EL MAESTRO'S MASERATI

The Maserati 300S driven to sports car victories by Juan Manuel Fangio is a rush of racing history restored to its original, long-nose glory

- MICK WALSH

Fangio sat here. That thought alone makes this cockpit very special. The seat has been retrimmed and the bodywork remade, but El Maestro in his last full championship year gunned this same, beautiful Latin thoroughbred to three victories in its early life, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Looking at the black-faced Jaeger rev counter, holding the flat, wood-rimmed wheel and glancing over the low, Perspex 'screen, the image of El Chueco's first victory around the Circuito de Monsanto is easily conjured, even before tha fabulous 3-litre, twin-cam ‘six' barks into life.

Enough daydreaming of times past. Push in the clockwork-style key and the fuel pumps start to click like castanets. Next is the wonderful Magneti Marelli magneto switch that is shared with the Maserati 250F, a charming crossover of engineering. After three clockwise clicks, we're ready to press the starter and wake that 280bhp double-overhead-cam heart. Even on a cold day the twin-plug straight-six erupts with a sharp rasp that spits and pops through the triple 42DCO3 Weber carbs as it warms. Today, the radiator even has to be taped up to help.

While waiting, I review the spartan cockpit. The dash layout is basic: a black Jaeger gauge marked to 8000rpm, with two smaller SACMA dials for temperature and oil pressure on either side, behind the wheel. To the left are chassis plates, and accessible fuse and relay boxes, perfectly placed for working passengers on long road races. Beefy chassis tubes surround the cockpit while the superb bucket seats, with three vents in the back, offer comfort and support. It's little known that the 300S drivetrain was offset by 40mm to give the driver more space. The gearlever is ideally sited, to the right of the tunnel, with a stubby lever and short H-pattern gate, plus a flick-up cover protecting reverse.