Maserati has celebrated Ermanno Cozza’s fifty five years of service. The Trident has extended its heartfelt thanks to its long serving member of staff for the passion and dedication he has displayed in over half a century’s work at the Trident company. Mr Cozza has become a legendary figure at the company and has filled numerous positions down the years with competence and professionalism.

Long time Maserati curator, he is a member of the Maserati register’s technical commission and advisor to the Club Maserati as well as Vice-President of Maserati’s ‘senior group’ and the ‘Senior F1 Mechanics’ Club’. Cozza joined Maserati in 1951 at an early age. He had just left technical school and took up a position as an Engine Adjustor when the company was in the hands of the Orsi family. Cozza worked for many seasons in the pit lane alongside the technicians.

He was employed first alongside Guerino Bertocchi and, later, Giulio Alfieri. Under the stewardship of De Tomaso, he supervised the salvation and restoration of a beautiful PininFarina designed A6GCS berlinetta. Head of organising the Maserati stand at classic car motor shows, Cozza is always ready to share information on Maserati’s history and provide technical background on the vehicles. Today he is a Maserati consultant and maintains contact with Trident fans and collectors from around the world.

The following two articles (the Belgian Grand Prix, 1933 & the history of the Maserati racing V12) were written by Ermanno Cozza and are courtesy of Maserati Corse.

Belgium Grand Prix - 1933

Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit where the House of the Trident experienced one of its most memorable races ever thanks to the courage and skill of Tazio Nuvolari. The 1933 Belgian Grand Prix, and above all the series of events in the weeks leading up to the race, opened a window through which we were able to appreciate a methodical, disciplined and well prepared Nuvolari. He came across as a very different person to the disordered 'car wrecker' he was reputed to be.

Before reflecting on the race run on 9 July 1933, it helps to give some background as, for once, the agreements between the different scuderia were more important than the result of the race. After victory in the Montlhery GP and Campari's fastest lap at Reims in the new Maserati Type 8 CM, many drivers realised that, along with Alfa Romeo and Bugatti, there was a new player on the block: Maserati. This subtle feeling grew at the same time as a series of delicate issues were evolving between certain figures running some of the other teams. The Scuderia Ferrari at the time was, without a doubt, the slickest outfit. Though it had huge potential, it had to work with characters who had strong personalities and who had trouble in accepting Enzo Ferrari's directives. Tazio Nuvolari, in particular, was a man who felt he had a lot to prove.

In this game of cut and thrust, a technical problem also emerged that called into question the validity of the cars entrusted to Nuvolari. The scuderia attempted to take the diplomatic route, hoping to reach a middle ground between Maserati and Nuvolari. One reason why this approach was adopted was because Enzo Ferrari intended to purchase two Maserati 8CM vehicles. It was clear that buying the cars from Modena was, in reality, a tactic to put pressure on Alfa Romeo with the objective of obtaining more competitive vehicles from them. In any case, the abruptly interrupted negotiations concluded with a meeting between Ernesto Maserati and Nuvolari.

According to the terms of the agreement between Nuvolari and Maserati, the man from Mantova was to have raced in the Belgian GP in the same Maserati that Campari had used at Reims. It was an 8 CM, number plate 9754 BA. The chassis number is less certain; the 3001 chassis, it turned out, belonged to another vehicle. The accord foresaw the supply of the car and also mechanical assistance to Nuvolari, enrolled for the race by the Scuderia Ferrari. Nuvolari's first contact with the new Maserati was used to get to know how the suspension behaved and to study the flexibility of the chassis resulting from the tug of the strapping 8 cylinder, 3 litre unit capable of putting out 240bhp at 6000rpm.

Though the rules laid down by Maserati did not allow it, mechanics Campagnoni and Parenti, who had overseen the development of the car on behalf of the House, made some modifications to the front axle and also tried to strengthen the chassis. The work done, Nuvolari could count on a car that was much more suited to his style of driving; he was primed for victory. The great Montovan was so convinced he could win that he sent Campagnoni to warn Varzi and Chiron, the race favourites in an Alfa Romeo and Bugatti respectively, to give way right from the start. The two did not pay much attention to the words of the 'messenger' Campagnoni, especially as Nuvolari had been drawn on the last row of the grid.

Tazio, though, knew he could win. It was not just bravado; it was certainty. In the curves that twist through the Ardennes woodland, he swept past his competitors one at a time. The race turned into a triumphant procession, with a lap record set each time Nuvolari crossed the finish line.
 

The victory at Spa did not bring any improvement in the relationship between Nuvolari and the Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari, in fact, employed only Alfa Romeo vehicles for the successive Coppa Ciano at Livorno. Nuvolari went off to Tuscany with the Maserati 8 CM and set up his headquarters on the outskirts of Livorno.

With the collaboration of his friend Borzacchini, early in the morning he went out early to test his brakes and the stability of the car on the mountain routes. He then snuck back to his refuge, promising to teach those who had under-estimated him a severe lesson. Contrary to all expectations, two number 4 cars lined up at the start: an Alfa Romeo and a Maserati. Nuvolari was in one of them and he duly repeated his Spa performance. On the third lap, he set a time of 13'25". When compared with his time of the previous year (13'42"), the Nuvolari magic and his magisterial command of the track was all too clear. His choice of car also proved telling. This is the tale of how a small automobile house from the Bologna/Modena region crossed that of a great and truly unforgettable driver.

