Maserati 250F

Constructor
maserati
Years
1954–1960
Designers
Gioacchino Colombo, Vittorio Bellentani, Alberto Massimino
Engine
Maserati A6 straight-6
Configuration
straight-6, 2493 cc, naturally aspirated
Power
240 bhp (220 bhp at 7,400 rpm in 1954, about 240 bhp with fuel injection from 1955; a 315 bhp V12 was offered in 1957 and rarely used)
Chassis
aluminium tubular ladder frame
Gearbox
4-speed, later 5-speed manual
Suspension
Front: independent wishbone. Rear: de Dion tube
Brakes
drum
Weight
Wheelbase
Tyres
Pirelli
Races
44
Wins
6
Poles
7
Drivers' titles
2
Constructors' titles
0
Specification confidence
medium

The customer car of the 2.5-litre era: not the fastest, but the one anyone could buy and almost anyone could drive

The 250F is the reason the mid-1950s grids existed at all - Maserati sold them to privateers and they filled out every race for six seasons. Fangio's 1957 German Grand Prix in one is the drive the sport keeps coming back to: a botched pit stop dropped him 48 seconds behind, and he took it all back in 22 laps, breaking the lap record ten times and passing Hawthorn on the last lap.

8 championship wins across 1954-1960. Fangio's 1954 and 1957 titles.