Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage Re-Creation by Crosthwaite & Gardiner

The sale price speaks for itsself.

To use this car on publicj roads is the pure horror as the 4-cyl.-engine does not have any torque. Its a pure race car to use on trackdays or in Goodwood, where replicas seem to accepted.
I have nothing against replicas as long as they technically 100% matching the real thing. But: a replica will always be a replica....

 

Walter: You must have driven a very poorly prepared Birdcage. I have over 1,000 miles in Birdcages on public roads, and they are amazingly competent and easy to drive. The big four-cylinder engines give lots of torque from 2,500 rpm up and there is no question, Maserati made the best gearboxes of the era. Super easy to shift, with upshifts not requiring a double-clutch and a quick double-clutch on down shifts for always silent changes. The most impressive thing about the cars is how "solid" they are on the road. You see all the little tubes and wonder how sturdy the car is, only to find it drives like a bank vault. They also don't overheat or tend to run hot in traffic, even without a fan. Just an amazing car, and fully deserving of all the good things said about them. By the way, all this also applies to the Tipo 60, 2-liters as well, lots of torque from 2,500 up and more willingness to rev.

 

I drove 2 T61, #2451 (the longtail) and #2461. Both cars were perfectly prepaired by Seve Hart Racing in the UK. #2451 I drove at the autobahn next to Le Mans and on the smaller roads nearby. Both cars were vibrating a lot at louwer revs. Yes, heard from a friend, that the 2-liter versions are less vibrating.
Btw.: I never saw a T61 raced on public roads in Tour Auto, Modena Centro Ore etc.! All because of the unusable 3-liter motor.
I talked to other very experianced drivers like Willie Green, Dr. Thomas Bscher, Peter Hannen, Ludovic Lindsay about that and they always confirmed to me the same about the vibrating engine. Its absolutely fine on circuits but on the road they all said its hard to drive...

I did not complain about the perfect gearboxes, nor about the perfect road handling. The car can be driven like an instrument. Its very precise in corners and its fast (#2451, the longtail was VERY fast!). And thats the reason why is was -almost- unbeatable in the US for almost 2 years (1960 and 1961).

 

Walter: They absolutely vibrate at low revs, but that does not make them hard or uncomfortable to drive. It is just part of the car's character. For a normal production road car, it would be unacceptable, but for a Birdcage, it is part of the experience. One main reason you never saw them on tours or other long events is that they are a "bathtub" in the rain. Water comes in EVERYWHERE.

 

Ok options current market value of a real Tipo 61 in similar overall condition with moderate history?

 

But thats excactly what I said!! I never said that the car does vibrate in higher revs. Nor did I say, that the car is hard or uncomftable to drive. Every 50s barchetta is -more or less- a bathtub in the rain. Good that we agree now, that the engine vibrates a lot in lower revs. But for these reason standing in a T61 at a crossroad in traffic is the nightmare as you can not accelerate the car on public roads as you can on circuits. You would easily bounce into a car thats in front of you...

 

A a very original T61 with good history comes today for about 6.5-8 Million US$. A VERY good T60 just changed hands for a VERY high price....

 

Walter: I give up. You are the expert for all time. Seems strange to me that I have driven Birdcages to lunch at Steak & Shake with no problems, but others seem to have lots of problems.

 

Well, then I give up also. My own experiance and those of other very skilled drivers - we must all wrong then...
btw.: I never claimed to be the "expert for all time"....