THE V5 - IZETA.001
Text and all photos courtesy of Igor Zanisi
 The idea of re-creating the lost V5 came naturally after the excessive growth of my Maserati collection. I really needed a "final
project", mainly financed by the sale of some of the cars, in order not to desire anything more (or less). The purchase of the original engine #5002 (a marine unit) from Alberto Procovio started it all. My first idea was to make the 1929 V4, but the engine was a V5, and Anthony Hartley had already started his V4 project, so I went to the very last version, the Tripoli '34 car, driven by Piero Taruffi and destroyed in an accident on lap 7 - end of the V5 story until now......... See picture of Piero Taruffi and original V5 on right.
Unfortunately the factory had (and has) virtually no drawings, due to a fire by the Citroen people, but I got almost all from another source (copied in 1968, before the fire). Some pics made the rest. I have to say that, as the body was only the dress for the mechanical parts, the shape comes almost automatically. Anyway we have been very accurate. When I say "we" I mean Gianni Torelli, who actually built the car, I made all the historic research (and pushed Gianni in the bad moments), Ermanno Cozza from Maserati gave all the possible practical and moral help. All the project took 6 years, from 1999 to 2005, a number of parts came from Anthony (great man, I love him), as we shared technical tips and maybe saved some money by cooperation. Something to remember is a meeting we had in Essen in a Maserati dealership where we filled the floor with drawings and made some 'swimming' in them before an astonished audience.
Anyway the finished car gave 360 HP on the bench with normal 95 unleaded fuel plus additive (manganese) and some castor oil.
From day one the chassis has been clearly stamped IGOR ZANISI IZETA.001. to avoid misunderstandings about originality, a brass plate on the right side shortly describes the story, the car has no Maserati-related numbers, except the 5002 stamped twice on the original engine.
What happened in Italy has changed nothing in the project, and it is very clear to all that the car is a re-creation, and it makes me prouder than - eventually - owning the original one. Anyway, before starting the project I asked permission to the factory.
These are the facts. If I can dare add an opinion, it is always worth to re-create a lost car, so that people are able not only to see it standing, but also hear the sound and see it in motion. I must say that not all the people agree with this, and we have to be respectful of every honest opinion with arguments not coming from jealousy.
And finally on a more serious note.
A contented Igor Zanisi can be seen here alongside his creation in the company of two of his V5's many admirers!!
"With one piston you may have some friends, with sixteen they grow in quantity and quality....."
THE V4 ENGINE
By Anthony Hartley and Simon Lees-Milne
Known as the "Sedici Cilindri" the 16-cylinder V4 was built around two Tipo 26B engines mounted at 25° on a common crankcase, with two crankshafts and gearing into a common box. The various component parts consisted of 55 ball races, 27 gears plus 8 gears in the oil pumps, 2 crankshafts, 16 con-rods and pistons, 32 valves, 64 valve springs, four camshafts, two superchargers, four oil pumps and two water pumps.
Both crankshafts ran clockwise, driving a central gear which runs anti clockwise. This meant the crown wheel and pinion were fitted the opposite way round. The 3960cc V16 cylinder engine developed 305 bhp at 5500 rpm.
With a top speed 150 mph on tyres of 3.25 x 19 front and 6.50 x 19 rear and all this with cable operated drum brakes. The drivers were very very brave men indeed! It was a monster to drive and very difficult to handle. In a straight line merely a matter of courage. The fastest speed for a racing car was recorded in July 1929 by a V4 attaining 152.9 mph over 10 kilometers on the 25 mile circuit at Cremona in Italy.
During the 1929 Italian Grand Prix, Alfieri Maserati drove the V4 to a lap speed of 124.2 mph, a record not beaten until 1954.
In 1930 the V4 won the Tripoli Grand Prix driven by Baconin Borzacchini and in 1931 it was victorious in the Rome Grand Prix driven by Ernesto Maserati.
THE V5
Translated from 'MASERATI una storia nella Storia dalle origini al 1945' by Luigi Orsini an Franco Zagari
 The challenging and complex theme of coupled engines found in Alfieri Maserati the ideal exponent. The V4 had been above all an act of courage, a starting point for still more audacious projects, culminating in the V5. During 1931 the V4's cubic capacity was increased by the usual method of increasing the bore size. Some say that it was taken to 4,500cc, but this is pure conjecture. Nevertheless, what is certain is that a limit was reached that, beyond which, would have necessitated a redesign of the bottom end. On the one hand it seemed perfectly logical for the factory to develop a larger capacity engine, but on the other it is difficult to comprehend any need for any increase in unusable horsepower. With the brakes and tyres already limiting the four litre, there was also the risk of altering the already precarious structural balance of the chassis. Despite this, Alfieri did not hesitate to develop a new sixteen-cylinder that faithfully reproduced the line of the preceeding model. It utilized the 82mm stroke, previously used in the 26B, and a bore of 69mm for a total displacement of almost five litres, from which was derived the initials V5.
With at least 320bhp available and a weight of 1,050 kg, it was the car that had the best power/weight ratio. Larger
diameter brakes were mounted, later equipped with air scoops for cooling. Modifications were also made to the chassis with the use of larger diameter wheels. Shrunken-on 22 inch tyres, indispensable for assuring long wear, could be mounted but remained precarious because of the tremendous forces to which they were subjected. Unlike the V4, the exhausts were no longer perfectly horizontal, but bent downwards and re-routed under the rear axle. Later the frontal section was modified to a more tapered form and a series of air vents were added around the radiator grille.
In this form the V5 ran in 1932, the year that the Alfa Romeo P3, a rival 'par excellence', made it's debut. The force of tradition, represented by the Maserati, and the more advanced technological tendencies that were peculiar to the Alfa met each other with violence. Their respective power to weight ratios were similar, but the P3 although much lower on power was much lighter. There followed many severe clashes from which the V5 usually came off worse.
 The 1932 race season didn't go well for the V5, not only was it outnumbered by the opposing P3s, but a series of misfortunes, not always attributable to its concept, caused it to retire. A misunderstanding in the pits had cost them the Italian Grand Prix, and a faulty throttle linkage and steering box problems had caused its early retirement from both the 'Internationales AVUS Rennen' and the Marseille Grand Prix at Miramas. It was only at Pescara that there problems related to its design. The heat had caused problems with tyre adhesion, compromised further by the need for grooved treads, instead of smoother treads used on the faster circuits, that gave greater grip.
Despite all the excuses, it was obvious that the appearance of the new single-seater Alfa Romeo had raised the stakes in terms of technological progress. By then, the technology behind the V5 had become obsolete and this along with the
understandable confusion at the factory following the death of Alfieri, directed the car to other goals, namely record attempts, fulfilling a sponsorship agreement with Pirelli. However, the death of driver Amedeo Ruggeri during one such attempt caused the an end to this project.
In 1933, two V5 engines of opposed rotation, were successfully mounted side by side in the speedboat 'Montelera XV' built by the Baglietto Boatyard at Varazze for Count Theo Rossi of Montelera to race.
In 1934 the V5 made an unexpected return for the Tripoli Grand Prix in the Formula Libre class. It was the same car, the only one ever built, that had been seriously damaged during Ruggeri's fatal accident and repaired only when the factory had any spare time. The only noticeable changes made from the original were the return to the perfectly horizontal exhaust pipes and a new front grille with vertical ribbing. Naturally, the mechanical parts had also undergone some improvements: namely the hydraulic braking system and the new magnetos specially prepared by Bosch. However on the sixth lap of the race, Piero Taruffi who was at the wheel, careered off the road, putting an end to the story of the sixteen cylinder Maserati.
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