Opinions vary as to whether it stayed in Australia or returned to Italy and then went back to New Zealand as something else.
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. Known as the A6GCM model this was a 2 litre 6-cylinder with a tubular chassis frame, with IFS by wishbones and coil springs, the four-speed gearbox attached to the rear of the engine and an open propeller-shaft to a rigid rear axle suspended on quarter-elliptic leaf springs. After only a few races Daponte took it back to S. America where it had a “stock” American engine installed for National racing. In 1958 the Maserati factory rebuilt #2501 to the latest specification, installing a new engine #2523, and changing the chassis number to #2523. As it became clear to the management that they were going to need Stirling Moss in their works team they gave him encouragement at some races by lending him a works engine, so that you would see car number 2508 with an un-numbered engine, while engine 2508 sat on the floor of the paddock workshop, it being replaced after the race when the special engine was given back to the factory mechanics.By 1956 the works—customer confusion reached an intolerable state, added to by the introduction of various experimental and test cars, so for 1957 the works team was kept completely separate from the customer department, with the result that Maserati had their most successful year and Fangio won the World Championship for them. Sold to the Scuderia Guastalla in 1956 and driven by Gerino Gerini, then sold to Ottorino Volonterio in 1957.
It stayed in the Vandervell factory at Park Royal and was used to investigate the “state-of-the-art” of Formula 1 while the Vanwall Special was being built. It continually changed its outward appearance while it was used by the factory and led a very hard life. These two cars (the other one was 2525) had the engine angled to the left so that the driver sat very low alongside the propeller shaft and the body also was lower and more squat than previous 250F cars.
It was rebuilt and used by Mantovani as part of the factory team, and was last seen about mid-1955. Retained by Centro-Sud long after they stopped racing and appears to have been totally dismantled over the course of some years. In 1956 when the factory team were running short of cars and time they cobbled up a car using the old bent chassis frame from 2507 which had been replaced by a new one. The team’s recent Silverstone record was…A seat in a top team suddenly becomes vacant mid-season and a driver whose F1 career looked to be over is called in to fill the much-envied role.
This means that we know when it was built and delivered to the first owner, where it raced throughout its years as a current Grand Prix car, which lasted until 1960, and then what happened to it until it became an historic racing car, and started a new racing life. Raced by Jean Lucas and Andre Testa then sold to Serge Pozzoli who still owns it.Built in 1956 for Francesco Godia-Sales of Spain, Sold to Joakim Bonnier in 1958 and later taken to USA by him and sold to Phil Cade in 1961. Lay fallow in Modena in 1958. And so, obviously, you didn’t need to look beyond the Mercedes W11. Built for Roberto Micros to begin the 1954 season. In later years it came to the UK and was raced by Richard Bergel and Angus Clydesdale and today is owned by Bobby Bell.This was one of the first pair of cars that raced in Argentina in 1954. In a story familiar to the hybrid era, its W196 was the class of the field. He retained this “interim” car and used it as a camera-car in the making of the film “Such Men are Dangerous”. It was complete, with transaxle gearbox, suspension, brakes and so on, but without an engine or any bodywork. It appeared again in 1956 with the works team, but during the summer it was virtually destroyed in a fire at the factory. Jenkinson, 1986 – Interim car, Maserati A6GCM given chassis number 2504. The 250F series had started on paper with chassis number 2501 so the idea was that the interim cars would take 250F numbers until the real 250F cars were available. In 1956 when the factory team were running short of cars and time they cobbled up a car using the old bent chassis frame from 2507 which had been replaced by a new one. Consequently it was not a long or difficult job to install a 21 litre 250F engine into an A6GCM in order to keep the customers happy while the new cars were being built. Later that year it was raced as part of the factory team by Sergio Mantovani. Eventually he sold it to Tom Wheatcroft for the Donington Park Racing Car Museum.This was a 1956 factory team car that was subsequently sold to Reg Hunt in Australia. After many years in Australasia, it returned to England and then went to an American owner. It did very little racing, but was used quite a lot in Swiss national mountain hillclimbs. The very bare remains were put up in the rafters and forgotten.A 1956 car for the factory team, it was subsequently sold to Stan Jones in Australia. Passed on to Kevin Neal and others.
As a new 250F was nearly ready for Mieres the interim car was scrapped. There are the big road racing…Hillclimbs will play an increasingly significant role in the 2004 VSCC schedule, with events planned at five of the top venues in Britain. Nothing was available from the factory any more, so Arthur Archer, of Dunmow in Essex, made a complete jig on which to build a new chassis frame for 2527. This did not work out and added to the confusion, as we shall see.A 1953 works 2 litre car with the engine replaced by a 2 1/2 litre 250F engine.