O.S.C.A.

O.S.C.A.

Industry	Automotive
Founded	1947
Defunct	1967
Fate	Ceased production
Headquarters	San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, Italy
Key people	Ettore, Ernesto and Bindo Maserati
Products	Automobiles

O.S.C.A. (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A.) was an Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars established 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, by the Maserati brothers, and closed down in 1967. Its name is usually abbreviated to OSCA or Osca.

History[]

O.S.C.A. was founded in 1947 by Ernesto Maserati (engineering manager) and his two brothers Ettore, and Bindo (operations managers) who had all left Maserati after their ten-year contract with Adolfo Orsi terminated. Ten years earlier, in 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers had sold their shares in the company to the Orsi family, who, in 1940, had relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena, where it remains to this day.

The O.S.C.A. factory was located in San Lazzaro di Savena outside Bologna,^[1] where Maserati were originally made 1926 to 1940. Their basic business goal was to develop an automobile to compete in the popular Italian 1,100 cc racing class.

O.S.C.A.'s first automobile was the MT4, for Maserati Tipo 4 cilindri. The 1,092 cc engine, which produced (72 PS (53 kW; 71 hp) at 6,000 rpm, had a in-house designed block, alloy head, and the bodywork was built as a two-seater barchetta. The MT4 first raced in 1948 at the Pescara Circuit and the Grand Prix of Naples, where it was driven to a win by Luigi Villoresi. The engine was modified to 1,342 cc capacity (with 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp) at 5,500 rpm) in 1949.^[2]

In 1950, a new DOHC (MT4-2AD) raised power to a maximum of 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) at 6,300 rpm, and in 1953 the engine was enlarged to 1,453 cc, producing 110 PS (81 kW; 108 hp) at 6,200 rpm. The all new tipo 372 DS twin spark engine with 1,491 cc, which produced 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp) at 6,300 rpm, was later used in the O.S.C.A. MT4 TN (for Tipo Nuovo, "new model") of 1955. With this new engine, the car received the new name FS 372, of which five were built.^[3] One of these belongs to Sir Stirling Moss, who raced it in historic races across the globe until his retirement in 2011. Versions of this engine went on to be used in coupé and convertible models of regular Fiats from 1959 to 1966.

These automobiles were mainly barchettas, but a few were built as berlinetta bodies by Pietro Frua and Vignale. A Vignale bodied MT4 was run in the 1,500 cc class at the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 1954 12 Hours of Sebring was won by drivers Stirling Moss and in an O.S.C.A. MT4^[4] as part of the Briggs Cunningham Team.^[5]

From 1951 to 1962, automobiles or engines made by O.S.C.A. also were entered in some Formula One and Formula Two events although they mainly built small sports cars of which some were designed by Pietro Frua. In the World Sportscar Championship OSCA ranked 10th (1953), 4th (1954), 6th (1957), 5th (1958) and 4th (1961).

The 750 cc 70 hp (52 kW) type S 187 was introduced in 1956. Weighing 430 kg (948 lb), this car had a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h). The name "187" refers to the displacement in cubic centimetres of each cylinder of the engine. In 1959 Jim Eichenlaub won the American H-Mod Title with this OSCA S 187. Operating on a shoestring budget, Eichenlaub often slept in his tow car because there was no money for a motel. However he won his first race at Pensacola in April 1959.^[6]

The Formula Junior (FJ) used a Fiat engine of 1089 cc, and saw wins by Colin Davis and in 1959.

In 1963 the brothers sold the company to Count Domenico Agusta, owner of MV Agusta,^[1] They did design work for Agusta until 1966. One of their final designs was a desmodromic four-cylinder engine. O.S.C.A. ended operations in 1967.

OSCA Fiats[]

The 1500S Coupé and Convertible were available with OSCA's twin cam 1491 cc engine as the 1200 were produced with a Fiat engine. These 90 PS (66 kW) 1500S models went on sale in November 1959, with Pininfarina bodywork. The engine was uprated to 1568 cc and 100 PS (74 kW) in the summer of 1962 (1600 S) thanks to a 2 mm bore increase, and the shell underwent a facelift as the Fiat 1300/1500 replaced the original 1200 in 1963. This continued in production until replaced by the Fiat 124 coupé/spider, with Fiat's own twin cam engine, in late 1966. OSCA also offered their own cars powered by a derivative of this engine, such as the Fissore-bodied 1600 GT2 and the more attractive Zagato GT and GTS and a Touring-bodied 1600 GT.

Vehicles[]

Name and year of introduction:

• Osca MT4 (1947)
• (1956)
• (1957)
• Osca 1050 Spider
• (for Formula Junior)
• (1960)
• (Morelli, 1959/60)
• (1962)
• (1963)

Complete Formula One World Championship results[]

OSCA as a Formula One chassis constructor

Formula One World Championship career
Engines	OSCA
Entrants	OSCA, Élie Bayol, Louis Chiron
First entry	1951 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1958 Monaco Grand Prix
Races entered	7 (4 starts)
Race victories	0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0

OSCA as a Formula One engine manufacturer

Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1951 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1962 Italian Grand Prix
Races entered	12 (8 starts)
Chassis	OSCA, Maserati, Cooper, De Tomaso
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Podiums	0
Points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0

As a constructor[]

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WCC	Points
1951	OSCA Automobili	4500G	4500 4.5 V12	P		SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				N/A1
					Franco Rol							9
1952	Élie Bayol	20	2000 2.0 L6	P		SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				N/A1
					Élie Bayol								Ret
1953	Louis Chiron	20	2000 2.0 L6	P		ARG	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			N/A1
					Louis Chiron					15	DNS		DNS	10
	Élie Bayol	20	2000 2.0 L6	P	Élie Bayol					Ret			DNS	Ret
1958	OSCA Automobili	F2	372 1.5 L4	P		ARG	MON	NED	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0
					Giulio Cabianca		DNQ
					Luigi Piotti		DNQ
Source:[7]

As an engine supplier[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WCC	Points
1951	Prince Bira	Maserati 4CLT/48	4500 4.5 V12	P		SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP		N/A1
					B. Bira								Ret
1959	OSCA Automobili	Cooper T43	2.0 L4	D		MON	500	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA	NC	0
					Alejandro de Tomaso									Ret
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	De Tomaso F1	372 1.5 L4	D		MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA		NC	0
					Giorgio Scarlatti				Ret
	Scuderia Settecolli	De Tomaso F1	372 1.5 L4	D	Roberto Lippi							Ret
1962	Scuderia Settecolli	De Tomaso F1	372 1.5 L4	D		NED	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	RSA	NC	0
					Roberto Lippi							DNQ
Source:[8]

Notes

• ^1 – The Constructors World Championship did not exist before 1958.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to OSCA vehicles.

• OSCA Owners Group
• O.S.C.A. designs of Pietro Frua (in German)
• New OSCA Registry
• O.S.C.A. badge