The Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’ was a trans-Atlantic triumph

Giulio Alfieri’s Birdcage design originated with the Tipo 60, first developed in the autumn of 1958, when Alfieri was bought in as Technical Director by the Orsi family — who had purchased the company from the Maserati brothers. The need for a more financially viable business model plus the success of Maserati’s road-going 3500GT invigorated interest in a sportscar aimed at the Italian gentlemen who might compete in the 2.0-litre class at their local circuits and hillclimbs.

The initial idea was to use a more conventional backbone chassis, but Alfieri instead crafted the structure for which the car would become known. Hundreds of small steel tubes were welded together, reminiscent of mesh, to create a tubular spaceframe chassis in a triangular formation at the high stress areas. A similar idea had been experimented with on the 250F Formula 1 car, and the outcome was something altogether more rigid but lighter than contemporaries.

Italy’s displacement limit of 2,000cc required Alfieri to make the Tipo 60 as efficient as possible. The 2.0-litre engine was taken from the Maserati 200S and mounted well behind the front axle and titled at 45 degrees to the right to lower the centre of gravity, while weight was kept down and drag minimised by reducing the frontal area of the car. In keeping with the dimensions of the regulations, the windscreen was inclined so far back it ultimately offered very little protection for the driver.

This was a car designed for a new era of sportscar racing, one that was moving away from the great road races of motorsport’s infancy towards specially designed circuits. It was at Rouen in July 1959 that the Tipo 60 won its debut race — Maserati’s last factory entry for decades — with Stirling Moss at the wheel. Moss had a hand in the development of the car, his testing of an early version revealed the chassis to be, if anything, too strong. Its rigidity caused cracks to appear in the construction, and a lower quality steel was introduced for later Birdcage iterations.

With victory at Rouen, Moss put the Tipo 60 on the map, and all six cars were snapped up by privateers, many hailing from across the pond. This interest, combined with Moss’ suggestion that the car could handle more power, led to Maserati developing a 3.0-litre version, Tipo 61, ideal for the American market.

The Tipo 61 may have been more powerful, boasting a 253PS (186kW) output from its larger engine, but at 600kg it weighed only 30kg more than its Tipo 60 sibling. That the engine was near centre and the gearbox rear-mounted meant the weight distribution was practically perfect.

Drivers praised the car’s handling qualities as they dominated hillclimbs in the early 1960s. ‘Lucky’ Lloyd Casner was a particular fan; he’d tested a prototype in Modena and had a Tipo 60 converted into a 61 which he raced with Carroll Shelby. Competitive pace was hindered by reliability woes, but Casner’s Camoradi team did record two wins at the Nürburgring 1,000km in 1960 and ’61.

Another American owner of a Tipo 61 was David F. Causey, who took delivery of the car we’ll see at the 2026 Goodwood Revival — chassis 2457. This model was the first of six produced, finished on the 23^rd December 1959 and exported to Causey in Indiana.

He had the tail revised ahead of the car’s debut at the 1960 Sebring 12 Hours, and while that outing ended early with a gearbox failure, he and co-driver Luke Stear raced the car with some success at SCCA events. Its final race in period came only a year after its Sebring debut, this also ended with retirement.

This Tipo 61 however has found a new life in historic racing. Chassis 2457 has been owned by Nick Mason since the 1980s and will be raced at the 2026 Revival by Marino Franchitti and Chris Harris.

Ten Tenths are the team that run the car which, although remains very original, has recently been the subject of a careful restoration to its exact specification from the 1960 and ’61 Sebring 12 Hours. At a Revival Test Day, Manager Simon Harper and Workshop Manager Andy Maggs gave us an update on how the Tipo 61 is faring ahead of its appearance in the Sussex Trophy.

“It’s had a good shakedown already, and with the testing at Goodwood we’re looking ready to go,” was the verdict from the team.

A closer look at the car reveals the bodywork still carries creases and scars from years of repairs and modifications. “It’s still wearing its longer rear tail to accommodate mandatory luggage space, white with blue-stripes finish and shaped fuel tank for the spare wheel well.”

The Birdcage is a rare construction, and one Harper and Maggs reflected was “pivotal” in Maserati’s history. They noted how the car is always of interest to people perusing the paddocks and feel that now, fully restored, the Revival is the ideal place for it to spread its wings.

“Goodwood is the perfect setting to effectively unveil the restored car. We’re happy to bring it and pleased it seems to be generating a lot of interest as it’s been a lot of hard work and attention put in. It’s time to share it!”

The Sussex Trophy will be the stage for the restored Tipo 61’s comeback, a race for World Championship sportscars from 1955-’60. “Winning it would be great,” the team admitted. “With Marino and Chris driving we’re expecting a strong performance. Both are very competent around Goodwood of course and Marino has a lot of confidence in this car.

“Realistically a good, strong, reliable performance would please us all for its first time out in a long time. We’ve not really got a benchmark for it yet. Well up the order would be good.”

As we celebrate Maserati’s motorsport legacy at the 2026 Goodwood Revival, this Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’ represents the brand’s engineering evolution, a process full of innovation that we’re all too happy to continue to enjoy to this day.

Photography by Joe Harding.

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