Maserati 4CM 2000
Four-cylinder engines did not feature in the Maserati programme at first, but as these engines were being used extensively in sports cars by the end of the twenties and in the early thirties,
Maserati decided to develop one too and started working on 2.0- and 2.5-litre versions. Only one example was built, a single-seater with the two-litre engine. It made its debut in the 1933 Coppa Ciano. Giuseppe Campari was behind the wheel and finished third after a great race. Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina drove the Maserati in 1933 and at Bergamo in 1934.
The one-off Maserati 2.0-litre four-cylinder ended up in the car museum at Monza and then in the British National Motor Museum collection at Beaulieu before being acquired by the Louwman Museum.
As Maserati saw no commercial future in four-cylinder engines, production was kept to a minimum from the outset. The 2.5-litre version fell between two stools – the car was too large for the voiturette races but not powerful enough for Grands Prix.