In early 1956, Tony Parravano, a wealthy American housing developer, commissioned Maserati to build a new large-bore V-8 for use in a Kurtis Indy chassis. The order offered Maserati the chance to develop the V-8 project, coded Tipo 54, which had been shelved since the disastrous Le Mans accident of 1955. The project also provided a natural opportunity to try the new powerplant in Maserati’s own sports-racing chassis, of which the recently developed 350S was the most obvious candidate. This car, chassis number 3501, was elongated to accommodate the new V-8 engine, whose castings had been completed by May.
After its debut in practice as the prototype 450S at the Swedish Grand Prix in August 1956, this car, now identified as 4501, displayed great potential in acceleration and top speed; although, as it was still in the experimental phases, it was not properly sorted, and it proved unable to manage the V-8’s overwhelming power. Moreover, the wrong firing order produced intolerable vibrations, further hampering the car’s performance. Nevertheless, the 450S obtained the third best time in practice; even still, it was not entered in the race, but returned to Modena instead. A purpose-built 450S chassis was subsequently engineered.