Maserati racing V12 engines

In the course of its ninety year history, Maserati has created a whole range of engine types. There have been four, six and eight cylinder in-line V-engines and 8 and 16 cylinder V-engines. The first 12 cylinder engine by Maserati was put together only in December 1956. This engine was developed to counter the growing competition put up by Vanwall when it was decided that the six cylinder mounted on the 250F had reached its final stage of development - four years after it made its debut.

Back in 1955 work had been done on an opposed 12 cylinder engine but the set up was discarded as it meant the construction of the new type of chassis. It was decided to work on that from the 250F to use and adopt a 12 cylinder 60° V-engine which fitted well with the title winning chassis. The first experiments carried out on the test bench surprised even the engineers: the engine was capable of putting out 320 bhp at 12,000 rpm. Protests continued throughout January 1957 with the aim of making the power curve smoother.

The elevated power of the engine, decidedly high for the era, pushed the then rivals, Ferrari, to accuse the Modena house of producing unsubstantiated data. The competition could count on engines able to produce around 280 to 290 bhp. To prove that the power of the engine was in fact real, the engineer who had worked on it, Alfieri, invited a group of journalists along with the engineer, Canestrini, to see the engine in action for themselves. The group watched disbelieving as the needle on the scales touched 32 kg when the engine was running at 1800 rpm. The power supply itself was high, kicking in at around 5000 rpm.

In February the engine was mounted on the 250F to be driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. The five time champion turned on the engine at the autodrome of Modena and began a test, the results of which would be very promising. The enthusiasm of the Argentinian for the new engine was not shared by the other drivers. They concluded that the power supply was too sharp, so much so that exiting the Campale curve they were often left high and dry. Tests continued at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, at Reims, and at Pescara but the objective of the technicians was to have the 250F in tiptop condition for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. At the wheel of the single seater, baptised 250F T2, was Jean Behra. He was comfortably able to compete with the more modern Vanwall but was unable to finish the race because the rear tyres wore out too quickly. The tyres could not cope with the brusque exhilaration produced by the powerful engine.

Maserati's retirement from competition interrupted, unfortunately, the development of the 250F and its promising engine. However, the engine was used a year later, in 1958, after the Federation imposed the limit of 3 litres for engines in the Sport category that participated in the Campionato Mondiale Marche. For publicity reasons a Sport vehicle with a 12 cylinder 3000cc engine was created in three versions: 73x56 ­ 70x64 and 68x68 but the project was abandoned after the company went into temporary receivership. Even after its official retirement from racing at the end of 1957, Maserati always lived for research without ever giving up its competitive spirit. Although much reduced compared to the past, innovation was always one of the main principles that inspired the House of the Trident.

In 1963 a 1500cc engine was constructed in line with the new Formula One rules from 1961. The project, again overseen by Alfieri, dated from that year but was shelved in favour of working on production cars. The Type 8 engine, a 12 cylinder 60° V-angle units, with the gearbox and transmission in a single unit, was equipped with a Lucas fuel injection system and was mounted transversely in the centre of the car. The first tests on the bench were conducted in April 1963. The engine put out 200 bhp at 12,000 rpm. More tests were conducted from time to time throughout the year and by the time it was considered that the engine was reliable, the F1 regulations would remain in place for only another year. Notwithstanding this, interest in the engine from potential clients was very high. Maserati, however, decided not to continue to invest in this engine. In the meantime the 12 cylinder 3000cc units would substitute the four-cylinder 2800cc installed on the Birdcage Type 63 of the Camoradi, Cunningham and Serenissima scuderie.

With the new Formula One regulations of 1966, the capacity of the engines was raised to 3 litres and Maserati had the opportunity to begin a collaboration with Cooper that began with the signing of an agreement in 1965. Formula One was developing well and ever more investment and technological development was needed to compete in it. To satisfy the requests of Cooper, Alfieri opted for a 12 cylinder which, in the summer of 1965, had already undergone some experiments. A 3000cc engine was tested in a 70x64 form in 1962 with the Lucas injection system and electronic ignition. It put out 340 bhp at 10,000 rpm. The first tests of the Maserati powered Cooper (Type 9 F1/66) took place at the Goodwood circuit. A year later at the Mexican Grand Prix John Surtees was able to benefit from the great work of the Maserati technicians.

The small differences of agreement that existed between Cooper and Maserati were put aside when both companies worked on the new engine, the Maserati Type 10/F1. The engine had three valves per cylinder, transistor ignition and Lucas injection. It weighed only 171 kg and yet developed 380 bhp. The new Cooper chassis, the T81, proved that it was up to the job and allowed Rodriguez to take the South African Grand Prix in 1967. That engine, the development of the 12 cylinder originally designed in 1956, was able easily to stand up to more recent engines. The fact that it could do this is testimony to how far ahead of its time the first V12 Maserati engine was.