Maserati does not build many cars like the Maserati 8C with 2812-2992 cc Straight-8, built from 1931 to 1933 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. Its designer of record is Alfieri Maserati.
The background
The Maserati 8C was a Grand Prix race car built by Maserati between 1931 and 1933. The 8C was being designed by Alfieri Maserati in the early 1930s; however, he died before its completion. The chassis was that of the Maserati Tipo 26M, and it was initially fitted with a Tipo 26M engine with its cylinders bored out by 4 mm to arrive at its limit of 2.8 litres (2,812 cc)) for 69 mm × 94 mm (2.7 in × 3.7 in) bore and stroke. Development of the new 3.0 L engine continued and it was constructed for racing in 1932.
The car won the 1933 French Grand Prix and Sir Henry Birkin achieved third place driving it in the Tripoli Grand Prix. However, it was not very successful in other races. The car featured some of the world's earliest hydraulic brakes. The Tipo 8C 3000 was the final two-seater Grand Prix Maserati, and was succeeded in 1933 by the Maserati 8CM, M for monoposto (single seat). In 2000 an original Maserati 8C 2800 sold at an auction for US$1.65 million and a 1932 Maserati 8C 3000 for $1.08 million.
The engineering
Under the skin sits 2812-2992 cc Straight-8; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 850 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Maserati's history is not in doubt: the Maserati Tipo 26 came before it; the Maserati 8CM followed it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Bugatti Type 57, the Chevrolet Suburban, the Tatra V570. Its Maserati stablemates include the Maserati 150S and the Maserati 200S.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Maserati 8C — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.