited, presumably for a car in Competizione form.  Such examples would be capable of a sub-10 seconds 0-60 mph time. 

The Moretti 750 Gran Sport won a great deal of affection and respect in the U.S., though this was mainly confined to the West Coast.  Without McAfee’s energetic enthusiasm and with escalating pricing – reaching to $4,500 -  from the factory, the 1200 failed to maintain momentum in the Marque’s American presence.  However, the number of survivors is high considering the small number of cars made and it’s clear that present day owners are more than happy to fund expensive restorations and ongoing maintenance.  Auction-paid prices in excess of £100,000 in recent years seem to me relatively modest for such a characterful and rare classic GT.

The Moretti Registry has been by far the most valuable resource in my researches and I'd like to thank originator, Fred, for all the excellent work he has put in to build the database and website.  He has just advised me that Moretti will be featured at the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on 17th August 2025 - a celebration of the Marque's 100th anniversary.  Also, later this year, I'll be posting a survey of the Fiat Moretti Sportiva models

OSCA 1600 GT Zagato - A Survey of Survivors

 

Courtesy carstyling.ru

I briefly summarised the OSCA 1600 GT in its various body forms in June ’22 – here.  Of the models created by Fissore, Boneschi, Touring and Zagato, the latter’s version was made in the greatest number - this is a more detailed survey of the Z-badged cars.

 

Though the 1600 GT was finalised at the OSCA factory in ’60, serial production was delayed until ’62.  The FIA homologation papers, dated 8th October ’62, referring specifically to model ‘GT2,’ indicate that production was initiated in ’61.  Although it was stated at the time that 128 GTs were made, (and it was claimed that 98 of these were Zagato-bodied), recent studies of historic data have concluded that the actual total was less than 60.  Whilst this may reflect a slow rate of sales, it also probably stems from disappointing manufacturing productivity which prevented the target of a minimum 12 cars per month being consistently met.  The last of the Zagato versions were probably made in late ’64.  At that point the restructured company, (sale of the majority interest by the Maserati family to Meccanica Verghera Augusta having taken place the previous year,) announced new models.

At the heart of the GT was the 1568 cc 4 cylinder, in line, twin cam engine made for OSCA by Fiat.  This was an evolved version of the unit that had powered the marque’s sports racers through the 50s.  Introduced for the MT4 in ’48, its capacity then was 1092 cc and it was rated at 70 bhp.  Though the block was Fiat-designed, the cylinder head was the work of Ernesto, youngest of the OSCA proprietor Maserati brothers.  It was not long before the head was converted from a single to a twin cam layout, at which point a 1342 cc capacity version was also launched.  Another increase in capacity came in ’53, with around 110 bhp extracted from 1453 cc.  In ’54, further revisions – identified with ‘TN’ designation - enabled a maximum power output of 125 bhp.  A single Weber 28-36 DCLD3 carburettor was specified for the 1600 GT – good for 95 bhp.  However, the GT2 employed twin Weber 38DCOEs, (105 bhp), whilst a GTV version was on twin 42DCOE3s, (125 bhp), and the GTS, though also 42DCOE-equipped, gave 140 bhp – the extra 15 bhp flowing from the twin spark ignition set-up.

 

The hybrid theme was continued in the 1600 GTZ with the use of OSCA’s own 4 speed gearbox which employed Fiat internal components.  With an ongoing incidence of failure in racing GTZs, the unit became suspected of being under-specified for reliable handling of the power generated by the GTV and GTS engines.  Other notable mechanical features on the GTS were Dunlop-designed/Girling-made disc brakes, front/rear, and independent suspension on both axles.  All in all, it proved to be a fast, well handling car, thanks also to relatively light weight – 862 Kg for the basic version, with the GTS 7% lighter at 800 Kg.

 

At the time, a basic GT was a little under £2,000 in the UK, (about £45,000 in current terms).  The GTS would have been approximately £2,250.

 

OSCA built the rolling chassis for delivery to Zagato, (and the other involved carrozzeria), utilising a frame made by Milan-based specialist constructor, Gilco.  The company had established a high profile in the industry, especially because of its long term status as a supplier to Ferrari.  For in-depth information about Gilco, its website is well worth a visit.  One of Gilco’s period advertisements is shown below:

Another third party-supplied item of particular note was the distinctively styled 4.5j x 15” Elektron/Magnesium alloy wheel branded as Amadori, a maker which was bought out by Campagnolo in its strategic evolution from being a bicycle wheels manufacturer.  These wheels eventually became the subject of criticism – like the gearbox – which contended that they lacked strength when run in competition on cars with over 125 bhp.  Breakages were not uncommon.

