Maserati Tipo 63 - 64 - 65: Birdcage to Supercage

From a review by www.classicdriver.com: Most people are familiar with Maserati's front-engined Tipo 60/61 'Birdcage' models of the early '60s. Fewer know that model's successors, multi-tubed sports-racers of infinite complexity that were the Tipos 63 to 65. The '64 being known as the 'Supercage'.

William Oosthoek has produced a book, published by Dalton Watson, on some of the last sports-racing cars produced by Maserati prior to its recent re-involvement in long-distance racing with the controversial MC12. Always 'on-the-edge' from a financial point of view, the Maserati company of this time was still passionately interested in racing - if it could sell customer cars to the biggest markets in the world, local Italian 'Gentleman Racers', and the SCCA (amateur), and USAC (professional) American road-racing teams.

The story of Maserati's efforts to beat the often simpler home-grown, or British high-tech, cars is lovingly told from the introduction of the Tipo 63 at Sebring in 1961 to half-hearted attempts right up to 1967 with a 5-litre engined car set against 7-litre Fords and Chaparrals. All the races are covered, sometimes in great depth, with entry lists, starting grids and results aplenty. Its large format (330mm x 240mm) means the photos (and there are plenty of them, many unpublished) and detail more than make up for an occasional lapse in style. To summarise, it's a must-read for all Maserati fans, and for those enthusiasts of the early-'60s scene, whether in West Coast USA or on the hillclimbs and road-course of Europe. Recommended.