Maserati V8RI were four racing cars made by Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

 of Modena

Modena

Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

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Designed by Ernesto Maserati

Ernesto Maserati

Ernesto Maserati was an Italian automotive engineer and racer, with Maserati of Modena since its inception in Bologna on 14 December 1914, together with his brothers Alfieri Maserati , Ettore Maserati, Bindo Maserati and others.Ernesto led the workshop during World War I, as his brothers joined...

, they had a front-mounted 4788 cc V8 engine, 90 degrees.
Roots type supercharger

Roots type supercharger

The Roots type supercharger or Roots blower is a positive displacement lobe pump which operates by pumping fluids with a pair of meshing lobes not unlike a set of stretched gears. Fluid is trapped in pockets surrounding the lobes and carried from the intake side to the exhaust...

 and dual choke Weber carburetor

Weber carburetor

Weber is an Italian company producing carburetors, currently owned by Magneti Marelli Powertrain S.p.A., in turn part of the Fiat Group.The company was established as...

, single camshaft resulted in
320 bhp and a maximum speed of 270 km/h (167.8 mph). The "RI" denoted Ruote indipendenti, the
then innovative independent four-wheel suspension. The cars measurements were
wheelbase 2560 mm (100.8 in),
length 3865 mm (152.2 in),
width 1490 mm (58.7 in),
height 1250 mm (49.2 in).
Chassis #4501 debuted at Grand Prix de la Marne

Grand Prix de la Marne

The Grand Prix de la Marne was a Grand Prix motor racing event staged at the Reims-Gueux racecourse, near the city of Reims in the Marne département of north-east France. First held in 1925, it proved to be one of the fastest road races in Europe...

 1935, driven by Philippe Étancelin

Philippe Étancelin

Philippe Étancelin was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception.-Biography:...

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External links

• maserati.org.au has a gallery and description
• rickcarey.com on chassis #4501
• maserati-alfieri.co.uk on all four vehicles at Roosevelt Field in New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  (1939).