Solved - NEH 614: WRE Maserati chassis #1002 (aka "Taurus prototype")

[Carnut]

What's this for 1 point?

[Carnut]

Experts?

[woodinsight]

WRE Maserati built late 1950s/early 1960s by World Racing Enterprises, Modena, Italy

[Carnut]

WRE Maserati built late 1950s/early 1960s by World Racing Enterprises, Modena, Italy

That's the car!

[D-type]

Does anybody know why the car had two headrests?  By 1959 the two-driver races - Mille Miglia, Circuit of Sicily, Circuit of Mugello etc would have all been discontinued or made driver-only.  Or is this a restoration?

[Carnut]

Auction description (but it still doesn't explain why it had two headrests!):

chassis # 1002
engine # 2429
4-cylinder, 1994 cc - 186 HP
Maserati 200 SI engine
fully restored
eligible for most major events
ultra rare




Maserati WRE 1960

It was in spring time of 1959 when a Maserati 2 litre engined neat little car first arose interest in the spectators by its gorgeous performance at a race in Napels, Italy. The car was driven by Tony Settember, an Englishman living in Italy. Together with John Wadsworth who had previously worked for Willment Speed Shop in England where he had built his own race cars, Settember founded "World Racing Enterprises", WRE for short, in Modena.
The WRE had a beautifully designed all-aluminum Spider body built over a tubular frame chassis and powered by the Maserati 200 SI engine. This was a 4-cylinder power source with 1994,3 cc, double ignition system, two Weber 45 DCO carburetors and dry sump lubrication producing 186 BHP at 7200 rpm. With a total weight of only 612 kg the top speed reached 260 km/h.
Shortly after the first appearence of the WRE, a Napels originated private race driver, Mr. Belluci, was able to buy this car. Subsequently the car was successful in many local races in Italy with Belluci at the wheel. Belluci became a partner at the WRE company and founded the " Sporting Club Autonautico" as a works race stable. In 1960 WREs were extensively raced at Italien hill climb races but also on the circuits like the Grand Prix of Naples or the Trento-Bondone where one of these cars finished 3rd. A WRE was also successfully entered at the 1960 Targa Florio by Mennato Boffa, running with starting number 186. In 1961 the compnay suspended the production and the cars were sold to privat race drivers.
Our WRE underwent a thorough restoration in Italy in the mid eighties and was since then part of a private Swiss collection. It is still in the same beautiful condition as when it came out of the restoration shop and benefitted recently from a differential overhaul and a new set of gears. Being a pure race car it only has a Swiss customs document (13.20 A).

[woodinsight]

D-Type, after doing some research into the WRE I came across two early photos of the car(s) that show two headrests.
A third photograph is not clear enough to distinguish whether it had two headrests.

The WRE story is a difficult one when it comes to extracting the true facts.
Without going into great detail here (it would take several pages of explanation!), there were two or three cars built.
The first had a body built in England by Williams & Pritchard and designed by John R. Wadsworth before it was shipped to Italy for completion.
The other car(s) apparently had bodies built in Italy. Whether they all had two headrests is inconclusive.
One photo of a WRE when owned by Carlo Amiraglio in 1964 shows that a roll-bar was fitted over the two headrests!

Why two headrests?
I suspect that was just a personal preference of Wadsworth at the time - perhaps he drew up the plans when a riding mechanic was still in vogue.

[barrett]

Here's an old photo, definitely showing two headrests

[woodinsight]

Thanks for that - I have a similar photo of the same car that clearly shows the second headrest.
I'm busy working on a book that will include the WRE Maserati and I hope to unravel the true story in my researches.

[Paul Jaray]

Thanks for that - I have a similar photo of the same car that clearly shows the second headrest.
I'm busy working on a book that will include the WRE Maserati and I hope to unravel the true story in my researches.

:popcorn:

[Carnut]

Thanks for that - I have a similar photo of the same car that clearly shows the second headrest.
I'm busy working on a book that will include the WRE Maserati and I hope to unravel the true story in my researches.

:popcorn:

I'll try to find out woodinsight's plans; we miss him!

[fromwien]

Please be so kind and identify this race car: Make? Engine? Year?

[fromwien]

Experts?

[fromwien]

Professionals?

[nicanary]

Sadler ?

[fromwien]

No

[knewit]

Maserati engine ?

[fromwien]

Yes

[nicanary]

Is it a modern evocation of a 1950s car ?

[fromwien]

No

[nicanary]

Is it the JBW-Maserati?

[fromwien]

No

[knewit]

WRE Maserati

[fromwien]

No

[knewit]

US body