This Maserati 4CL is an “old school” Grand Prix racer

“It was a works car driven by Giovanni Rocco for the Maserati team, and it started in 1939,” Bradley told us when we caught up with him during the event. “It raced in Grands Prix through to the 1950s when it became F1, then raced in F1 until 1953, through various privateers. It also came second in the 1940 Targa Florio.”

Where some historic racing cars such as this would be hidden away, thankfully the Bradley family likes it to be driven hard on a regular basis. 

“It has a 1.5-litre supercharged methanol engine,” Bradley explained. “It’s around 250 horsepower (250PS/184kW), which for something that weighs 600kg is quite impressive. If you floor it in second gear the rear wheels will spin up. And fun fact, it does about 2mpg."

“But it's got quite a lot of advanced stuff, you know. It's got a handbrake on it, so you can preload the clutch at the start to get the best launch which, if you think back to 1939, is pretty impressive technology. Being an F1 car it was developed to within an inch of its life to what they could do in 1939.”

Even with some relatively clever features, today the 4CL is very much identifiable as an old-school Grand Prix racer. “You have no seatbelts, obviously,” said Bradley, and “you sit open legged with the gear stick in between. It has drum brakes, leaf spring suspension, and honestly it moves around and it slides.

“It has a four-speed gearbox. You just use first to pull away and then second, third and fourth everywhere else. And you rev it to about 7,000rpm.”

There’s a knack to driving the 4CL, then, one which Bradley finds refreshing compared to the modern racing cars he pilots in his day job as a professional racing driver. 

“With pre-war cars,” he shared, “I love that there are no driver aids, there’s no synchromesh or anything. The driver has to be the car’s computer, the driver has to be the one who makes the difference.

“To get the most out of it, a lot of it is how brave you’re feeling. But to be honest with you, I love driving it because it’s so rewarding. In these pre-war cars, you’re so connected to it.”

Sadly, the 4CL had a mechanical failure in Official Practice for the Goodwood Trophy. “I did one lap in qualifying and I was pole at the time,” Bradley explained. Unable to start the race, victory went to the only car that qualified ahead, a 1934 ERA A-type R3A driven by Mark Gillies. 

“You can’t say what would have happened,” Bradley told us, with a slight smile, “but we certainly would have been in conversation for the victory. It’s a shame, but we’ll certainly be back next year.” 

Photography by Charlie Brenninmeijer and Joe Harding.

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