MOTOR CARS | 287Roman motoring celebrity Giuseppe Furmanik was a leading light in
the Italian racing world of the 1930s. He was President of the Royal
Automobile Club of Italy (RACI) and he was a most capable engineer
in his own right. He took delivery of this originally 1100cc Maserati
4CM – 4-cilindri monoposto – single-seat racing car on August 12,
- The compact car was very avant-garde at that time, featuring
as it did the driver-width centerline bodywork just introduced to
Grand Prix racing by the celebrated Alfa Romeo Tipo B Monoposto,
and with hydraulic brakes this was a most sophisticated and trend-
setting little machine.
Everything that went into the car was miniaturized in quest of
lightness, for 1100cc class competition was very dependent upon
making the most of the limited power output available, and power-
to-weight ratio became all important. The car’s two parallel main
chassis members were united with a constant width of 620mm, and
the bodywork was so tightly proportioned that it had to have the
handbrake lever mounted outside. The driver was well positioned
within the cockpit, and when the model was launched, it was very
well received by the racing fraternity.
The 4CM proved to be very successful. In July, at the 1932 German
Grand Prix meeting at the mighty Nurburgring drivers Ernesto
Maserati and Ruggeri won the 1100 Vetturetta class in a 4CM-1100,
also achieving a very credible third in the 1500cc class.
Furmanik subsequently decided to challenge the World Speed
Records for the 1100 class. He took his car – chassis ‘1120’ offered
here – and on November 11 that year bench tested its modified
engine after a series of improvements which boosted its power
output from the 125bhp at 5,300-6,000rpm claimed as standard
with these cars. To further reduce weight, he removed the front
brakes from the car and the gearbox was adapted to offer only three
speeds. The weight of the car was pared right down to only 470kg –
just 1,036lbs.At the Autostrada Firenze-Mare in 1934 Giuseppe Furmanik set
a new world record for the flying kilometre in the 1100cc class,
achieving 222.634 kilometers per hour (over 138mph), comfortably
breaking the previous record of 207.527kph held by MG.Giuseppe Furmanik’s record attempts were well publicised by the
Italian Fascist press of the time, and he wore a glorious uniform
in many of his public appearances. Maserati’s new financier and
promoter Gino Rovere came in on the act, and the power output
of these little engines was publicised as having hit 150bhp at
7,200rpm which relates to 143bhp per litre, claimed to have “never
been achieved before from an automobile engine”. Furmanik would
continue to break further records in Maserati 4CMs, further reducing
weight and adopting even more streamlining, pushing the terminal
velocity to around 150mph.2