Amadori wheel. Courtesy SymbolicInternational

There are, however, no doubts about the quality of standard OSCA 1600 GTZ steering wheel. This was a 400 mm wood rimmed wheel made by Personal. Little has been written about the company’s founding/early days, but it is generally held that it originated in ’60. It is probable that OSCA would have been inclined to buy-in wheels for the GTZ from the well-known/respected maker, Nardi, another long term supplier to Ferrari. Personal secured the business however as the company was prepared to undercut Nardi on price in order to establish its presence in the market, enhanced by implied endorsement from the Maserati-linked association. Subsequently, Personal was in commercial collaboration with Nardi. The Nardi brand was separated from Personal in ’68 and its wheels continued to be marketed through to the present day.

The 1600 GTZ ‘Personal’ 400 mm steering wheel. Courtesy ExoticAutoParts28

Despite the problems that dogged the start-up of series production, an OSCA GT 1600 Zagato made the model’s race debut at the March ’62 Sebring 12 Hours – see photograph below.  Entered by N.A.R.T. for drivers, H Spencer Lichtie and Robert Publicker, the car had to be retired early, after only 33 laps (of winner’s 206), because of head gasket failure.

OSCA 1600 GT Zagato at Sebring, ’62. Courtesy Homer Willi

Earliest car by chassis number of which I have detail photographs is #0007, which was run as a factory entry – alongside #0036 – in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June ’62.  Both cars are seen below, #0007 being the white car wearing race number 37.

Courtesy The GPL Collection

Driven by George Arents and Jose Behra, #0007 was still running into the 23^rd hour, but had to be retired after 227 laps with transmission failure.  It had run as high as 15^th overall and was likely on for a 2^nd in class finish.  (#0036 was out after just 13 laps with big end bearing failure.  It was a significantly different car from #0007 in having a flat roof and the live rear axle in place of the independent suspension normally installed in GTS Competizione models).

 

Chassis #0006 is a red 125 bhp GTS on twin 42 mm Webers.  The car changed hands in ’19 at Gooding’s Amelia Island sale for $489,000.

Weber 42DCOE3 carburettors, as fitted to #0036. Courtesy Petrolicious

#0006. Courtesy Gooding & Company

When Bonhams sold ’62-registered #0011 in October ‘19, the lot description included the statement, . . .according to marque expert Christophe Pund, (this car) is one of a mere 7 Zagato-bodied cars that were raced; indeed, '011' is probably the most raced of all OSCA 1600 GTs. Its driver was Fausto Mariani, who achieved numerous successes with '011' during the 1964 and 1965 seasons.  Little is documented about Mariani’s motor sport achievements and the events in which he campaigned the car were of regional/national status, such as the Trofeo Venturi, (Frascati), Hillclimb held in June ’65.  However, a class victory, (Coppa Gallenga Hillclimb) is cited in the ’65 season.

 

As is evident in the photograph below, #0011 has been restored in recent times.  Despite its good condition, it failed to sell at auction in 2016 but made €379,500 at the Bonhams sale three years later.  Note that the period photograph on the right below shows uncovered headlamps.  The earliest chassis number of which I have a photograph showing Plexiglass headlamp covers is the second ’62 Le Mans car, #0036.

#0011, left, seen in ‘19 and, right, racing in ’65. Courtesy Bonhams

#0029 is a ’62 GTS which was photographed, as below, at the Le Mans Classic in 2002.

#0029 is a ’62 GTS which was photographed, as below, at the Le Mans Classic in 2002

As mentioned above, #0036 appeared alongside #0007 at the ’62 Le Mans 24 Hours.  In the photographs below, the rear view clearly shows the 87 litres fuel tank fitted to GTS/Competizione GTs, while the frontal shot, with intake grille removed, well illustrates the frame/locating fastener for the Plexiglass headlamp cover.  That this car’s engine was the twin spark variant is evident from the view of the engine bay.

#0036. Courtesy Petrolicious

In ’66, the car was in the Bahamas, where George Waltman contested both the Governor’s Trophy/Nassau Tourist Trophy and the Nassau Trophy. Waltman was the Sport 1.6 class winner in the latter race. The following year he used #0036 to compete at Sebring in the 12 Hours, but failed to finish. Incidentally, it has been written that Waltman subsequently ran #0036 in the ’68 Daytona 24 Hours, driving the entire race unpartnered. However, he achieved this remarkable feat in a Morgan Plus 4, not the OSCA.

Since its foundation in 2007, Bring a Trailer has had a major effect on the market for classic/collectible cars. A factor in its success has been the encouragement of fully detailed descriptions of items offered for sale, supported by large numbers of good quality photographs. As a side benefit, these are often invaluable for researchers seeking to verify detail points of specification of a vehicle model/variant. The BaT listing for #0070 provides a good example of this feature. 302 images are presented, providing numerous exterior/interior views, including points of fine detail, engine bay and underside shots, identity plates and stampings and various documents, both model and specific chassis number related. In this instance, for example, the excellent quality of the photographs of the carburettors facilitates easy identification of this car as a GT2 – see below:

Courtesy SymbolicInternational

#0070 is unusual in being equipped with full width bumpers front and rear – GTS/Competizione models had not been fitted with these originally and it would appear that surviving GT/GT2s commonly have had OE bumpers and irons removed for aesthetic reasons – the race car ‘look’ being widely regarded as more attractive.

