O.S.C.A. MT4 Spider Frua

Vehicle Overview

The O.S.C.A. MT4 Spider Frua features a 135 bhp 1,491 cc DOHC inline four-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs and anti-roll bar, rear live axle with leaf springs and control arms, and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 2,200 mm. The Maserati brothers returned to Bologna in 1947, exiting the eponymous company they founded and later sold to industrialist Adolfo Orsi. Reclaiming their original competition mandate, they founded the Officine Specializzate Costruzioni Automobili, or OSCA. Focusing on sports car racing, they engineered a spry lightweight tube-frame chassis with independent front suspension and equipped it with a proprietary twin-cam 750-cubic centimetre inline four-cylinder motor. Earlier cars were mounted with arresting open-mouth spider coachwork from Pietro Frua, while later examples were clothed by Morelli. The Maserati Tipo 4, or MT4, was eventually produced with increasing engine displacements, and the 1.5-litre MT4 1500 was a force in small-displacement classes during 1954. With winning drivers, including Gentleman Jim Kimberly and Siata tuner Otto Linton, among many others, the MT4 1500 experienced its greatest success at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 1954, where Stirling Moss captured 1st overall in chassis number 1137 on behalf of Briggs Cunningham’s team. It is estimated that no more than 72 cars were built on the MT4 platform in total, of which roughly 50 were clothed in the original Frua design. They have grown to be some of the most collectible hand-built Italian sports racers of the 1950s, offering boutique craftsmanship with the cachet of the vaunted Maserati name.