Maserati 300S Fantuzzi Spyder

The Maserati 300S Fantuzzi Spyder was the open-bodied sports racing configuration of Maserati’s Tipo 300S, introduced in 1955. Developed from the earlier 250S programme and drawing on the engineering of the 250F Grand Prix car, the 300S combined a tubular chassis with a front-mounted three-litre, six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive. Its light aluminium spider bodywork was shaped by Medardo Fantuzzi, whose work established the model’s recognisable low, curving profile. As competition requirements evolved, the body and mechanical specifications underwent further development.

The Tipo 300S achieved international success from its debut season. Juan Manuel Fangio drove a 300S to victory in the 1955 Venezuela Grand Prix, while further results in 1956 demonstrated the car’s competitiveness in endurance racing. Maserati’s own historical account records 27 Tipo 300S cars produced between 1955 and 1959. This figure concerns the model as a whole and should not be treated as a separately verified production total for a particular coachwork variation.

Fantuzzi’s hand-formed aluminium bodywork and the 300S’s evolving aerodynamic treatment reflect the close collaboration between Maserati’s racing department and specialist Italian craftsmen. Surviving examples differ in details of their mechanical and body configurations; individual chassis histories must therefore be considered separately from the model-family record.