Courtesy SymbolicInternational

Restored in 2018, #0078 is a GT2 in the unusual off-white colour.  In photographs taken to advertise its sale, (on offer from La Montini Automobili in Autumn 2024), there is a good view of the GT Zagato’s handsome profile.  The limited boot space, (to accommodate the spare wheel), is clearly seen, as are the seats, which are the same type as fitted to the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato.  The chassis identity plate is also well represented.

Courtesy Montini Automobili

Speedholics Society reported on RM Sotheby’s 2023 offer for sale of #0094 with notes on its early use: ‘Sold to its first owner—Alberto Luti—in 1963, the Italian campaigned the diminutive GT with great success.  A class win at that year’s Coppa Belvedere Hillclimb followed a 2nd in class finish at Ascoli-Colle San Marco and 3rd in class at Pontedecimo-Giovi.’

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

#0094’s is an example of branding to the engine by an O.S.C.A. script applied to the right hand cam cover.  On some this is absent but a small branding plate is fixed to the same side of the cover, above the front end of the camshaft, as seen on #0078 – see below, #0094 left, and #0078 right:

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s and Montini Automobili

The interior of #0094 is especially attractive, the photograph below showing the clarity of the instrumentation and the generally good ergonomic characteristics of the controls.

Courtesy RM Sotheby's

At one time, Peter Kraus’s Rosso Bianco Museum in Aschaffenburg, near Frankfurt housed the largest collection of classic sports cars in the world.  Amongst the cars on show was #0097, a GT Zagato first registered in Rome in April ’63.  Before the museum’s closure, (in ’06), the car was sold to German author, Winfried Reiss, who had it fully restored before the millennium.  Since then it has changed hands a few times and seen success at various European concours events.

Courtesy Kidston

#0101, a GT2, was driven by Mario Nardari and Ottorino Zarattin in the ’64 Targa Florio, finishing 27^th, 5^th in class.  Nardari ran the car in ’63 and ’64 at the Consuma hillclimb and at circuit events at Imola, Mugello and Monza.  Best result was 4^th place at Imola in April ’64 in a GT2.5 race.  Other events entered are listed here.  The car is seen ‘then and now’ below.

#0101. Courtesy Ruote da Sogno Srl

Badges:

The circular O.S.C.A. Fratelli Maserati Bologna badge was centrally mounted, halfway between the leading edges of the bonnet and front panel:

#0101. Courtesy Ruote da Sogno Srl

#0029. Courtesy Wouter Melissen

 

A chrome script OSCA 1600 badge was applied centrally to the boot lid, halfway between the panel’s top edge and the top edge of the numberplate recess:

Courtesy Tomini Classics

#0101. Courtesy Ruote da Sogno Srl

 

As was usual with Zagato-bodied cars of the era, a ‘Z’ badge, engraved, ‘Zagato Milano,’ was applied to each front wing.  On most cars the badge is located between the indicator repeater lamp and the trailing edge of the front wheel arch, approximately in line (but a little lower) with the door handle.  The badge itself featured black infill, but this was often lost because of weathering, resulting in a largely uniform aluminium finish.

Courtesy (left to right) Kidston, SymbolicInternational, Petrolicious

 

The steering wheel boss is decorated with the ‘Maserati OSCA’ badge as seen below, (#0094):

Courtesy Speedholics

 

Where fitted, the wheel hub caps featured an OSCA script:

Courtesy SymbolicInternational

Literature/Documentation:

The OSCA 1600 GTZ naturally shares many of the aesthetic attributes of Zagato’s multi-marques output in the opening years of the 60s decade.  For comparison, see below, left - OSCA 1600 GTZ; centre, top - Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Coda Tronca, centre, below – Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Coda Tonda; right – Lancia Appia GT Zagato.

Most notably, the OSCA’s cab is relatively rearward set and the car incorporates a considerably more substantial C pillar. The rear of the OSCA has a particular affinity with that of the first version (Coda Tonda) of the Alfa, with the treatment of the rear wheel arch, with an emphasised swage line, very similar. The OSCA’s nose profile is markedly bluff in contrast with this part of the bodywork of the Alfa and Lancia. Fully distinctive on the OSCA are the air vent extraction ducts echoing the twin roof bubbles. This aspect brings to mind the Abarth 750 GT Zagato on which similar forms are seen on the engine deck lid. However, that car, being a mid-fifties design, is generally less comparable with the OSCA, Alfa and Lancia. All three are superb examples of Italian styling of the era, the shapes suggesting fast, wind-cheating machines, yet they were created just before the aerodynamic principles of drag reduction and the generation of downforce became better understood and capable of being accurately measured. Around 1960 the formula for a sports car of light weight, compact footprint and small capacity/high output 4 cylinder engine was becoming increasing seen as a preferred option, and the OSCA employed it especially well, but it was also the foundation of the Alfa and the Lancia. All three are true icons of mid-century automotive design.